How I carry my Inspire 2

[Forby]

When I started using drones for my commercial photo studio a few years back, I acquired an old Sony Pro camcorder case. This thing is HUGE! I added a foam insert for my P4 and I had room for everything I felt I needed. This included maps, radios transceiver, binocular, laser range finder. log book, safety gear etc. It was a real hassle to pack, carry and unload.

Fast forward to the Inspire 2 and it got even worse. Bigger and heavier. This case wasn't even big enough.

Another issue was our shooting style. I envisioned a nice relaxed approach to drone work. Boy was I wrong! Our studio is very busy with all sorts of work including web product photography, university marketing, lawyers, real estate etc. I found that we spent a lot of time packing and unloading and that didn't work well with our busy schedule.

Weather is another factor. It should be sunny from 11-1pm today... Oops..it's sunny now at 10am- let's roll! Rush rush rush! I need a better way. No transport mode. No case removal from the vehicle.

So I looked towards the way we move our other gear. Milk crates. Yes, milk crates. The longer rectangular type. These are industry standard in cinema and high end photography work. They are cheap, light, easy to carry and sized right for most things. Well.... maybe not for an Inspire 2. So I zip tied two together and added small crates to hold controllers and batteries. I used corrugated plastic to make dividers. It even hold the drone nicely cradled by the arms.

I grab the handles in the center and go. i can work from the car or truck without removing the crates and no lid to get in the way. So far, I really like this approach and I thought I would share it here.

 

[The Editor]

Moved to Inspire 2 Section.

 

[jpalamaro]

The fit looks almost perfect, however suspect you remove props. Standard (US) Office Depot filing containers?

 

[Forby]

The fit looks almost perfect, however suspect you remove props. Standard (US) Office Depot filing containers?

Actually I don't remove the props... I'm just very careful while carrying the package. I only move it from loading door to vehicle.... about 10 feet.
I don't like to remove props. It's just more to wear or go wrong.

 

[Donnie Frank]

Kewl beans. Whatever works!

D

 

[jpalamaro]

Actually I don't remove the props... I'm just very careful while carrying the package. I only move it from loading door to vehicle.... about 10 feet.
I don't like to remove props. It's just more to wear or go wrong.

Actually, I tend to agree with you and understand. Sometime I must remove props, but the way you have it looks like it's a stable platform withut the hassle of the original case or the backpack I just purchased LOL. Actually, I doesn't appear to be in travel mode as well. Duhh looked at 1st pic again and see it is not in travel mode.

 

[Forby]

The fit looks almost perfect, however suspect you remove props. Standard (US) Office Depot filing containers?

I forgot to mention my source...

Gray Rectangle Milk Crate

Heavy-Duty Grey Rectangular Milk Crate. Industrial Strength, Made in USA, Lowest Price Guaranteed.

www.milkcratesdirect.com

 

[rone]

I don't mean this as any sort of insult but if you're in that sort of a rush then you need a p4pro plus in a case where it can stay built.

I have both, and the p4pr+ can be deployed in no time with props attached and built in screen.

The inspire is a slightly more measured set up procedure and needs care due to the expense. To that end we always shoot the p4pro + whenever it's quick deploy.

It also sits in complete in a case half the size.

 

[Forby]

I don't mean this as any sort of insult but if you're in that sort of a rush then you need a p4pro plus in a case where it can stay built.

I have both, and the p4pr+ can be deployed in no time with props attached and built in screen.

The inspire is a slightly more measured set up procedure and needs care due to the expense. To that end we always shoot the p4pro + whenever it's quick deploy.

It also sits in complete in a case half the size.

Fair enough......

We have a p4 that we use for surveys. That gets a crate too...

I don’t see much of a difference between the teo aircraft as far as launch time goes. The same safety protocols are followed. We do a walk around on the drone and physically touch every prop to make sure there are no chips or cracks. With the inspire drone, we check the landing gear rotation points to make sure the clips have not come off. Landing in the crate is a back up plan in case the gear won’t come down. The camera packages are thoroughly checked on both drones as well.

It might help to know that we live in north eastern Pennsylvania. The weather here is extremely fickle. We have a running list of clients that need mostly still imagery on a fair weather day.

The biggest issue is that we may need to suddenly drop everything that we are doing if the weather suddenly improves beyond the forecasts. Since it weather forecast is mostly regional, it could be totally wrong in either direction depending on your exact location. Lots of mountains around here that can break up the weather suddenly.

