Mavic 3 Pro with Parachute

[David Metcalf]

So I have LAANC authorization to fly autonomous bi weekly or monthly loops around a construction site for the next 2 years near HFD airport which is a class D airspace SW of Hartford. The flight area is mostly in a 200' AGL cell with a sliver though the 0' AGL cell.

The loop has the drone transiting roads, parking lots buildings in a .6 mile loop for 5 mins. I'll expect to be transiting people, any who may be in any parking lots around the perimeter of the project site.

I created the loop in the Litchi Mission Hub, tested it in Google Earth after setting the FOV in the text file to match the M3Pro camera's FOV 84. After a few tweaks, converted it from kml to csv then imported it into kmz format, copied it to SD card and loaded it into the DJI RC Pro. What a production.

Now flying this M3Pro at what 958 grams weight over this urban area has me considering the risks. Now I am transiting over a lot of urban area so that a parachute sounds like a good idea.

I am looking at the Manti 3 Plus with a deceleration of 5.5m/s 5m/s from 25 meters this sounds like a safe bet for under $200. Question is has anyone used these, with any results with emergency crashes? Maybe throw on some prop guards to prevent lacerations? Belts and suspenders.

Thanks for any input.

 

[Capt KO]

I have no firsthand knowledge but for safety and insurance, sounds like a good idea.

 

[REStewart]

You have not mentioned if you have General Liability Insurance. That is probably as important as the safety systems you are proposing. In my area you can get GLI for about $500 annually for $1Million coverage; may be different in your area (the insurance capital of the universe LOL). BTW the videos I have seen on the Manti 3 show a mature and reliable system; It does look to me like the decent rate could result in some minor damage to the drone though.

 

[Starz]

Assuming there is a policy in place, would there be some form of discount for cost of policy if there is money spent on the parachute?

 

[David Metcalf]

Being in design construction field our firm has General Liability Insurance our insurance rep knows we fly drones. As y'all know the parachute mitigates risk. Yes, Hartford is the insurance capital of the US!

 

[Starz]

mitigates risk

For my education.
The policy takes on the risk that someone has compensated the insurance company for that purpose. The question still remains. Does the insurance carrier provide some form of discount for utilizing the parachute which would reduce to some degree the risk? Or is the policy written to include that the parachute is required?

 

[David Metcalf]

Hi Starz,

Good question. Small drone operations with a specific insurance policy on drone coverage, got to ask an agent. From what I understand the firm's policy rider just states that I must have a 107 certification and a sUAS Operations manual. Currently the manual does not have a section on use of parachute in urban areas in transiting over people and over roads with moving cars. So, our rep would not know at this time. I will guess a discount is warranted if I add a section on parachutes, send the manual in and see if I get a few bucks discount. Given that our entirety of the Liability insurance applies to all operations of the firm it's a small amount.

 

[jephoto]

Hi Starz,

Good question. Small drone operations with a specific insurance policy on drone coverage, got to ask an agent. From what I understand the firm's policy rider just states that I must have a 107 certification and a sUAS Operations manual. Currently the manual does not have a section on use of parachute in urban areas in transiting over people and over roads with moving cars. So, our rep would not know at this time. I will guess a discount is warranted if I add a section on parachutes, send the manual in and see if I get a few bucks discount. Given that our entirety of the Liability insurance applies to all operations of the firm it's a small amount.

Who is everyone (reading this) using for insurance?
I started using AirModo last year as the number of drone shoots I do still don’t warrant an extra $1,000/year for full time coverage.
My company for my photography business wants an additional thousand dollars a year if I want drone insurance and wants to jump up the deductible for all of my equipment -including my still cameras, computers, lighting , etc. -to $2,500 if I add drone coverage- which is unacceptable….

 

[David Metcalf]

Oh, that's terrible! I had no idea premiums can be that high. I don't know the specifics of your coverage; you did mention other equipment besides the drone and controller. So, it's hard to make a apples-to-apples comparison. We have some of the same equipment too. But those are the purview of the graphics designers, so I have no idea what tools they have. But $1,000/yr with $2,500 deductible, that's not a proportional premium to deductible ratio, ouch!

I don't have the policy in front of me. Being an architectural firm, we have a lot of coverage with all kinds of premiums, deductibles, with applied discounts for bundling and what not. Happy other people handle that for me.

Its, only a matter of time before the General Contractors ask for proof of coverage and qualifications before I fly on construction sites so having a certificate of proof of coverage and my 107 certificate with recurrent residency are going to be packed in my drone case.

Thanks

 

[jephoto]

Oh, that's terrible! I had no idea premiums can be that high. I don't know the specifics of your coverage; you did mention other equipment besides the drone and controller. So, it's hard to make a apples-to-apples comparison. We have some of the same equipment too. But those are the purview of the graphics designers, so I have no idea what tools they have. But $1,000/yr with $2,500 deductible, that's not a proportional premium to deductible ratio, ouch!

I don't have the policy in front of me. Being an architectural firm, we have a lot of coverage with all kinds of premiums, deductibles, with applied discounts for bundling and what not. Happy other people handle that for me.

Its, only a matter of time before the General Contractors ask for proof of coverage and qualifications before I fly on construction sites so having a certificate of proof of coverage and my 107 certificate with recurrent residency are going to be packed in my drone case.

Thanks

Yeah. I was kind of floored by it. The company I used is based in California - I think they have a lot of movie people for clients. And maybe their bean counters feel that if a drone is added into the mix, the risk of their liability payouts goes way up.
So for now I insure by the hour. And only when flying in the city or the schools I shoot for.
If I’m doing sunrise over the lake or a forest, not too worried about liability. Although my equipment then is not covered at all.

But my reg business insurance has a $1,000 deductible anyway - so if I lose a drone the deductible and inevitable raise in rates would nearly be the same as buying another. Trade off.

Let me add to that. I’m flying mostly an orig Mavic 3 currently or my P4P v2. If I had an M3E or Matrice, I’d think differently…

 

[David Metcalf]

As a update I asked one of the parachute companies if they had a 3rd party ASTM certification testing on a Mavic 3. They did not. I did get a copy of their internal test results and it looked promising. Showing a impact speed of 3.3m/s with energy at impact of 4.90 joules of energy Guess it's no small matter due to cost to get that ASTM certificate that tests several parameters.