SOLO VS INSPIRE

LandenTD · Nov 18, 2015

So, pretty experienced RC pilot here. Got into RC after being wounded in Iraq as an Infantry First Sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division. Was told at Walter Reed my days of an Infantryman and competitive runner were over which led me to RC. Started putting cameras on my planes, FPV then drones hit the market place, etc, etc, etc.

So, I've had a DJI Inspire for about a year now and love it. However, I the SOLO and INSPIRE offer unique capabilities so I just picked up a SOLO, Gimbal, GoPro4 the works.

Can anyone tell me what they prefer over the INSPIRE? Oh, also, anyone know if my HeadPlay headset is compatible?

Any guidance from DJI to 3dr switchers out there?

My latest 15 min of fame. Donald Trump pledges help to wounded veteran - CNNPolitics.com

Appreciate any feedback

Todd

Chuck · Nov 18, 2015

Hi Todd. First and foremost, thank you for your service to our country, and I hope you are doing well. I cannot give any info on the Inspire, but I did switch from DJI to the Solo, and the best thing about the switch was the customer support. I have not had any questions unanswered, and the 3DR people were always friendly and did whatever it took to get my problem taken care of. I would say that 75% of the time with DJI, I never got my call answered, or the CS people were always a bit short. That is my 2 cents worth. I wish you luck with your Solo, and welcome to the forum.

pyrate · Nov 18, 2015

The solo and smart shots, not to mention tower offer you a single user advantage over the Inspire that requires coordination of flight moves and camera moves be controlled by one incredible single user or one pilot and a camera operator.
Solo would be more effective when you need to be fast an agile but still get cinematic shots that you can let the copter manage pointing the camera and even flying it with a single operator

Maddog · Nov 18, 2015

Welcome Todd, thank you for your service!
No Inspire experience here- you may not find many Inspire owners here but your post is new.

What does Solo offer that Inspire does not, that caused you to buy Solo? Maybe knowing that will help us help you.

Don't know about the HeadPlay either...I know- what good am I...

The Solo controller has an HDMI out port so if your headset can use that, you might be in business.

Raybro · Nov 18, 2015

LandenTD said:
So, pretty experienced RC pilot here. Got into RC after being wounded in Iraq as an Infantry First Sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division. Was told at Walter Reed my days of an Infantryman and competitive runner were over which led me to RC. Started putting cameras on my planes, FPV then drones hit the market place, etc, etc, etc.

So, I've had a DJI Inspire for about a year now and love it. However, I the SOLO and INSPIRE offer unique capabilities so I just picked up a SOLO, Gimbal, GoPro4 the works.

Can anyone tell me what they prefer over the INSPIRE? Oh, also, anyone know if my HeadPlay headset is compatible?

Any guidance from DJI to 3dr switchers out there?

My latest 15 min of fame. Donald Trump pledges help to wounded veteran - CNNPolitics.com

Appreciate any feedback

Todd

Welcome Todd and thank you for your service. I put in 21 years in the Air Force and spent some time in Turkey during Desert Storm, some time in Italy during the Kosovo Conflict. Managed to retire before the latest Commander in Chief took over.
There are a few people on this forum that do own Inspires and Solo's as well. I currently own the P2 with the Zenmuse gimbal and the Solo.
I have had my P2 for about 6 months longer than my Solo but I have twice the flying time on it as I do my P2. I started losing confidence in my P2 probably after a couple of months when I blew out an ESC. I have had zero issues with my Solo, at least nothing that I couldn't correct myself.
I like all the app features the Solo offers as well as the flexibility to adjust some of the flight parameters as I see fit. Tower is an awesome app as well for autonomous flight with a variety of different waypoints that can be placed on the map.
As far as support I don't think DJI can even come close the support you will get from 3DR. The Warranty on the Solo is probably the best you can find in the drone industry.

locutus · Nov 18, 2015

Thank you Todd and raybro for your service!

pyrate · Nov 18, 2015

some forums allow service members to add a badge to their profile
would love to see that, as well as with first responders
Navy here and married to a Fly Girl

Gary Burch · Nov 18, 2015

Thanks for your service Todd. I also had a P2. I was very unhappy when they would not update our firmware. We would be forced to buy the p3. It flew very well but was soon outdated. I bought a solo because it is an open platform. I have worked on many rc helicopters and quads. This quad. Has great potential for innovation. The battery for the phantoms do not last very long. I bought batteries from third party suppliers. The inspire is a great machine, that can fly indoors also. I think that the solo is more adaptable for one user, to control camera while flying. We will see how both companies evolve in the future. Happy flying.

