Inspire 2 durability reports from all of us

[FlyaDrone]

There has been a lot of focus on the I2 platform durability design parameters inherent in this aircraft, for instance loose motor mount crashes, the landing craft center/middle frame module part19, perhaps late feature support in flight modes etc...

I personally have so far had an uneventful relationship with my aircraft as far as non impact service issues are concerned, none so far! So here is what I wish to request this user community to share with us all and that is the phenomenal success story that the I2 is. And the manner by which I encourage us to formulate this conclusion from is user experience data. Please post number of hours/mins of flight time on the aircraft and what your most significant non impact created maintenance issue has been to date.

For instance I was speaking with a large size DJI dealer last week and asked how many I2 systems they had sold, he could not give me a precise number but state it was quite a few???? and that he never had a customer contact him about a motor mount failure. I know anecdotal and no accurate data, but you get my drift, he has had no issues with any of his I2 customers loosing a motor mount. Personally I ALWAYS lift my bird when entering or exiting travel mode so as not to torque the landing gear mechanism and the motor mount joints.

I bet the information that we gather will point towards the amazing robust design that we all respect. Obvious this data will not at all deal with all issues but I bet we will find an amazing number of hours flown by many machines with only prop changes or less. What I hope to find is several who have so many hours on their machines that they have had one or more motor changes.

I hope our membership is interested in this information enough to post some input.

 

[FlyaDrone]

Me first...
Total hours on aircraft = a little over 7 hours
Most significant non-impact created maintenance issue = none so far
Comments: Only lightly used so far.

 

[Transpire]

Total hours on aircraft = 50+
Most significant non-impact created maintenance issue = Elective (preventative) motor mount binding to shaft
Comments: Incredibly capable and reliable aircraft

 

[Paul Joy]

I'll be very interested to see how this thread develops. There seems to be a lot of scaremongering going on with the I2 which substantially outweigh any actual detailed reports of failures. The only thing I've done to mine so far is add the gimbal protection kit which seems like a wise choice when you have over £4000 of camera and lens hanging by three bits of floppy rubber.

 

[NickU]

Airtime: 77hrs flying time over 518 miles.
Problems: none, & running on original prop set (i.e. Those with red prop rattle syndrome). 12 Batteries, no issues with them either.
comments: has been pretty reliable up to now!

 

[MrTVR]

Airtime: 79hrs, no major issues ....

Minor issues: Persistent rattly props even after several new prop sets and new mounts fitted, replaced with winglet props, very happy now. One battery failed after just 3 charges, replaced under warranty. No end of crashes on the CrystalSky but that’s another issue!

 

[Cruncher]

Inspire 2
Flights: 137
Air Time: 18h 30m 22s
Distance: 89 Miles (143 Km)

No issues regarding reliability & mechanical integrity. I did replace original props with the Heliengadin version which have been behaving perfectly for over a year.
This has been one sweet machine for me.

 

[CapArt]

Inspire 2
Flights: 35+
Flight Time: 4+ hours

No drone issues, but I have had a couple of intermittent camera issues and one battery that had a failed cell replaced under warranty. All in all its a great machine!

 

[ExpressAerial]

EAS 001 (Resistance 1)
Flights: ~250
Flight Time: ~50
Distance: ~250 Miles
Issues: Replaced motor mounts at 200 flights.

EAS 002 (Suicidal)
Flights: 70
Flight Time: 10:23
Distance: 76 Miles
Issues: Bad battery cell, fell out of sky, used for parts.

EAS 003 (Doomed)
Flights: 407
Flight Time: 50:41
Distance: 337.9 Miles
Issues: Clipped a wire around 200 flights, replaced an arm, no further issues.

EAS 004
Flights: 56
Flight Time: 5:47
Distance: 28.3 Miles
Issues: No issues.

EAS 005 (Frankenstein)
Flights: 282
Flight Time: 23:08
Distance: 284.8 Miles
Issues: Arm loosened causing motors to fold inward resulting in reduced flight time and drifting. Problem was noticed in AirData and corrected with glue. No further issues.

