Another bird falls out of the sky

marc312 · Apr 30, 2016

3 of the motors are scuffed, 1 of them scuffed on the thread. But the drone fell on concrete, bouncing 3ft high and 15ft along the concrete pathway before coming to rest. Unlucky because the pathway is surrounded by grass.

ferraript · Apr 30, 2016

marc312 said:
I have retrieved the flight record and uploaded it to this post.

I looked at your log.
Unfortunately there is nothing that would explain what happened.
All the data seems normal, until that sad incident happens.
Good luck with DJI's repair.

sar104 · Apr 30, 2016

marc312 said:
I cannot say I did. This was the bird's 11th flight. Its 6th outing or so. The prop had been put on/removed maybe 7 to 10 times in all. It did not feel any different threading it on, nor tightening it. I really take my time when preparing for a flight. I follow my pre-flight checklist. And when I fly, I am also deliberately careful - check the video. If props are so fidgety that they can fly off or the hub break when one is so careful, then I would say. They are not properly engineered. There should be a better locking mechanism.

If all four props were damaged then you can probably conclude that none of them came off during the flight.

That is one improvement with the P4 - a real prop locking mechanism.

marc312 · Apr 30, 2016

ferraript said:
I looked at your log.
Unfortunately there is nothing that would explain what happened.
All the data seems normal, until that sad incident happens.
Good luck with DJI's repair.

Thank you!

marc312 · Apr 30, 2016

sar104 said:
If all four props were damaged then you can probably conclude that none of them came off during the flight.

That is one improvement with the P4 - a real prop locking mechanism.

I should have kept the props instead of throwing them away. Not so smart of me...

RodPad · May 1, 2016

marc312 said:
I should have kept the props instead of throwing them away. Not so smart of me...

Crap, I don't throw anything away, you should see my garage, no maybe not. I would have thought DJI would want to see them.

RodPad · May 1, 2016

marc312 said:
And I just noticed you live near Mt Hood. I never made it there to ski, only Mt Bachelor. I really like the Portland area. Nice place to live.

Rod Pad’s Videos on Vimeo
or
Google "vimeo rod pad"

Check out one of the Cloud Cap videos
I was to close to Mt Hood to see the top, my wife said you need to go up more.

Then google "crag rat cloud cap"

marc312 · May 1, 2016

RodPad said:
Crap, I don't throw anything away, you should see my garage, no maybe not. I would have thought DJI would want to see them.

They said not to send any accessory which surprised me. I was a bit worried that maybe the battery was a factor but the fact the video goes on after the drone starts falling means it is probably not.

marc312 · May 1, 2016

RodPad said:
Rod Pad’s Videos on Vimeo
or
Google "vimeo rod pad"

Check out one of the Cloud Cap videos
I was to close to Mt Hood to see the top, my wife said you need to go up more.

Then google "crag rat cloud cap"

I was hoping the Cloud Cap was your personal residence so I could come visit. LOL

dg8882 · May 1, 2016

I included just the drone itself in my return box with the gimbal lock and lens cover. No controller or battery.
My first trip to the repair center, The drone came back with gimbal lock partially attached and the lens cover was not there. I'm not going to trust them to return my $120 battery!

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

RodPad · May 1, 2016

marc312 said:
I was hoping the Cloud Cap was your personal residence so I could come visit. LOL

You made me laugh, for real!

marc312 · May 1, 2016

dg8882 said:
I included just the drone itself in my return box with the gimbal lock and lens cover. No controller or battery.
My first trip to the repair center, The drone came back with gimbal lock partially attached and the lens cover was not there. I'm not going to trust them to return my $120 battery!

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app

I just received the shipping label. Out it goes tomorrow. I am just including the drone and gimbal lock.

brisbanekiwi · May 3, 2016

Please let us know what the outcome is.

marc312 · May 3, 2016

brisbanekiwi said:
Please let us know what the outcome is.

I will. It is on its way to DJI. It gets there on Friday.

Ghost Rider · May 3, 2016

This is a prop that came off. My video looked exactly the same and I found it with three broken props attached and one missing. Sadly, DJI will not cover that. The props just won't break off the threads on a crash. Sorry man. I dealt with the same issue.

marc312 · May 4, 2016

Ghost Rider said:
This is a prop that came off. My video looked exactly the same and I found it with three broken props attached and one missing. Sadly, DJI will not cover that. The props just won't break off the threads on a crash. Sorry man. I dealt with the same issue.

That would be a bummer. I am pretty careful putting them on. There should really be a better locking mechanism - like on the P4 I hear.

Ghost Rider · May 4, 2016

marc312 said:
That would be a bummer. I am pretty careful putting them on. There should really be a better locking mechanism - like on the P4 I hear.

I mean, I could be wrong. But I swore I tightened my props right. It did the same thing. It just started cartwheeling til it burned in. I thought mine was the aircraft but when I didn't find one prop attached and three other ones snapped at the hub, and they are carbon fiber, I knew one prop came off. It sucked. Bought P3A to replace it. At at least mine still flew. I'm still thinking my camera broke because I put the new gimbal ribbon in and new arms and it doesn't show any camera feed. I sold it to my neighbor buddy upstairs for his 13 year-old. I just have to get the camera working. I may be buying a new camera for it.

marc312 · May 6, 2016

I am back in the air with a used P3P I purchased on Craigslist. I have to say I am a bit paranoid. I probably overtightened my props. And I am so careful flying that my knuckles are white! Here is one from today.

RodPad · May 6, 2016

Your flying upside down!
You can't get rid of those dandelions that way.
Matter a fact your helping them seed!
Young man you should be grounded.

Looks Good.

marc312 · May 6, 2016

RodPad said:
Your flying upside down!
You can't get rid of those dandelions that way.
Matter a fact your helping them seed!
Young man you should be grounded.

Looks Good.

Actually, I was mowing down bugs. After 35 minutes of flight, the leading edge of the props were covered with them. Reminds me I have to clean them. Here is part 2 of the first flight.