I was hoping to hear from owners of Inspire 1 regarding how many crashes they've experienced. Has your drone continued to function properly afterward?

The I1 does not handle crashing very well at all.

Fred D Posted at 2015-8-28 07:27
The I1 does not handle crashing very well at all.

Are you speaking from experience?

There's a lot of CF tubing and plastic in the I1 (for weight reasons) and CF tubing is really strong but when it breaks... it really breaks! Most I1 crashes involved shattered flight arms and that's a part replacement just getting the motors re-attached to the copter.

More importantly, the landing gear tubes are mounted using grips. The angle of the motor mounts is critical and that depends on those grip mounts. There have been a few guys on this forum who have hard really hard landings that have knocked the mounting angle of the motors to the CF tubing out of alignment and the copter wouldn't hold attitude with any measure of stability thereafter - again, a trip to DJI.  Allegedly DJI has a specialized tool to get those motors back into position, but that's just heresay I think. @Tahoe_Ed may be able to weigh in as I think I saw him mention that once.
I really do like my I1 as an aircraft but it and the Phantom 3 are easily the least repairable aircraft DJI makes - almost any problem is a trip to DJI for repairs it seems.

I'm pretty nostalgic for the Fx50 / Sx00 / P1 / P2 style of DJI where soldering irons were often involved but there was also a ready source of spare parts to keep you in the sky if you were willing to do your own repairs.

Key is to not crash.

wyattsantiago@g Posted at 2015-8-28 08:07
Are you speaking from experience?

yes, it was not a hard crash just a bad angle on concrete  (long story 100% pilot error) but my trainer would have bounced off the ground and kept going. The I1 ISN'T built for the rough stuff.

Fred D Posted at 2015-8-28 08:27
yes, it was not a hard crash just a bad angle on concrete  (long story 100% pilot error) but my tr ...

Is your I1 ok? Mine hit concrete today but I only see a few scrapes in non-critical areas. I've flown it since then several times and it seems to be working just fine.

I've crashed twice-

Here was number 1-

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uIAXNAjukCc

It was on a closed road for a video shoot we were doing. The vehicle at the beginning was the survey crew making sure there was no other vehicles on the road. Everything was great till I misjudged the turn at the end. In the end, not a scratch.

The second one was on another shoot for a music video and the director was pushing for faster faster and well I met fate with a fixed object and hard concrete. That one didnt fair so well and had to get sent to service.

PureSQNut Posted at 2015-8-27 22:29
I've crashed twice-

Here was number 1-

Whoa nice.

Was it a lot of money to fix? How long did it take? I've heard it's a huge pain to get a repair.

Mine crashed 14 seconds in to it's maiden flight. Total loss. 12 weeks later I received a replacement.

What I cant figure out is this, Why would you try to fly a 3k quadcopter,  unless you were absolutely proficient in your skills,  A Husban h4 costs less than 40 dollars,  unless you can hover that hubsan, 6 inches from your nose with the copter facing you, you have absolutely no business flying a several pound, 3k quadcopter at all.  You are endangering yourself and any one within a mile of you, damaging your I1 is not the question here, damaging yourself, some one else, or there property is the issue here.  I dont mean to be hard on you but this is simply the facts,  get you a hubsan and learn to fly, then you will not have to worry if your I1 will take a crash, because it wont. With the hubsan you can practice inside, outside, 24 hours a day until you can fly the I1 with complete confidence.

wyattsantiago@g Posted at 2015-8-27 18:59
Is your I1 ok? Mine hit concrete today but I only see a few scrapes in non-critical areas. I've fl ...

No it broke the right front arm, ripped the camera off, bent the gimbal. Had to send in to DJI LA for repairs. It's on it's way home now, 9 weeks later.

mtnmaddman Posted at 2015-8-28 13:15
What I cant figure out is this, Why would you try to fly a 3k quadcopter,  unless you were absolutel ...

I agree with learning to fly using an X4. I hone my skills flying around a small room, doing figure 8's and flying through small gaps. The X4, however, has no extra aids, no GPS, no position lock, its lighter, skittish if handled wrong and is susceptible to turbulance of the slightest ilk. The I1 has a lot of systems to help you not bin it and has a far more wafty handling characteristic, its more predictable.
Saying that I've not flown mine in full manual mode yet so could be talking absolute nonesense.
I think, at any time, if you're doing high speed maneuvers, you need a full LOS, and a second camera operator.

cheers

Had 2 incidents, one drowned Inspire back in May, and a crash yesterday... Very sad day for me!

Hey Wyatt,

I've had four or five "rough landings" where I may have swiped a bush near the ground and flipped, or otherwise landed incorrectly.   Pulled the gimbal off a couple of times but have always been able to put it back together and have had no issues.  Never gone back for repair.

The worst I have experienced was a couple of wires dislodged from the gimbal ribbon cable, which I was able to fix myself by firmly inserting them back in their receptacles.    I recently ordered and received a replacement cable for $9 and will put it on soon.

So for rough landings you should be fine, but "proper crashes" should probably go back in, even if you don't see substantial damage.

