All,

A few days ago I had a fantastic 1+ hour interview with Michael Perry from DJI in Hong Kong.

Much of it will be included in my upcoming review of the Inspire on Newsshooter.com, and I need to run over these items with the editor. But one thing you may be interested to know:

1) iOS support is not dead. Not unless Apple says so. DJI is a MFI developer (made for iPhone) and the application approval process is more stringent for devices that communicate two ways through the lightning port vs a normal app (and Android). The app was approved and ready (presumably?) to go to the App Store and while they waited, they posted it ad hoc. But then DJI made an update, and it had to be pulled back for further review by Apple. It's not dead, and DJI is fully committed to offering the app on iOS. As Ed said here, it's in Apple's hands now. The whole ad hoc nature of the thing was a little unclear, but that is the gist of what I got out of his response.
This is not a guarantee it is coming back, but DJI is working actively with Apple and it is their intent to get it approved.

The other major thing is the prop locks but you know now they are shipping around Monday next week.

I asked "why prop locks?" The answer was DJI wanted to make every possible step to ensure the safety of the aircraft. They saw the prop spinning off as a remote possibility during testing, but only in the rare condition that environmental factors (like sand, dirt, foliage, etc. getting inside the motor, or a dramatic change in wind) could cause the motor bell to slow or stop but the prop to keep spinning and thus spin off. Mr. Perry flew the craft for many months himself in very stressful conditions and never saw it. He stated that if the props are securely hand tightened, this should not be a problem. But DJI wanted to give pilots all the tools necessary to ensure as complete safety as possible, without having to worry about how tight to fit a prop, thus the prop locks were developed.

[Notice how the writing on the motor bell tells you to tighten... this is not a new concern.]



I told him about the crashes and seeming lack of RTH ability until the iPad reboots too. They are looking into it, and have asked for my flight logs.

Lots more coming in the review. It was great, honest, and open.

All,

A few days ago I had a fantastic 1+ hour interview with Michael Perry from DJI in Hong Kong.

Much of it will be included in my upcoming review of the Inspire on Newsshooter.com, and I need to run over these items with the editor. But one thing you may be interested to know:

1) iOS support is not dead. Not unless Apple says so. DJI is a MFI developer (made for iPhone) and the application approval process is more stringent for devices that communicate two ways through the lightning port vs a normal app (and Android). The app was approved and ready (presumably?) to go to the App Store and while they waited, they posted it ad hoc. But then DJI made an update, and it had to be pulled back for further review by Apple. It's not dead, and DJI is fully committed to offering the app on iOS. As Ed said here, it's in Apple's hands now. The whole ad hoc nature of the thing was a little unclear, but that is the gist of what I got out of his response.
This is not a guarantee it is coming back, but DJI is working actively with Apple and it is their intent to get it approved.

The other major thing is the prop locks but you know now they are shipping around Monday next week.

I asked "why prop locks?" The answer was DJI wanted to make every possible step to ensure the safety of the aircraft. They saw the prop spinning off as a remote possibility during testing, but only in the rare condition that environmental factors (like sand, dirt, foliage, etc. getting inside the motor, or a dramatic change in wind) could cause the motor bell to slow or stop but the prop to keep spinning and thus spin off. Mr. Perry flew the craft for many months himself in very stressful conditions and never saw it. He stated that if the props are securely hand tightened, this should not be a problem. But DJI wanted to give pilots all the tools necessary to ensure as complete safety as possible, without having to worry about how tight to fit a prop, thus the prop locks were developed.

[Notice how the writing on the motor bell tells you to tighten... this is not a new concern.]



I told him about the crashes and seeming lack of RTH ability until the iPad reboots too. They are looking into it, and have asked for my flight logs.

Lots more coming in the review. It was great, honest, and open.