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** INSPIRE 2 - NEW T MOTOR FOLDING PROPS **
- Thread starter Florida Drone Supply
- Start date
Florida Drone Supply worked with T-Motor directly to get these props custom manufactured for us for several months. As you have found out the props on their page are not suitable for installation on the Inspire 2 motors. There is a difference of 1mm in the mounting holes. We are the only distributer of the direct bolt on T-Motor props for the Inspire 2.
Everyone who has the T-Engine can verify this.
If you look at the rotors with a light, they look with scratches or not at all well finished the varnish.
In the lower area of the rotor, you can see a fingerprint impregnated in the varnish that is applied to the carbon.
In if the rotors are fantastic but the finishes in my case are not suitable at all for the price they have.
Can you verify it ??
If you look at the rotors with a light, they look with scratches or not at all well finished the varnish.
In the lower area of the rotor, you can see a fingerprint impregnated in the varnish that is applied to the carbon.
In if the rotors are fantastic but the finishes in my case are not suitable at all for the price they have.
Can you verify it ??
To take the screws out use a good quality torx an I noticed if I went tighter before loosening them they came out easier . Mho
Helinengadin folding props
I have not experienced any wear issue although I do agree a bushing would have been nice. I have always kept my props tight enough that on startup and shutdown they stay pretty straight. If I straighten them on startup I see very little vibration if any. Its seems if I tighten them just to the point of trying to push the prop with my finger they have a little stutter to them , and if you push them and they have a fluid smooth motion they are to loose and will fold some on shutdown along with a noticeable vibration on startup. Thats what works for me. I originally thought about using blue locktight on the hub screws but never did , have never noticed any issue of the screws loosening but still ck them regularly . I see these new T-Motor props use a shorter screw since they mount lower in the hub . Dont know if that will make any difference in the screw loosening without locktight.
These new T-Motor props do look sweet and think Im going to give them a try for that factor and not having to remove the hubs to adjust the prop tension is a very nice feature
The hubs also look like they have a much lighter design, they rotated the mounting hub screws which help enabled a smaller hub design, less rotating mass cant hurt either. Plus the aerodynamics of button heads versus nuts on the top side. lol
Initially the props were delivered with what I felt was adequate tension. When installed, you can move the prop back and forth without it turning the motor, or JUST tight enough that it might turn motor. They loosened almost immediately (within a few batteries). When I say loosened, I mean the tolerances, not the screws. Even as they continued to break in I never had any issues with flight characteristics and was always happy with how they flew.
Because of the design, I was (and am), reluctant to continually remove the hub screws to access the prop screws for minor adjustments. Now that I have done that once, I don't feel I could get away with tightening them again without putting undue stress on the hub pinch points.
As for prop alignment at beginning of flight, I have found the smoothest startups by rotating each blade to full lock against the hub arrows (swing blade toward arrows marked on hub ). This allows the hub to press solidly on the prop at initially startup which eliminates that click/slap you sometimes get when the hub attempts to start a dead prop. The centrifugal force will pull the blades to center smoothly as long as you don't have them over tightened.
[QUOTE="You just need to be careful when removing the mount from the motor - DJI uses a very strong thread locker on the bolts. Many people use a little heat to warm the bolts up before removing them (hair dryer or similar) - this has worked very well.[/QUOTE]
No kidding on the strong thread locker. What I found really helped was to use a soldering with a fine tip directly on the bolt for about 60 seconds to loosen the locking compound. Then used a T9 torx to remove them.
No kidding on the strong thread locker. What I found really helped was to use a soldering with a fine tip directly on the bolt for about 60 seconds to loosen the locking compound. Then used a T9 torx to remove them.
Pick up a set of these T-Motor props and love them , they come in amazing pkg. The only thing wish they came with prop holders, but have some already from my Helinengadin props.
Some of the features I mentioned earlier to my decision to try these are listed below: by the way the finishing on the props are beautiful and about 8 + grams x 4 lighter than the Helinengadin props.
These new T-Motor props do look sweet and think Im going to give them a try for that factor and not having to remove the hubs to adjust the prop tension is a very nice feature
The hubs also look like they have a much lighter design, they rotated the mounting hub screws which help enabled a smaller hub design, less rotating mass cant hurt either. Plus the aerodynamics of button heads versus nuts on the top side. lol
Some of the features I mentioned earlier to my decision to try these are listed below: by the way the finishing on the props are beautiful and about 8 + grams x 4 lighter than the Helinengadin props.