Hope this helps.

Jim

mtnmaddman Posted at 2015-8-28 06:15
What I cant figure out is this, Why would you try to fly a 3k quadcopter,  unless you were absolutel ...

Thank you for your advice

wyattsantiago@g Posted at 2015-8-29 04:33
Thank you for your advice

Wyatt
I am sorry to have been a bit harsh,  I have flown high performance single rotor helicopters since they came out decades ago,  There was not the incredible flying,  low cost training aids such as the hubsan, man I wish there had been.  You would not be sorry to get one and learn to fly it like a pro,  your confidence flying, and enjoyment of your I1  will go up greatly.

wyattsantiago@g Posted at 2015-8-27 23:32
Whoa nice.

Was it a lot of money to fix? How long did it take? I've heard it's a huge pain to get ...

Repair time was about 7 weeks. Cost was with shipping $127.

Just had my first major crash today, on (get this) my first commercial job. Real estate job, agent doing a piece to camera, pull back and up, with the aim to fly between two tall gum trees. Had a camera operator too. Long story short: clipped a twig or two, I1 span out of control into the tree, ripped camera off, which fell 10 metres to the ground and cracked open like an egg, spitting out the micro SD card (which thankfully we found after a hands and knees ground search. I1 ended up hung in the tree.... which was lucky, cause a 10 m fall to the road below would not have been good. Called a professional climbing service to retrieve the bird. Damage (apart from the camera: write-off) appears superficial, but will know for sure when I put some new props on and try and get off the ground.

I'm feeling very sorry for myself, but it was bad flying and planning on my part.

I'll post the crash video for all you aficionados of disaster when I get my card back from the camera dude...

Off to lick my mental wounds and drink heavily...

120 Flights
13 hours 43 minutes of flight time
Total distance of 34,979,372 Feet  <- I don't see how that's possible.  DJI's app is reporting this data.

Zero crashes.

I did have one fly away but I turned of the transmitter and it initiated Return to home.  So I really LUCKED out on that one.

I have had several crashed and all were pilot error.  All crashes were because I got too close to trees while doing landscape shots.  Luckily none were really significant.  One trip to DJI for service, other than that just broken props and a short (<20' tumble to turf).  My quad seems to work fine after, but I do not endorse what I've done and after 3 or 4 of these crashes I have learned my lesson.  NO MORE FLYING NEAR TREES!!!!!!

If you have to send yours back for service, expect that you will spend $150 in shipping plus repair costs.  My one trip was to replace three motors and cost about $200 for repairs.

Get proficient in the open and fly slowly.  Use GPS, unless you WANT a date with dirt.

southerndoug Posted at 2015-9-18 19:13
Just had my first major crash today, on (get this) my first commercial job. Real estate job, agent d ...

Oh no, sorry to hear!  If the X3 is dead maybe consider replacing it with an X5 since you're already $500 out of pocket, may as well go all the way!

Best advice I can give has already been given, spend the $40 and get a hubsan x4.  If you can learn to fly that proficiently and keep it in the air, you will have little trouble with the I1!  

0 times . Countless flights taking plenty of chances in various situations.  

wyattsantiago@g Posted at 2015-8-27 18:59
Is your I1 ok? Mine hit concrete today but I only see a few scrapes in non-critical areas. I've fl ...

It's always a good idea after a hard landing or minor crash to do a visual inspection,  then check and or do an IMU calibration and compass recalibration then check the values.. Sometimes recalibrating the RC sticks is also necessary ....do a grounded no props installed test with the pilot apps flight sim ! And then a cautious test flight open area no bystanders. I've never crashed my one , but my first phantom 1.0 had two hard landings and this was the recommended after crash procedure three years ago when things were just getting started. Good luck and good flying then !

Mine fell from about 5 feet and had a hairline crack to the strut. Sent to DJI and they charged me $572 for a new CPU in addition to the strut. I'm trying to speak with someone at DJI to find out why. See link for photo of crack.

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... mp;extra=#pid222906

jimhare Posted at 2015-9-19 00:54
Oh no, sorry to hear!  If the X3 is dead maybe consider replacing it with an X5 since you're alrea ...

Thinking about it Jim. X3 is very dead. Total out of pocket will be $750 to $950 for replacement X3, plus $175 for the tree climber. On the plus side, I did a test flight yesterday, and everything else still works fine. Replaced the props of course...

HOT DANG! I got chill bumps after reading wyattsantiago posted topic. Let me get off this thread I don't need bad luck!  

Never crashed but had fly a ways .I am very careful and take no risks . I do pre checks and will not fly in high winds or bad weather .I was one of the first to get this bird and am very happy .I have not upgraded firmware for a while .Like what I have and have no problems .Also never had a hard landing .I just take my time .

southerndoug Posted at 2015-9-20 08:45
Thinking about it Jim. X3 is very dead. Total out of pocket will be $750 to $950 for replacement X ...

I'd say that's a great reason to get the X5, only be out of pocket and extra $1,200 and be a major step up from the rest of us.