Dear All,

I would like to get people's feed back as to the real purpose other then the obvious as to using a S800/S900/S1000 drone with compared to an Inspire 1. Other than using your own professional camera and increase stability, what are some other advantages?

I want to start to aerial films professionally and would like to see if the Inspire 1 is sufficient or whether or not to sell and get a S900.

Thank you in advanced.

This is a very wide open question.  Really it depends on what you want / need to do.  There is not a best answer without knowing your needs.

For many a octocopter adds additional safety of there is a motor / esc failure.  A properly designed octocopter can land and retain control in such a failure scenario.  If you need a bigger better camera for you needs than you need a bigger copter to carry it.  you cannot put a Red5 on a small copter.

A larger copter  allow a larger payload or a longer flight time with a smaller payload.  So if you cinema photography requires a higher resolution better quality image with a better lense then you may want  a bigger copter.  If you want a long flight time with a GoPro then it may fit your needs also.  

That being said the Inspire one has a pretty good camera system and may have additional options in the near future.  It is way beyond a beginners system for aerial photography.  It also packs lot of capability in at a reasonable price.

You may want to elaobarate on what exactly you want to do.  What type of filming what customers/ applications for better guidance.

joe@heliflightc Posted at 2015-3-3 04:20
This is a very wide open question.  Really it depends on what you want / need to do.  There is not a ...

Thanks for the quick reply. I would like to use it to get aerial footage. The Inspire 1 does have a pretty good 4K camera. It's sufficient (for now) for my filming needs.

My main concern would be the reliability. It seems like there's no way around it. With the Inspire 1, it's pretty much toast if one motor goes out. I'm afraid of this issue due to liability with damage to property and even injury.

My main question is, in terms of safety, is going with the S900 and up the only solution? Or am I being overly paranoid about the Inspire 1's motors failing?

Motor failure can happen but it is a relatively rare issue. The motors have very few part that can fail due to use.  The main issue is bearings and these are very long lived.  If you do routine inspection of the motors you will catch a bearing failure before it happens.  Bearing get loose and rough before total failure.  ESC failure can also occur but in our experience this is usually due to crashes and water damage.

Most damage in the real world is caused by pilot failures of one sort or another.  Especially when people are learning.  If you are not already very experienced I would stay with as small and inexpensive a platform as possible that fits your requirement.  After you gain skill and experience then think about more expensive larger platforms. So if you go with a larger more expensive platform statistics say you will only have a slightly less chance of a crash and if you have a crash it will be much more expensive.

joe@heliflightc Posted at 2015-3-3 05:57
Motor failure can happen but it is a relatively rare issue. The motors have very few part that can f ...

Thank you for the information. You actually hit the nail right on the head with your response, even without me knowing what to ask.

I've been playing with racing quads for about 1yr, and recently my motor died while in flight. I've had the Inspire 1 for about two months now, with no issues. However, the recent incident with my 250 made me a bit worried about the Inspire.

Last question, during the inspection, what should I pay particularly close attention to in terms of identifying bearing failure?

One check motor after flight for temperature.  If one motor seems particularly warmer than others this can be sign of a arising issue mechanical or otherwise.  For bearings check for any roughness on rotation. This means the balls in the bearing are damaged.  Also check for any side to side play this also means bearing damage.  Excessive vibration sound from a motor is also a symptom of bearing failure.  Vibration checking should be done with props off.  Professional engineers actually use vibration monitors to predict bearing failure before it happens.  If you are mechanically inclined you can replace bearing on many motors.

joe@heliflightc Posted at 2015-3-4 05:24
One check motor after flight for temperature.  If one motor seems particularly warmer than others th ...

Thank you so much for this information. I'll make sure I do this regularly.

BWT, if you don't mind telling, what drone do you use and why?

I have several.

Small Miniquad Accipiter with 720P Cam.  Can fly anywhere.  high speed action shots and just fun flying.

DJI Phantom 2 Vision + This is useful for many purposes It is small, good flight time and gives good output for general usage.  As in all small wide angle cameras there is some distortion etc that can be addressed post in many cases.  Can carry anywhere with a backpack.

600mm Hexacopter with Nex 6.  Larger camera that can take better photos.  Less distortion several lense options.  Use for higher end photography, Aerial mapping.

1000mm Octo with custom replaceable gimbal camera system.  BMPC for commercial video,  SLR cam for special photo session. Flexible system but large

Looking at Adding Inspire to fleet

joe@heliflightc Posted at 2015-3-5 01:09
I have several.

Small Miniquad Accipiter with 720P Cam.  Can fly anywhere.  high speed action shots ...

Hi Joe,

Thanks a ton for all the help and information you've provided. Thank you for taking your personal time and effort in answering my questions. You've been extremely helpful.

Hello Frank,

I would add to Joes comments which are very good points and definitely on target that octos such as the 900 & 1000 give you a larger wheel base which helps with higher wind situations. If you go out to do job the wind doesn't always cooperate, the larger wheel diameter handles wind exponentially better.  Being able to complete the task at hand is important to reinforcing you clients confidence.  The draw backs for such a luxury are a bit more maintenance tuning and general care. The flight characteristics are different, it doesn't stop on a dime or fit well into tight spaces. Other than that both have their place and conveniences. Hope this helps, have fun and good luck.

thurmant@me.com Posted at 2015-3-27 07:20
Hello Frank,

I would add to Joes comments which are very good points and definitely on target that  ...

have you modified your S900?