Virginia Tech Drone Park Enclosure Replace & Repair
Gorilla Netting completed drone park enclosure replacement and repair at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA.
- Client
- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
- Location
- Blacksburg, VA
- Typical cost for a project like this
- $95,000 to $150,000
Estimate for a project of similar size and scope. Cost varies with pole type (wood or steel), net height, and linear footage. Your quote is based on your site.
“Every staff member I worked with at Gorilla Netting was responsive and professional from beginning to end of a challenging repair. Their attention to detail exceeded expectations and provided me with greater confidence in the ability of the facility to withstand harsh weather conditions.”
Project photos
Before, during, and after
Before
During
During
After
AfterVirginia Tech's Drone Park in Blacksburg, VA has a netted drone enclosure built by another contractor. In early 2021 a snow storm damaged it, and Virginia Tech brought in Gorilla Netting to assess the damage and replace the roof.
The challenge
What the program needed
The original roof used 1" mesh netting with no working safety breakaway system. In a northern climate, mesh that small holds snow and ice, and the storm left a heavy load sitting on the roof.
That weight sagged the netting, stretched the wire rope and hardware, bent the steel poles inward, and stressed the helical anchors holding the system in the ground.
What we built
The system we designed and installed
Gorilla Netting's crew started with a damage assessment and pull-tested the helical anchors to confirm they were still stable in the ground.
The crew then removed the damaged roof netting, wire rope, and hardware, straightened the bent poles as far as possible without further harming the structure, and replaced any stretched wire rope that could not be reused.
The new roof is a larger treated knotted nylon netting on additional utility-grade wire rope with new hardware. Because the enclosure's real dimensions did not match its documentation, the panels were custom-fabricated onsite.
AfterThe outcome
What it means for the program
The Virginia Tech Drone Park's 300' x 120' x 85' enclosure has a new roof of larger treated knotted nylon netting, new utility-grade wire rope and hardware, and corrected poles, restoring drone containment under a full coverage 5-year warranty.
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More work like this
Get a quote for your enclosure
Tell us where the project is and the rough height and length. Our team will follow up within one business day.
Prefer to talk?
Call the team that built this one
Ask about roof mesh size, snow load, or what a repair like Virginia Tech's costs today.
1-800-274-1079- Design, engineering, and installation under one contract
- Steel, wood, or concrete poles set by our own crews
- Breakaway netting engineered for wind and snow load
Blacksburg, VA