Drone longevity

fvunen · Apr 27, 2018

Hello all,
I'm looking for some input on the typical life span of a drone and components when used for commercial purpose (i.e. daily) as input for a financial business case. Typical business capital expenditures get written down over several years; is this realistic for drones or do you have to consider a much shorter period for a new investment considering failures, crashes, etc?
Any input appreciated,
Thanks

Outta Control · Apr 27, 2018

My advice to you is if you never flown a drone in ATTI mode, better start practicing on a cheaper drone. I've seen, only once, someone who has no flying ability buy an Inspire series to just to crash it in a graceful, terminal velocity fall from a tree.

Relating to the subject, like anything else, you maintain your aircraft at a regular scheduled maintenance plus your diligence on your pre-flight checks, then that aircraft will serve you for a long time.

R.Perry · Apr 27, 2018

One of the problems we have, is most of us don't have a history of component failures or longevity. Your biggest maintenance expense is most likely batteries. I fly an Inspire 2, I've replace one set of batteries at 94 hours, and a set of props. I found a crack in one of the props so I replaced all four.
How long the motors will last, haven't a clue, but for me and my operation I think if she gets to around 200 hrs on the motors I would replace them.
Watch your motors for excessive heat after a flight, do a monthly battery survey to make sure all cells are good and replace any batteries that show signs of cell deterioration. Watch for loose fasteners. Each time I take off I hover the drone for a few seconds, watch the props and watch for any erratic movement.
There are so many factors that can effect the cost of long term operations, so I haven't seen any hard data as to drone life expectancy.
I wouldn't figure in crashes, make sure whomever is flying it commercially is licensed and a competent pilot, then there should be no crashes figured in.

Good luck with your adventures.

BigAl07 · Apr 27, 2018

Our business model was built around the concept of replacing aircraft on a 12 month cycle but thus far we have some that are still going strong around 200hrs and 3 years later. Granted we have added new aircraft to the fleet and the older ones are now used as "Back Ups" and "Training" aircraft but they are very much still in service.

Diligence in your maintenance regimen is paramount to longevity of the aircraft and components.
Inspect often and take good notes. Batteries are pretty much your most often replaced "Expensive" items so build those into your plan and double it LOL.

R.Perry · Apr 28, 2018

BigA, thanks for your input because this has been a concern of mine. Have you had any motor failures?

Moosewax · Apr 28, 2018

Brushless motors are generally quite reliable. From what I understand your points of potential failure are either the bearings in the motor or your ESCs. I have only heard of brushless motors failing due to damage to the motor/windings. I have heard of people getting ESC failures, I have not heard of anyone having a brushless motor failing barring those instances.

Definitely keep up on prop checks, especially underneath the props on the trailing edge where the props are thinnest. That is where I have always found cracks/micro fractures when they occur.

BigAl07 · Apr 29, 2018

R.Perry said:
BigA, thanks for your input because this has been a concern of mine. Have you had any motor failures?

*knocks on wood*

Negative. My only "failure" to date (other than operator failure) was a battery situation back in 2016 with one cell suddenly failing and caused a Critical Battery situation that escalated into an "Aquatic" landing LOL.