this might be a dumb question but im trying to work out whether the Inspire 3 payload capacity leaves anything meaningful after you mount the X9. looking at potentially integrating a small LiDAR unit for a survey-adjacent project but the whole thing feels like im pushing against the airframe limits before i even start.

i know the Inspire series wasnt really designed with third party payload in mind the way something like a Matrice is, but ive seen people do some creative stuff with the accessory mount and im curious if anyone has actually tested where the performance degrades noticeably. flight time obviously tanks but im more worried about stability in any kind of wind. the project site is coastal so gusts are going to be a thing

alternatively maybe the answer is just rent a Matrice 350 for this specific job and keep the Inspire for pure cinema work which is probably what i should have started with honestly

yeah the Matrice is almost certainly the right call for anything survey related. the Inspire is optimized around the Zenmuse ecosystem and once you start bolting other things on you're fighting the design intent. i tried running a small thermal imager on an Inspire 2 a while back and while it technically worked the yaw behavior got weird under load in crosswind, nothing dangerous but not something i'd want to deliver footage from. for coastal conditions with gusts id be very hesitant.

so anyway i looked into this pretty deep about 6 months ago for a similar job and the short version is the payload headroom after the X9 is real but slim, like youre looking at maybe 300-400g before things get uncomfortable and that assumes calm conditions. coastal gusts will eat into your stability margin fast and the I3 is smart about reducing responsiveness to protect itself but that actually makes precise positioning harder not easier when its fighting wind.

the Matrice 350 with a proper DJI Zenmuse L2 combo just makes more sense for LiDAR work. completely diffrent tool for a different job. i'd keep them separate in your head and in your kit.