Starting Out

[bravoscar24]

Hello all,
I am new to this forum and the industry in general and had a couple questions was looking for opinions on.
I am in the GIS industry by trade and was looking to get into UAVs as a way of creating maps of course. I was looking to do it in the agriculture and surveying industry eventually.
My main focus right now is figuring out what platform is best to get started.
I have already taken training courses for UAVs and am a part 107 certified pilot.
I have done alot of research on the forum about the inspire and phantom line and have a good idea about the different cameras etc. However most of these are from 2015, 2016 and know how fast the tech industry can move.
My main question is its August 2017, is the Inspire 1 v2 still a good platform to get my foot in the door and make upgrades and purchase bigger platforms later?
Or is the Phantom 4 Pro platform better from the camera for deliverables to start and then move up in platform upgrades.
The inspire 2 is a bit out of my range at the moment but will consider it once I get further into my experience and uses.
Thanks in advance for the help and advice.

 

[Advexure]

Welcome to InspirePilots, @bravoscar24. We are happy to have you here. First off, congrats on already getting your Part 107 out of the way. If you are solely looking to get into mapping and surveying for the time being, the Inspire 1 V2 and Phantom 4 Pro would really both be suitable platforms for you. The Phantom 4 Pro does offer a better camera and sensor than the X3 on the Inspire 1. I'd say the biggest thing for you just getting going is that the I1 V2 offers flexibility for upgrades whereas the Phantom 4 Pro really does not. If you find yourself beginning to expand in your service offering, you are capable of moving to the X5, Z3 and XT with the Inspire 1. The Inspire 2 would really be overkill for what you are looking to do and is more of a focused offering for professional film.

Let us know how we can be of further assistance to you. Best of luck in the new venture.

-The Advexure Team

 

[Casey53]

P4 Pro should do it.

 

[vic2rose]

Bravo...

I have just recently upgraded to an Inspire 1.2. I, also am Part 107 Cert, and a long-time UAV operator. I do RE Aerials, Search and Rescue Assist (with my FLIR Cam), as well as mapping and NDVI (I use DroneDeploy as a platform for that). In addition, I help farmers around with locating wildlife, stray animals, etc.

I would highly recommend the Inspire 1 for each of these. While the advertised flight times are a little under what some of the other UAVs are, the agility, ability to use a slave controller for the cam/gimbal operations (my wife does this with me for special occasions, etc.), and just plain old reliability are key for me. That and what Editor mentioned (upgradability). Eventually you WILL want to upgrade or add some capability. This platform really works for that.

I have never had a problem with my upgrades. The UAV has operated flawlessly so far. I would recommend plenty of extra batteries if your are mapping in Texas, lol.

Stay Calm and Fly On!
Kevin

 

[bravoscar24]

That is some great information. I sure do appreciate it! I really do like the long term investment of being able to upgrade cameras when needed down the line. Very excited to get started.