Inspire body design is bad for wind.

Casey53 · Mar 12, 2017

Interesting outcome of a Yuneec H520, Phantom P4, and Inspire 1 in 35-50MPH winds.

Results at the end are sort of startling as what happened. Not what I expected.

Joola · Mar 12, 2017

This has definitely been a problem for me in windy areas. The test was pretty irresponsible though. It looks like they were in the middle of nowhere but to run a test and have no intentions of aborting it safely while you still can is pretty stupid. Can't believe they just let the Phantom go.

licensed pilot · Mar 12, 2017

Thank you for confirming manufacturers' recommendations.

I'm curious, what did you expect...?
Bravo Zulu to the CAP. I used to fly SAR with the CAP in Arizona & Hawaii. they paid for my Private Pilot's license in the 1970s as a cadet...

The Editor · Mar 12, 2017

I'm not actually sure what this video is supposed to be showing/testing but it has nothing to do with aerodynamics.

This is comparing two four rotor machines to a six rotor one and you would need to take into account the power to weight ratio of each airframe, the thrust capabilities governed by the power of the motors and length and chord of the props.
Of course a hex is going to hold station over a quad (unless it's been designed by a amoeba).

This seems to be a company who are clueless to multirotor design and a 'lets put three widely varying airframes in the wind and see what happen'
Video......

Since the Inspire (1) has been around now for over 2 years I think it's pretty much proved it's worth.

Maybe I'm missing something......,

Casey53 · Mar 12, 2017

I could see their thoughts of the Inspire body acting as a vertical vane or stabilizer in the wind and yawing it around causing instability - and it blowing out of the frame was unsettling too.

The P4 is just too under powered and was all over the place. Good spotters with the CAP to find it 4 miles away.

I worked as a photographer in the desert and know tripods can blow over just like theirs did even with weighted legs (Memo: Never leave a camera strap attached to a camera in the desert!). Had a couple of light stands with studio flash units go airborne and sail away too. Afternoon desert winds just suck!

NickU · Mar 12, 2017

As an observation, I wonder how much the phantom 4 would have impoved if it's response had been switched in to Sport mode. They probably wouldn't have lost it then either as they'd have been able to push back upwind with more power and stop it going out of RC range.

From my experience of flying the P4 in some (british) gusty wind conditions, it is limited in how it responds under standard p-atti mode and can easily struggle to hold it's place without being pushed downwind. However, change that up to Sport mode and it fares a lot better. I'd expect the Inspire 1 to do similar. I'd also like to have seen the 'test' run a little higher in some cleaner air.

Pescatoral Pursuit · Mar 12, 2017

This was demonstrating the obvious with the exception that it's possible the six turning blades could've made for more wind resistance and that may have been the case except maybe that was overcome by a symmetrical aerodynamic design, and higher power to weight ratio.

AeroMirage · Mar 12, 2017

A totally UN-CONTROLLED Experiment indeed.
Pointless.

licensed pilot · Mar 12, 2017

In all fairness the OP did not claim this was a scientific experiment under some research grant. Just a fun experiment. One more morsel of knowledge to add to the toolbox of those of us who claim no expertise. And a cautionary tale for those who don't read manuals...

davidjmurray · Mar 19, 2017

I agree with "licensed pilot". Unscientific but fun to watch, and not particularly relevant to responsible operators. Even if a drone can hold hover position in 30-50mph winds while 10' AGL, you have no real control or stability when <1' AGL during take off and landing in those types of winds. Even idling on the ground with props spinning during strong winds is asking for trouble. Something I learned years ago with a P2, "may it rest in peace" as they say. My Inspire 1 Pro (100+ hours of flight time without incident) stays in the case in conditions like that!

deltalimatango · Mar 22, 2017

davidjmurray said:
I agree with "licensed pilot". Unscientific but fun to watch, and not particularly relevant to responsible operators. Even if a drone can hold hover position in 30-50mph winds while 10' AGL, you have no real control or stability when <1' AGL during take off and landing in those types of winds. Even idling on the ground with props spinning during strong winds is asking for trouble. Something I learned years ago with a P2, "may it rest in peace" as they say. My Inspire 1 Pro (100+ hours of flight time without incident) stays in the case in conditions like that!

Spot on David. I was out flying my I2 and the wind kicked up. I immediately returned to home and then as slowly and as controlled as I could, I brought it down alternating between going forward and back a bit and left and right a bit to avoid VRS, which supposedly is not an issue based on the placement of the motors, but I didn't want to take any chances. Landed in very strong cross winds, packed up and went home. There is no need to unnecessarily risk the drone just for the sake of flying.

lake_flyer · Mar 22, 2017

deltalimatango said:
I was out flying my I2 and the wind kicked up. I immediately returned to home and then as slowly and as controlled as I could, I brought it down alternating between going forward and back a bit and left and right a bit to avoid VRS,

Don't worry. Landing straight down in a strong wind never results in VRS. Landing in zero wind straight down however, does. It can drift a bit sideways while landing, but that's about it.