Maintenance & Readiness

A drone's flight readiness is the system's quick answer to "Should I fly this aircraft right now?" This page explains the rules behind that answer so you can keep your fleet green.

The three states#

Badge	Color	Meaning
Ready to Fly	Green	No active critical alerts. No overdue maintenance. Firmware current.
Fly with Caution	Amber	A non-critical alert is active: compass calibration recommended, weak GPS environment, minor sensor interference, sub-optimal battery balance.
Do not Fly	Red	Any one of: critical alert active (motor / battery / overheat); maintenance overdue; firmware update required (not just recommended); aircraft administratively blocked.

The badge updates within a few seconds of the underlying condition changing.

What triggers each state#

These rules live in Settings → System Settings → Flight Readiness Rules. An account Owner or Administrator can adjust the thresholds for that account. The defaults are:

Critical (forces Do not Fly)#

• Motor failure reported by ESC telemetry.
• Battery imbalance beyond the configured tolerance.
• Overheating of motor, ESC, or battery beyond configured limit.
• Maintenance overdue by flight hours or by calendar days.
• Firmware update required (a hotfix or safety update has been pushed but not applied).
• OEM block — the manufacturer has administratively blocked this airframe (recall, recurrent issue, account suspension).

Warning (forces Fly with Caution)#

• Compass calibration needed.
• Weak GPS (fewer satellites than the configured minimum).
• Sensor interference detected (e.g., proximity sensor noise).
• Maintenance due soon (within the configured warning window — usually 10 flight hours or 14 calendar days).

Offline#

• The portal hasn't heard from the drone in over a configured number of seconds. Default is 60 seconds.

How to clear each condition#

Condition	Resolution
Motor / battery / overheat critical	Open a support ticket linked to the drone. Do not fly until the OEM or your dealer clears it.
Maintenance due soon	Book a maintenance session with your dealer.
Maintenance overdue	Book maintenance immediately; the badge will not go green until completed.
Firmware update required	Apply the firmware update from the controller.
Compass calibration needed	Calibrate via the controller's calibration wizard.
Weak GPS	Move the aircraft to a more open location and recheck.
Sensor interference	Power-cycle the aircraft; if persistent, open a ticket.

Maintenance cadence#

GTRV tracks maintenance by flight hours and calendar days, whichever comes first. The defaults are conservative; check Settings → System Settings → Drone Settings for your account's values. As a rule of thumb:

• A high-utilization spray drone may need maintenance every 30–60 flight hours.
• A drone that sits idle for long stretches still needs annual maintenance to inspect seals, motors, and battery contacts.

The portal will warn you well in advance through:

• The Maintenance Due Soon alert (also pushed via email if you've opted in — see Settings → Notifications).
• The drone card on Monitoring changing color.

Firmware updates#

Firmware is delivered via the controller app, not the portal. The portal flags a required or recommended update — applying it requires the controller. Two things to know:

• Required updates block flight. Recommended updates do not.
• Always apply firmware before a mission and verify the drone still arms cleanly after the update. Don't apply a firmware update minutes before a planned flight.

When you suspect the badge is wrong#

If a drone is reading Do not Fly but you believe the underlying condition has been resolved:

1. Verify the alert clears in the controller (e.g., compass actually calibrates).
2. Wait up to 60 seconds for the portal to pick up the new state.
3. Refresh the drone detail page.
4. If still Do not Fly, open a ticket. Do not attempt to bypass.

Next#

• Drone Detail — every section of the drone detail page.
• Settings → System Settings — adjust readiness thresholds for the account.
• Flight Readiness concept — the full rule logic in one page.