I’ve been dealing with this since we have done aerial photography for almost 30 years. It was a real scramble when we used to fly from a Cessna. I would have to coordinate not only the aircraft but a watch pilot to fly when I was shooting.

I guess it’s easier nowadays. I just miss flying at 1000 feet and using a normal focal length lens.

 

[rone]

To be fair the cases that hold the inspire in. Ready to fly mode are a fortune.

 

[jpalamaro]

I posted a thread, and pix, of a cheap 30 dollar plus back pack that isn't a bad back pack in itself; quality decent. The problem with it is, and even the furnished factory case, is removing the props. I share to some extent, the less you screw with props the better off you will but that's just gut feeling, not substantiated with data

Inspire 2 backpack suggestions

Does anybody have a backpack solution for sale for the inspire 2? Thanks!

inspirepilots.com

 

[MobileAndMonitoring]

Fair enough......

We have a p4 that we use for surveys. That gets a crate too...

I don’t see much of a difference between the teo aircraft as far as launch time goes. The same safety protocols are followed. We do a walk around on the drone and physically touch every prop to make sure there are no chips or cracks. With the inspire drone, we check the landing gear rotation points to make sure the clips have not come off. Landing in the crate is a back up plan in case the gear won’t come down. The camera packages are thoroughly checked on both drones as well.

It might help to know that we live in north eastern Pennsylvania. The weather here is extremely fickle. We have a running list of clients that need mostly still imagery on a fair weather day.

The biggest issue is that we may need to suddenly drop everything that we are doing if the weather suddenly improves beyond the forecasts. Since it weather forecast is mostly regional, it could be totally wrong in either direction depending on your exact location. Lots of mountains around here that can break up the weather suddenly.

I’ve been dealing with this since we have done aerial photography for almost 30 years. It was a real scramble when we used to fly from a Cessna. I would have to coordinate not only the aircraft but a watch pilot to fly when I was shooting.

I guess it’s easier nowadays. I just miss flying at 1000 feet and using a normal focal length lens.

What types of clients are you normally doing work for?

 

[Forby]

What types of clients are you normally doing work for?

Lawyers, Universities, Public Utilities commercial developers etc

 

[MobileAndMonitoring]

Lawyers, Universities, Public Utilities commercial developers etc

Very cool. Must be interesting being in the aerial photography business for so long and seeing the recent transformation of how accessible it is for anyone now to try to do the same work.

 

[Forby]

Very cool. Must be interesting being in the aerial photography business for so long and seeing the recent transformation of how accessible it is for anyone now to try to do the same work.

Actually, technology has been changing my business for over 3 decades. Not usually for the better. Sure, technology has allowed me to do better work in many ways, but the accessibility by almost anyone has caused a big fee drain. It also resulted in me having to continuousily remind clients why we are better and why we charge more.

Years ago we completed with other select professionals based on capabilities and fee. Now we compete with more part timers charging very little for their skills.

My degree in accounting really helps me see what is and is not a profitable job. For example, if you buy a drone and fly mostly for fun, that is a hobby that isn't prohibitively expensive. Maybe you have $900 worth of batteries for your Inspire. If you flew 100 hours before the batteries fail, then your hobby cost $9 per hour in expendables to enjoy. That's way cheaper than let's say going to the shooting range and spending $100 an hour for ammo.

Now, let's say the same inspire batteries, because you don't use them as much in business, only lasts for 50 hours of production time/year. That's $16 per hour for expendables. Now amortize the cost of the drone over say 3 years. That's about it because the other guy just bought the newer one and can do better work than you. So $4,000 with a salvage value of $1,000 means that that drone cost you $20/hour to operate. So that's $36 per hour total. I've seen people charge $50 per hour to fly!. $125 to $250 depending on several factors is more reasonable.

That's the problem we face with this technology. It's not the skill of flying, it's the skill of the math. When these hobbyists are doing work to reduce their hobby costs, that drives prices down. I've seen it happen for 30 years in photography.

The other unfortunate part is that the hobbyists that started it all have grown up and are now the ones with the jobs that are buying photography with the same low expectations from the photography profession.

That said, we don't work for people that have low expectations from us. We are professionals that charge a fair rate to do a professional job.

That said, I started our aerial business by shooting with a medium format Hasselblad camera. I upgraded to 4x5 inch film. I have made 6x10 foot prints for clients that still hang today. Our I2 is a significant compromise compared to that 4x5. Of course we now charge a lot less and the current clientele couldn't tell a good image from a bad one!

Happy Father's Day!

 

[The Editor]

Keep OT please - this thread is about carrying methods/solutions for the Inspire 2!