Leading-edge erosion follows a predictable curve. Catching it at the right point saves money — miss it and you're rebuilding structure, not paint.
Blade leading-edge erosion is inevitable in coastal and highland sites. What is not inevitable is how expensive it becomes.
There is a well-defined window — typically between year 4 and year 7 of operation, depending on tip speed and climate — where erosion is visible but has not yet penetrated the structural laminate. A coating repair in this window costs a small fraction of the same repair once fibres are exposed.
Miss the window and the economics change completely. You are no longer repainting; you are rebuilding structure, which means longer downtime, specialist technicians, and sometimes a full blade swap.
Annual drone inspection is the cheapest tool we know for staying inside that window. It costs less than half a day of a rope-access crew and produces a photographic record that supports both maintenance planning and warranty conversations.
