How to check your Phantom 3 for stress cracks *VIDEO*

[tasso]

Is this really so bad a little crack. It's not falling apart in the sky and drops down suddenly, come on.
I never see a story here that a phantom falling in pieces to the ground.

 

[envisionabove]

The video is great....I just found out about these things...if you look through them you will see stuff up really close. I checked my bird again with this new modern tool and still just the one crack. It mite be good to use when gluing as well.

 

[silverstoned83]

Is this really so bad a little crack. It's not falling apart in the sky and drops down suddenly, come on.
I never see a story here that a phantom falling in pieces to the ground.

So the arms losing their rigidity doesn't concern you?

 

[spankybear]

UPDATE:
Got a call from DJI tonight. The lady on the phone said she reviewed my video and pictures I sent and said she would be sending me a new unit on Monday. She wants me to send mine back once I get mine.

Light at the end of the tunnel? I hope so.

Good deal! You must have been very nice on the phone!

 

[tasso]

If

So the arms losing their rigidity doesn't concern you?

How many phantoms are being sold? Have you hear one story of a bird that's falling in pieces to the ground. Well i din't you? I mean you hear only this kind of storys and people are realy in panic. Look a youtube this happend also with the phantom 2. My new car has no noise when i get it from the dealer and now after 3 months you here noises. Is it concerning me no because you uses things.

 

[Frostmann]

Same problem

 

[bobmyers]

Well still no word from DJI or US Hobby. I have to head to the hardware store in a few to pick up some stuff so I'll probably pick up some LocTite Super Glue Professional while I'm there.

EDIT: Is there a difference between Loctite Super Glue and Gorilla Glue Super Glue?

no they are CA glues.

 

[Kman]

Same problem

I would glue that. If mine didn't have a hole I would have glued it.

 

[bobmyers]

Check out this repair solution called "Bondic". http://notaglue.com It is a liquid plastic welding/glue material that is cured immediately using infrared light... It is similar to what dentists use to glue various things into our pie-holes. I've used Bondic on multiple repairs to other items and it is easy to use, strong and works well. I do some 3d Printing at home and it has proven invaluable at bonding prints that are too big or complex to print in one piece. It is also available at Amazon/Prime.

As I write this I'm less than 1 hour from buying my first big-boy quad, a P3A, from a local hobby shop. I plan on un-boxing and inspecting the bird for cracks before I put down the cash. I also hope to try to determine what firmware is loaded but not sure how to go about that yet.

BTW, I'm a noob. I've been flying 'toy' quads since Christmas and I have RTFM at least 3 times now. I plan to RTFM again with bird in front of me and follow all the procedures to the letter (except firmware update), then practice in training mode before I take to the air.

Just ordered some, thanks for the tip!!

 

[envisionabove]

Check out this repair solution called "Bondic". http://notaglue.com It is a liquid plastic welding/glue material that is cured immediately using infrared light... It is similar to what dentists use to glue various things into our pie-holes. I've used Bondic on multiple repairs to other items and it is easy to use, strong and works well. I do some 3d Printing at home and it has proven invaluable at bonding prints that are too big or complex to print in one piece. It is also available at Amazon/Prime.

As I write this I'm less than 1 hour from buying my first big-boy quad, a P3A, from a local hobby shop. I plan on un-boxing and inspecting the bird for cracks before I put down the cash. I also hope to try to determine what firmware is loaded but not sure how to go about that yet.

BTW, I'm a noob. I've been flying 'toy' quads since Christmas and I have RTFM at least 3 times now. I plan to RTFM again with bird in front of me and follow all the procedures to the letter (except firmware update), then practice in training mode before I take to the air.

Purchased

 

[Frostmann]

I would glue that. If mine didn't have a hole I would have glued it.

I will not cling A few days old P3 :-( I was disappointed with the quality

 

[gravity]

Funny you mentioned ipad... Just got my ipad2 air on Monday... Now to use your example of an ipad arriving cracked... Would that be Apple's fault? A design fault? Or something outside of Apple's control. With this scenario I would say the shipping company would be a fault. This isn't a warranty issue (with or without a warranty) But that's... um... apple to oranges. Not a good point to use for your argument.