EAS 006
Flights: 5
Flight Time: 1:04
Distance: 7 Miles
Issues: Flown into a backhoe during an orbit mission. Waiting to be repaired.

EAS 007 (Shots)
Flights: 21
Flight Time: 3:07
Distance: 16.4 Miles
Issues: No issues.

I had a client clip a wire and land one on its head last week, it is the first crash that I have seen so far, where the gimbal survived.

I am excited to see everyone's results here. I have been trying to put together a maintenance schedule and would love to hear everyone's input. The Inspire 2 is an incredible platform and I have only had one crash(due to battery) that wasn't pilot error. They are a pain in the butt to repair, but really hold up pretty well.

 

[Jeff48]

Used I2 with X5S
Prior owner reported 12 flights w/o issues, but that is just his report. I have no way of knowing if this information is correct.

My experience:
18 flights
15 miles
2 hrs. Flight time
Non impact issues:
1. Rattling props resolved with tape and/or foam inserts. Not really interested in aftermarket non-removable props.
2. Forward fan in Part 16 (lower outer body shell) did not turn on when powered resulting in overheating when bench testing and setup resulting in many sensor errors. Resolved by CloudCity Drone repair. They found that when the I2 was assembled by DJI they must have found the original “USB mode switch” to be defective and installed a second one. They left the original switch inside the airframe instead of removing it. Vibrations rattled the loose switch breaking off a small piece of plastic which migrated to the fan blades blocking the fan from turning. They removed and discarded the loose switch and the broken pieces. Luckily the fan motor had not burned out and then operated normally. Thanks DJI quality control (sarcasm is intended). Real thanks to CloudCity Drones who are reliable, professional and super communicative.
All of my flights were nominal and stability was great.
3. Right Front motor mount had rotated. This explains the weird Airdata information indicating unbalanced response times usually attributed to high winds and/or prop issues. When they were troubleshooting the fan issue CloudCity found, adjusted, and repaired the loose boom. I have since purchased two different aftermarket parts to address this issue. Waiting on delivery to test both. One is Flickert’s 3D printed solution the other is the Atellani solution.

No other issues have been noted.

 

[nabarbieri]

292 flights
42 hours
342 miles

Occasional prop rattle, fix w/ superglue method every 20 hours or so

Had a screw from somewhere jam up one of the motors (stuck in magnet). Thankfully discovered it before being airborne.

Other than that, just routine maintenance, clean, cycle batteries etc.

Nik

 

[Droneyboy]

Inspire 2. 55 hrs. Bad cell on battery. Recent firmware update fixed it. Glad I didn't throw it out. Spring on second battery release won't push second battery out. Locks and unlocks though. Not a big deal to me. Probably an easy fix. Bird performs fantastic.purchased last December 2016.. Waiting for buyers remorse but it's not happening. Easily paid for itself. Great machine.

 

[RobH2]

323 flights, 42 hours, 149 miles, X4S camera, no issues what so ever. The only modification I've done is add motor mount braces that I designed and 3d printed.

 

[DiggerNZ]

Inspire2
Total flight hours: 5hrs 19mins
Total flights: 50
Distance flown: 19225m
Problems: have had to do the super glue fix on red blades. Still on original props.
Love flying it. Awesome machine.

 

[SanCap]

Inspire 2
1274 flights
232h 02m 27s
875 miles
Total Photos: 10,699
Total Videos: 3,653
Longest flight time 109 minutes 13 seconds, hot swapping is cool!

I replaced the motors and center frame module (p/n 19) around 150 hours, not because of a failure but for preventative maintenance. I again replaced the center frame module (p/n 19) at about 205 hours due to a failure. I wound up replacing it with the original center section #19 and it is still going strong.

The original plastic props never flew and were replaced with CF props. This I2 has always been flown on CF props which are replaced every 50-75 hours.

My Cinecore processor module failed at about 160 hours and was replaced by DJI under warranty.