Does anyone have any experience flying the I1 in a sandy or dusty environment?  How about taking off or landing on a beach?

The areas that I see that would be susceptible to problems from sand/dust would be the fan on the back of the camera, landing gear worm gear, motors, and the little fan under the shroud.

I am planning on blowing these areas off with a can or air.  What are your experiences?

Stay away from grit and rain.

Dont fly in dusty areas, never. The inspire does not want dust or sand inside the motors, it really does not want that.

I use a 4ft X 4Ft sheet of plywood to take off on and land..It helps keep down debris from flying around and keeps most of it from getting into the motors.

I have flown my Inspire 1 off the beach but I use a rubber mat for landing and taking off.  Make sure it is big enough.  After every flight I use an air can to blow out anything that may have gotten into the motors and camera.  Once back home I empty the case and do another cleaning on all the equipment.  And do avoid windy days, sand just blows all over the place.

We have been using a photographic flexfill... we used a 42" in the photo, but I'm planning on getting a 48".  These collapse much smaller.  Light weight.  Was thinking I would need to get three or four Camping Stakes to hold down on windy days.  

1. Since these flexfills are bright white, they help with a quick exposure check of the camera before you even take off.  you can see if you have zebras showing in your camera.

2. Did a great job of reducing sand blowing around during take off and landing.  There still is sand blowing around, but very reduced.

3. Even created a smother surface used to exit and enter into "travel mode" while sitting on the sand.

If you don't know what these are... check out this link.  The simple basic ones are white on one side and silver on the other.  I had some old units that now have new life as a Inspired landing pad!

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/pr ... r_Silver_White.html

I used foam board for a landing pad and a couple of stakes to help hold down.

Thanks everyone for responding.  Additional comments are always welcome.

I wouldnt use this photo felafel or any other flexible landing mat.  I seen a video on YouTube of a UAV landing on some carpet only for the downdraught to lift the carpet and wrap over teh UAV causing it to flip and destroy itself.  

Use a rigid board in possible.  I have some 6mm mdf cut in a 900mm circle with a small 20mm diam hole in the middle to help carry.

Would avoid beaches or sandy environments.  I have flow these before and I am still finsing sand in the cases months later and after hoovering the cases two or three times.  If the sand gets in the engines it will cause grinding and ultimate failure.   

I know of operators flying UAV's in the Middle East who order new engines in bulk and just swap out the engines after so many flights simply because they dont want to run the risk of engine failure in mid-flight.

The choice and risk is yours to make !!

Would you be happy with sand and dust in YOUR parts? I don't think I would!

Stay away from grit and rain.

The real world is full of Dirt Sand and Dust...

Unless you only fly indoors avoiding the elements..Dust will find away into every nook&cranny and surely clog things up

Rain is avoidable but if a Cockeyed Bob comes blowing in...well lookout

Do they make a neutral density gray reflector, I will be looking tonight... The wire support around the edge would minimize the folding up on to the bird, and the grey would assist in adjusting the exposure with a simple point down of the camera. When you live near the beach, it is hard to resist the space available to fly, I keep a can of air in the bag, and check the motors for fluid motion prior to each flight. The motors are replaceable and it is worth the cost.However, I would not fly in blowing sand.