How do we know you didn't cause the crack? What is the root cause for the crack? did you tighten the props wrong? Is it a design issue or something else? It cracked for a reason. Also is this crack making the craft unusable? Is it cosmetic? Do you think something cosmetic should be warrantied?

I am not going to argue if this is a good business practice or not. Time will only tell if DJI loses money or not.

Was your P3 not new when you got it?

Now on the the ethics of this. How is this unethical? It's not illegal, they did not hide the fact they do not warranty the shell or did they force you to buy your P3. Did you or did you not read and understand the warranty before you bought your P3?

Wow.... I really hope you don't ever attempt to run a business. Knowingly putting out defective products and claiming "the warranty does not cover that part" is not the kind of business practice that would keep you in business for long. Luckily there's a very similar thread here with the same issues and DJI is apparently investigating that this may be an over-torquing issue from the factory. All warranties aside, if you buy a new product and it has a manufacturing defect, the customer should receive some form of compensation. In this case the solution would be DJI sending out a plastic shell that costs them pennies on the dollar and in return, maintaining customer confidence and loyalty. I'm sure within the next few years there will be quite a few more buying options than there are right now.

 

[delirious]

Here's mine. I've only put some glue around the screw hole. Nothing at the crack in the middle. Think it ok to fly?

 

[Bigdz]

Here's mine. I've only put some glue around the screw hole. Nothing at the crack in the middle. Think it ok to fly?

I wouldn't fly it til you fused those cracks! With the techniques and products listed above.

If not call dji and see what the say[emoji87][emoji86][emoji85]

My cracks are hair line probably the start of something worse but caught it before it would've gotten worse... I backed out screws(few were tighter then, they should've been...and I reset them...

Glued hair line cracks and guerrilla taped arms. Seems secured

If I were a Oakland Raider Fan I'd be very proud... But it represents the Bay Area...and really can't go wrong with the black and silver

 

[Kman]

I wouldn't fly it til you fused those cracks! With the techniques and products listed above.

If not call dji and see what the say[emoji87][emoji86][emoji85]

My cracks are hair line probably the start of something worse but caught it before it would've gotten worse... I backed out screws(few were tighter then, they should've been...and I reset them...

Glued hair line cracks and guerrilla taped arms. Seems secured

If I were a Oakland Raider Fan I'd be very proud... But it represents the Bay Area...and really can't go wrong with the black and silver
View attachment 23803

A lot less flex in the arms with the tape? I'll probably go this route when my new unit comes. I believe gorilla tape also comes in white.

 

[Bigdz]

A lot less flex in the arms with the tape? I'll probably go this route when my new unit comes. I believe gorilla tape also comes in white.

SEEMS secured, didn't say it was...this is just an added band aid... OR...more likely...Phantom OCD

It's giving me a piece of mind-only time will tell and by then (hopefully) DJI OR a third party will have designed a stronger...lighter...shell.

To be continued
Happy flying!

 

[Kman]

I added small zip ties to the areas you put tape on in your pics. No more flex at all. The arms are super solid now.

Good fix for those who do t want to glue the shells together.

 

[Kman]

This completely eliminated the flex in the arms that caused the cracking. Hope this helps some people.

 

[Opman711]

This completely eliminated the flex in the arms that caused the cracking. Hope this helps some people.

That looks pretty good. My bird is still pretty new and I've been itching to get home and check for cracks. Thankfully there were none. I did your twisting motion on the arms and they feel pretty solid but I think I'll try your method to be on the safe side. Thanks!

 

[robert velez]

Thanks for the heads up. Going to check mine now. If it comes down to a defective design, I'm wondering if this is on going and can we track this via serial numbers? I know many manufacturers have a code similar to VINs where earlier manufacturing have issues, but later manufactured dates do not.