These new T-Motor props do look sweet and think Im going to give them a try for that factor and not having to remove the hubs to adjust the prop tension is a very nice feature
The hubs also look like they have a much lighter design, they rotated the mounting hub screws which help enabled a smaller hub design, less rotating mass cant hurt either. Plus the aerodynamics of button heads versus nuts on the top side. lol
Last edited:
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@Florida Drone Supply
n5101 - what a condescending and authoritarian tone = "know it all"?
Re: "That's why you never see it on production rotorcraft" = BS!
Have you never seen, flown or ridden on a Sikorsky S92 = obviously NOT.
It just happens to be the "go to" crew change rotorcraft aka helicopter currently deployed for crew change duty within the offshore oil and gas industry world wide. Let's see 18 passenger, 3 crew members, harsh weather and night flight capable. Oh it is so reliable that it is scheduled to become the Marine One presidential helicopter.
How do you check the balance on these?
I found the stock DJI props out of balance along with the attaching hubs. I did see a video where the guys mounted a mirror to the legs and reflected a laser off the mirror to see how steady the reflected dot was while running up the motors. Never tried that method though over the EJH prop balancer rod and the DuBro prop balancer wheels setup..
I found the stock DJI props out of balance along with the attaching hubs. I did see a video where the guys mounted a mirror to the legs and reflected a laser off the mirror to see how steady the reflected dot was while running up the motors. Never tried that method though over the EJH prop balancer rod and the DuBro prop balancer wheels setup..
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@Florida Drone Supply
Have you done any prop comparisons with DJI high altitude prop included in the tests? I am curious if these HA props deliver quieter operation and improved response at near sea level elevations.
Have you done any prop comparisons with DJI high altitude prop included in the tests? I am curious if these HA props deliver quieter operation and improved response at near sea level elevations.
I'm slow to the conversation, but really have to give Michael and team a huge recommendation for these props! I was fortunate to get one of the first sets to ship from Florida Drone Supply and have used them extensively over the past few months in a wide range of settings. So far, it's been numerous construction gigs here in California, a car ad in Northern California, a commercial shoot in a blizzard in Boston, and two weeks of intense filming on a documentary in Gujarat, India.
Absolutely no complains with the props. They can take a beating and make packing in and out of the case quick and secure – no more quick release, just unfold and go. It's definitely a cleaner look mounted, and a nice space-saver in the case. I keep an extra set of 4 on hand, but haven't had to replace in the field yet.
I managed to chip one of the blades on the ground during a very hasty set in driving snow. We were changing out kit from the back of an SUV and it got tangled with a light stand. Flew it anyway, as it was a "now-or-never" situation in a very isolated location. No problems!
In my experience, the Inspire 2 flies noticeably quieter and has a more precise position hold on these vs. the stock plastic props. It's smooth and agile with less of of the side-to-side wag I would see on occasion in windy conditions on the stock blades. It's like a little boost in gain settings. I tend to film pretty mellow aerials – so can't really speak to the speed increase folks are seeing on these..
Interestingly, these are the same props (although in a much smaller size) that I fly on my Gryphon Dynamics / BFD X8 heavy-lifter. Similar to the difference between those blades and traditionally-shaped T-Motor blades, these I2-sized T-motor props are very light-weight and engineered to be thin. It's striking when you first pull them out of packaging. The first impression is somewhat delicate build, but they definitely hold up. Compared to non-glossy props I've used on the heavy-lifters (Freefly Alta and Gryphon) these seem to be going through more abuse without developing as many nicks and dings on the leading edges.. impressive considering the frequent dust, gravel, tall grass, etc. I've put them through.
I'd call these blades an important standard upgrade for the Inspire 2. I went through a lot of plastic props before these, had bad rattles on many, tried all the fixes. Plus, the known issues with plastic props: noise and decrease in agility. Big thanks to Michael for taking this project on. I know (because I was bugging him for updates on a weekly basis!) that he worked closely with T-Motor and went through a lot of testing and prototyping to be sure the version for sale now is ready for action.
Snow in Boston:
Matt Beardsley on Instagram: “Snow! a couple favorite outtakes from our wintery shoot in Boston. Turns out the Inspire 2 can handle some extreme weather
#drone in…”
Construction in Oakland:
Matt Beardsley on Instagram: “shooting a huge cement pour on the site for what will eventually be Oakland’s tallest building. So cool to see. Also, loving the DJI X7…”
Gujarat India:
More to come, as projects get published!
Absolutely no complains with the props. They can take a beating and make packing in and out of the case quick and secure – no more quick release, just unfold and go. It's definitely a cleaner look mounted, and a nice space-saver in the case. I keep an extra set of 4 on hand, but haven't had to replace in the field yet.
