Well I suppose it had to happen some time despite precautions - I had my first crash ever with a Phantom this afternoon - my P3Pro.
Did all the usual pre-flight checks, checked the wind with my anemometer which showed 3-4mph gusting to 7-8mph, all was OK so off I flew. 15 minutes later bringing the bird back in to hand catch (I'm 6'4" so with my arm raised say a catching height of 7'4") just about to take hold when a sudden hard gust flipped it over onto it's back and it went down on it's back, onto a concrete pavement with a "crunch!" on the other side of a fence.
I felt sick as I legged it to my Phantom fearing that the gimbal would be in pieces, etc, etc. But no! The only thing damaged on visual inspection was the gold DJI sticker on top of the body, the battery had been ejected but seemed fine, one of the propellor guard quick releases had partially broken off, and the black plastic knobs on top of the blades were badly scored as they had clearly taken most of the impact.
Got home about 2 hours ago, recalibrated the gimbal, recalibrated the compass, physically checked the motors for being loose and the shafts for any damaged brushes, put on some new blades and did a pre-flight test flight in the garden (well screened from the wind and lawned). The Phantom flew perfectly - held position well and all controls operated perfectly. I've now done a thorough physical check for any cracks (stress or otherwise) or any other damage and can find none! I feel very very lucky.
Did all the usual pre-flight checks, checked the wind with my anemometer which showed 3-4mph gusting to 7-8mph, all was OK so off I flew. 15 minutes later bringing the bird back in to hand catch (I'm 6'4" so with my arm raised say a catching height of 7'4") just about to take hold when a sudden hard gust flipped it over onto it's back and it went down on it's back, onto a concrete pavement with a "crunch!" on the other side of a fence.
I felt sick as I legged it to my Phantom fearing that the gimbal would be in pieces, etc, etc. But no! The only thing damaged on visual inspection was the gold DJI sticker on top of the body, the battery had been ejected but seemed fine, one of the propellor guard quick releases had partially broken off, and the black plastic knobs on top of the blades were badly scored as they had clearly taken most of the impact.
Got home about 2 hours ago, recalibrated the gimbal, recalibrated the compass, physically checked the motors for being loose and the shafts for any damaged brushes, put on some new blades and did a pre-flight test flight in the garden (well screened from the wind and lawned). The Phantom flew perfectly - held position well and all controls operated perfectly. I've now done a thorough physical check for any cracks (stress or otherwise) or any other damage and can find none! I feel very very lucky.