yeah this has been bugging me for a while. im doing some work where the client wants to use a specific third party thermal sensor and the integrator they hired keeps saying the I2 can handle it but im not so sure. the specs say 1.35kg max payload for the gimbal mount which should technically be fine but ive never actually pushed it with anything that wasnt a Zenmuse and i dont know how it handles the weight distribution when the CG is off from what its expecting.

the sensor in question is about 900g with the mount which should be under the limit but its bulkier than the X7 and sits differently. anyone done third party payload work on an Inspire 2 and run into weird flight characteristic issues or is it generally pretty tolerant as long as youre within the weight numbers

the I2 is actually reasonably tolerant of non-standard payloads as long as you stay well under that weight limit and the mount is rigid. the bigger issue is usually vibration isolation - if your third party mount isnt dampened properly you'll get jello in the footage or in your sensor data depending on what you're capturing. ive flown a Workswell WIRIS on an I2 before (different thermal application but similar weight class) and it was fine once we sorted the mounting hardware. the flight characteristics didnt change noticeably, wind rejection was still solid.

where it gets tricky is if the payload communicates with the aircraft at all - anything trying to tap into the aircraft data bus or use the gimbal control protocol is going to be a problem with third party hardware unless someone has written a proper SDK integration. if its just a dumb payload that records to its own storage youre probably fine.

i'd be more worried about the integrator tbh. if they're saying 'should technically be fine' without having actually tested the specific combo that's a red flag for a paid job. the weight is one thing but has anyone done a test flight with that exact sensor on an I2 before you commit to using it on whatever this shoot is? seems like the kind of thing you really want to verify on the ground first and not find out mid flight that something is off