I managed to chip one of the blades on the ground during a very hasty set in driving snow. We were changing out kit from the back of an SUV and it got tangled with a light stand. Flew it anyway, as it was a "now-or-never" situation in a very isolated location. No problems!
In my experience, the Inspire 2 flies noticeably quieter and has a more precise position hold on these vs. the stock plastic props. It's smooth and agile with less of of the side-to-side wag I would see on occasion in windy conditions on the stock blades. It's like a little boost in gain settings. I tend to film pretty mellow aerials – so can't really speak to the speed increase folks are seeing on these..
Interestingly, these are the same props (although in a much smaller size) that I fly on my Gryphon Dynamics / BFD X8 heavy-lifter. Similar to the difference between those blades and traditionally-shaped T-Motor blades, these I2-sized T-motor props are very light-weight and engineered to be thin. It's striking when you first pull them out of packaging. The first impression is somewhat delicate build, but they definitely hold up. Compared to non-glossy props I've used on the heavy-lifters (Freefly Alta and Gryphon) these seem to be going through more abuse without developing as many nicks and dings on the leading edges.. impressive considering the frequent dust, gravel, tall grass, etc. I've put them through.
I'd call these blades an important standard upgrade for the Inspire 2. I went through a lot of plastic props before these, had bad rattles on many, tried all the fixes. Plus, the known issues with plastic props: noise and decrease in agility. Big thanks to Michael for taking this project on. I know (because I was bugging him for updates on a weekly basis!) that he worked closely with T-Motor and went through a lot of testing and prototyping to be sure the version for sale now is ready for action.
Snow in Boston:
Matt Beardsley on Instagram: “Snow! a couple favorite outtakes from our wintery shoot in Boston. Turns out the Inspire 2 can handle some extreme weather
#drone in…”Construction in Oakland:
Matt Beardsley on Instagram: “shooting a huge cement pour on the site for what will eventually be Oakland’s tallest building. So cool to see. Also, loving the DJI X7…”
Gujarat India:
More to come, as projects get published!
As Michael said, the T-motor props have a captured nut on the bottom of the hub.
I just installed mine this week after removing the Koptermax props. Much happier! I was not unhappy with the performance of the Helinengadin props but I feel the Tmotor props are a definite improvement. The reason I chose to go a different route initially was due to an early wear issue. Koptermax prop bolts are fully threaded, not a shoulder bolt, and there is no bushing or insert through the carbon fiber therefore every bit of prop movement is quickly filing away carbon fiber on the raw threads which ultimately end up "egging out" the holes in the props., the poor hub design on the the Koptermax props which required you to remove the hub from motor to adjust tension is another issue. I just removed one of the Tmotor props to verify what Michael @Florida Drone Supply had told me when he suggested the switch. The Tmotor props DO have bushings in the blades AND a shoulder bolt which should be a vast improvement! I did note the use of loctite or other threadlock on the screw. I would prefer to see a nyloc nut instead.
My only concern with the design is the fact the top plate does not interact with the motor shaft in any way. I feel there should be a central hub on the bottom of the top plate to allow the motor shaft to positively locate the top plate. Any wear in the blade holes will be exacerbated by allowing the whole assembly to rock back and forth because the tensioned blade screws are the only thing giving it a fixed shape. (picture a flexing parallelogram. Just a prediction on my part) I would like to see a future update with this slight modification to machine the top plate to incorporate a central hub which extends down far enough to engage with the motor shaft. This should extend the life of the blade bushing.
The Tmotor weight difference I measured was 8g less per prop assembly for a total savings of 32 grams vs. the Koptermax!
Flight time- I did a simple back to back comparison. Batteries sets were charged the night before and of similar age/use. Hover only. About 6 ft. Carrying x5s Allowed to auto-land on low battery. Each set of batteries was kept at room temp before flight in 10F temp. Koptermax returned 18:35 and the Tmotor props pulled off 20:05, a full minute and a half longer (+8%) Take it for what its worth, a one-time unscientific comparison. Whether it is simply a result of reduced weight, better aerodynamics or some other unacknowledged factor, I feel that the Tmotor props should be able to repeat these results. Normally, I'm not into doing the testing, but chose to do this because I was switching props anyway. Share your results to help confirm!
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- Joined
- Nov 28, 2015
- Messages
- 484
- Reaction score
- 195
- Age
- 62
I suspect that the motor mount problem is more to do with the considerable torsional force exerted on the cf tube when entering & exiting travel mode than it is to do with prop wobbles.
I always pick the I2 up off the ground when entering or exiting travel mode.
I always pick the I2 up off the ground when entering or exiting travel mode.