Rrotz · Nov 19, 2015

11Bravo here bro, go Infantry or go home!

The Inspire 1 is in a totally different league, the Solo serves it's own purpose.

Ian [P13] · Nov 19, 2015

The Headplays work fine with the Solo.

I'm second operator on an Inspire now and then, it's a nice machine, great for high winds.

Personally though I'm happier flying the Solo more as I don't worry about malfunctions so much, I know software bugs will be in all multicopters, but I know 3DR have a far more consistent record in making sure the customer is treated right if software goes wrong.

The one downside to the Solo is the longer time for the GPS lock, but I'm happy enough to wait that bit longer, plus you can always mod the GPS cheap enough on the Solo to be external if you wanted.

Toiletbowl · Nov 19, 2015

IMHO why should i buy inspire that solo much more than can do imagine in inspire you have two RC but in solo combine into one. and the other thing the price of inspire is rediculous and a lot of reports about dji fly away. this one of the eg. directly plump into the face of the earth

Toiletbowl · Nov 19, 2015

Raybro said:
Welcome Todd and thank you for your service. I put in 21 years in the Air Force and spent some time in Turkey during Desert Storm, some time in Italy during the Kosovo Conflict. Managed to retire before the latest Commander in Chief took over.
There are a few people on this forum that do own Inspires and Solo's as well. I currently own the P2 with the Zenmuse gimbal and the Solo.
I have had my P2 for about 6 months longer than my Solo but I have twice the flying time on it as I do my P2. I started losing confidence in my P2 probably after a couple of months when I blew out an ESC. I have had zero issues with my Solo, at least nothing that I couldn't correct myself.
I like all the app features the Solo offers as well as the flexibility to adjust some of the flight parameters as I see fit. Tower is an awesome app as well for autonomous flight with a variety of different waypoints that can be placed on the map.
As far as support I don't think DJI can even come close the support you will get from 3DR. The Warranty on the Solo is probably the best you can find in the drone industry.

bro are you a real pilot?

Acroduster · Nov 19, 2015

Yikes! That had to be a terrible feeling...

Maddog · Nov 19, 2015

Ouch!

LandenTD · Nov 19, 2015

pyrate said:
The solo and smart shots, not to mention tower offer you a single user advantage over the Inspire that requires coordination of flight moves and camera moves be controlled by one incredible single user or one pilot and a camera operator.
Solo would be more effective when you need to be fast an agile but still get cinematic shots that you can let the copter manage pointing the camera and even flying it with a single operator

LandenTD · Nov 19, 2015

Well thanks for the reply. I've yet to fly my Inspire with another person. I bought the extra TX and have it all set up with current firmware. Not that hard to get good shots while flying. However, I may have found an even better way to get better shots with the Solo. Anxious to get her up in the air but snow storm is pounding us tomorrow. Iowa.....

LandenTD · Nov 19, 2015

Maddog said:
Welcome Todd, thank you for your service!
No Inspire experience here- you may not find many Inspire owners here but your post is new.

What does Solo offer that Inspire does not, that caused you to buy Solo? Maybe knowing that will help us help you.

Don't know about the HeadPlay either...I know- what good am I... The Solo controller has an HDMI out port so if your headset can use that, you might be in business.

LandenTD · Nov 19, 2015

Well, The Inspire is definitely more "hands on". User control is the only way anything gets done. Minus the RTH and few auto features it has. Its the best aerial platform I've ever used and I've run the gauntlet. I've provided some awesome imagery for farmers and friends.

Looking forward to the more autonomous flight characteristics of the SOLO. Think it'll take some getting used too however. Just hope I don't program it to run into a tree or something. Long as I know how to attain user control on a programmed flight, Think I'll be good.

Thanks for getting my own gears going.

Really appreciate the feedback.