so ive been doing a lot of research on switching from hiring a crop duster to just running my own spraying drone setup for my fields. we're talking about maybe 400 acres of corn and soybeans split across a few parcels, nothing massive but enough that the annual spray bills are starting to hurt. been looking hard at the Agras T40 mostly because the tank size seems reasonable and the radar obstacle avoidance is actually useful when you're flying along treelines at weird hours.

my main question is what are people actually getting for real coverage per battery cycle when you factor in mix loading time and flight back and forth to the refill station. the spec sheets say like 40-50 acres per hour but that always seems like ideal conditions marketing math. would love to hear from anyone running these commercially not just playing around with one at a demo day.

been running the T30 for about two seasons before upgrading and honestly the 40 acres per hour number is... optimistic. in real field conditions with a ground crew that actually knows what theyre doing, doing the loading quickly, you're probably looking at 25-30 acres per hour when you factor everything in. wind above like 8mph and you start losing a lot of efficiency trying to maintain proper droplet coverage especially with fungicides where you really cant afford drift.

the T40 should be better just due to the dual tank setup meaning less trips back but i havent personally put hours on one yet. what kind of nozzle setup are you planning? thats honestly where a lot of guys mess up, they run the wrong nozzles for the application and then wonder why their coverage maps look patchy in the field scouting after.

not to derail but have you looked at the XAG P100? a buddy of mine switched to that over the agras and he wont stop talking about it. i dont know enough about either to say which is better for your situation but worth at least comparing the support network in your region since parts availability is kind of a big deal when youre mid-season and something goes sideways.