If you didn’t know that expensive drones sometimes need parachutes, you obviously never had to pay for one. DJI has launched its AP100 parachute to support its Matrice 400 drones. The reasoning is that you might not need it, but you’ll be grateful that your expensive drone has backup if you do.
The DJI AP100 parachute isn’t a unique product at all. Other companies already make auto-deploying ‘chutes for drones. This is just the first to issue from DJI itself. The parachute setup sells for around R17,200, though it’s not available at retail just yet. Dealers can purchase them, though. The accessory would make a good addition to your R180,000 drone, even if it drives the overall cost up.
AP100 parachutes in
The ‘chute, according to DJI, deploys in under 600 milliseconds (if you need it to). At the same time, the 935-gram setup will cut out the drone’s rotors so nothing gets tangled. But it’s not a catch-all solution. Supported Matrice 400 models will only see the parachute deploy effectively if it drops from heights above 30 metres. The system will slow a 15.8kg drone to under 5m/s.
This will hopefully protect commercial drones from extensive damage. It’ll also supposedly protect spectators and passers-by, which is where DJI is really pitching its new setup.
The AP100 isn’t fully automatic. Pilots can manually deploy the ‘chute via the company’s app or the FlightHub 2’s Flight Termination System. This system is only supported in certain countries (South Africa isn’t one of them). Automatic deployment is triggered by “flight anomalies” or Geocaging restrictions. The latter also isn’t an option in South Africa.
There are some instances when DJI’s parachute won’t automatically kick in, but these are usually when it’s extremely close to its launch point. You can still trigger the setup yourself, but odds are it’ll already be well on its way to the ground by then. Still, twenty grand could well save you two hundred grand, if you’re the sort to pilot the big stuff.
