Here's a question to the DJI guys and anyone regularly using (3-4 flights a week +) the Inspire for commercial purposes.

What is the realistic expectation of a service life for an Inspire, assuming that maintenance occurs and consumables are replaced as per DJI recommendations?
Are any of you heavy users experiencing indications of wear and tear? (beyond normal maintenance items and ignoring crash damage)
I don't fly my own Inspire often enough to judge - it's still in perfect nick after 10-11 months.

Finishing up the business case and need to decide on a frequency for UAV replacement.

TIA

F

if you never crash your aircraft the only cost you paying on a daily base is electricity bills and...
and... that's it....

No, nothing lasts forever Tim.
The point is that we are looking to use a number of UAVs for an ongoing asset inspection program.
Part of the mobilisation is to set the service life of the UAV so that we can plan it's replacement with new equipment.
Usually with a bit of general IT gear we use a 3 year service life, but with a UAV its an unknown quantity due to the mechanical and structural aspect.  

Farnk666 Posted at 2016-2-2 11:50
No, nothing lasts forever Tim.
The point is that we are looking to use a number of UAVs for an ongo ...

I like the question and would love to have the answer as well.

DJI-Tim Posted at 2016-2-2 03:10
if you never crash your aircraft the only cost you paying on a daily base is electricity bills and.. ...

No - that's the wrong answer I'm afraid. Everything has a service life, both mechanical and electronic.

Aside from usual maintenance and checks on the airframe etc, the thing that will wear will be your bearings.

DJI use poor quality bearings in their motors IMO and there are much better alternatives out there in the Hybrid ceramic arena.
Expect your bearings to last or at least be changed around every 100 flight hours. Ceramic bearings a little longer.
The Inspire uses 5x11x5 closed bearings which are available almost everywhere.
At anything upwards of 9,000rpm your bearing WILL wear out.
I have routinely replaced them on my multirotors and this maintenance swap is itemised in my ops manual. You may need to source a small RC bearing puller to do the job but its money well spent.
Additionally do not reuse the e-clip that holds the motor together - these are really a one use item.
The thrust washer (if fitted) can be used again but inspect it under a magnifier.

I've been using brushless motors, electronic speed controllers and transmitter receivers since they first came out and if nothing over heats it will last for many, many years. I bought a temperature gun at harbor freight for like 20 bucks and every time I land I check each motor and the battery. Overtime you can see if something is going to fail if it is warmer than it normally is.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-2-2 08:27
I've been using brushless motors, electronic speed controllers and transmitter receivers since they  ...

Great idea. Could you expand on type, brand of temp detector, and your procedures? I am very interested in making that a part of my PM program. Thanks.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-2-2 23:27
I've been using brushless motors, electronic speed controllers and transmitter receivers since they  ...

I agree, when I first started flying multirotors many years ago I came from gas and electric helicopters so I was used to getting real close to my 60 size gas helicopter to measure the motor temp.
I did that also on the multirotors but then after a few years I stopped doing it.
With the P3 and Inspire, the long term reliability I think they could go for a several years if properly cared for.
My Phantom had well over 300 flights before I changed the props and the motors still felt 100% fine.

I fly everyday about 2000ft per flight. And mine works just like the day I got it. I have 1,201,608ft of flight on it. Still using the props that came with it.

DCarnahan Posted at 2016-2-2 13:01
I fly everyday about 2000ft per flight. And mine works just like the day I got it. I have 1,201,608f ...

That works out to a little over 227 miles!!

Pretty impresive

PaulKerry Posted at 2016-2-3 02:52
Have you ever worked out just how much it costs per km ?

Wow... I wish I could run our car as che ...

Off topic but I had a Honda EU2000i and that was by far the best bang for the buck in gas consumption and super quiet.

Tharg (from the Posted at 2016-2-2 15:13
No - that's the wrong answer I'm afraid. Everything has a service life, both mechanical and electr ...

How comes DJI does not instruct anything like this?


Can it cause the Inpsire to crash?


Can it cause jello problems?

I have 106 + hours on mine - no wear and tear whatsoever

LICENSED PILOT Posted at 2016-2-2 11:22
Great idea. Could you expand on type, brand of temp detector, and your procedures? I am very inter ...

The temperature gun is found on harbor freight website also dealt makes one that's a little more expensive. After I finish a flight I use the temperature gun to check each motor and the battery, just point and pull trigger it will tell you temperature of what ever you point it at, then I write the outside temperature and the temperature of each motor on a note pad. This way you can see if one of the motors is starting to show signs of wear. I've noticed on the inspire 1 pro with the x5 the front motors run a few degrees warmer than the rear motors. The old inspire 1 all the motors run about the same temperature. Example yesterday it was 45 degree Fahrenheit outside and when I landed the rear motors where 68 degrees and front motors were 70 degrees Fahrenheit, battery was 65 degrees. I hope this helps.

Sorry about the auto correct its dewalt that makes the temperature gun

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-2-4 05:57
The temperature gun is found on harbor freight website also dealt makes one that's a little more e ...

Thank you, yes it does. I want to add that info to my maintenance log (I'm a 333).

Farnk666 Posted at 2016-2-1 19:50
No, nothing lasts forever Tim.
The point is that we are looking to use a number of UAVs for an ongo ...

All it would take would be a hairline crack in one of your plastic props to take you out. Surprisingly, there is no recommended replacement time on this critical component. A real helicopter has this requirement. Some have gas injected into a compartment with a pressure sensor to detect leakage. But you aren't hauling logs out the bush or carrying g people. Still the props have a failure factor, perhaps DJI are counting on this to increase sales and repair costs?

Dangair Posted at 2016-2-4 14:32
All it would take would be a hairline crack in one of your plastic props to take you out. Surprisi ...

Dji recommends prop replacement at 200 flights.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-2-5 07:44
Dji recommends prop replacement at 200 flights.

And there is a maintenance manual.http://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/i ... e_ManualV1.0_en.pdf