Not very happy with the build quality of the P4P..

Joined
Dec 10, 2016
Messages
25
Reaction score
6
Age
54
Due some inexperience-ness my P4P flew against the pavement edge during landing. Not very hard and the props are still fine. I found however that a little cap from the legs was 'opened' a bit. When unscrewing I discovered a tiny plastic pin had broke off causing it not to lock tight anymore. I requested a new part at DJI which will be honored but takes for more then a month sofar. I contacted the shopkeeper before but he had no spare parts of this kind. He did mention to receive them some day since I wasn't the first buyer with this issue..

Yesterday I pulled the rubber plug to charge the controller and it came of.. really no excessive force used.. I requested a replacement again. bI expect this from old rubber which has been in the sun to long but not from a newly bought product :-(

I find the build quality of the P4P very dissapointing. I didn't have any hard crashes but fear the day that I might experience one. Anyone else experiences the same or new issues of this kind?

Pics attached!
 

Attachments

  • 20170323_125232.jpg
    20170323_125232.jpg
    2.7 MB · Views: 676
  • 20170224_162649.jpg
    20170224_162649.jpg
    992.6 KB · Views: 628
There have been threads of the rubber plug getting ripped off from being put into bags. Does seem a flimsy piece though. If mine goes, so be it.

As to the landing gear piece, I've never had a hard landing (yet) where I could damage the gear, but I always manually hover and land it ("Grease the landing" as my CFI would tell me.). Never have used the RTH or Auto-Land either as I don't trust the altitude system at all on mine as it often shows -40 feet or something in GO so I don't know how that bird's automation would handle that and maybe come in too hard thinking the ground was another 40 feet below. I've seen some pretty troublesome (hard) RTH landings in other's videos so I don't go there and grease it in manually.
 
I like that phrase "grease the landing". Thank you GMack. If nothing else it looks professional and is easy on the equipment.
 
Due some inexperience-ness my P4P flew against the pavement edge during landing. Not very hard and the props are still fine. I found however that a little cap from the legs was 'opened' a bit. When unscrewing I discovered a tiny plastic pin had broke off causing it not to lock tight anymore. I requested a new part at DJI which will be honored but takes for more then a month sofar. I contacted the shopkeeper before but he had no spare parts of this kind. He did mention to receive them some day since I wasn't the first buyer with this issue..

Yesterday I pulled the rubber plug to charge the controller and it came of.. really no excessive force used.. I requested a replacement again. bI expect this from old rubber which has been in the sun to long but not from a newly bought product :-(

I find the build quality of the P4P very dissapointing. I didn't have any hard crashes but fear the day that I might experience one. Anyone else experiences the same or new issues of this kind?

Pics attached!
The plug in the controller is flimsy for sure. But as to landing, I would highly recommend that you start hand catching your bird to avoid this very thing. A lot of times if it's windy once you touchdown it can be blown over. It's just so easy to hand catch and eliminate dirt and dust getting up into it possibly too. I've been super impressed with build quality overall on two P4's I had and now with the P4P! No problems here yet.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eddyfisher
my rubber plug on the controller came off as well on my P4, but honestly, its not really a big deal IMO, not worth a forum post....if you ask me, i just put it back on when i'm not charging and it stays put.
 
  • Like
Reactions: PhantomPhreak
My P3p remote had the same issue. Um... I could care less..but I could see how that may be an issue for others. Now to the broken piece from your crash. I would be more concerned about where that small piece is than the fact that it doesn't lock down.
 
There have been threads of the rubber plug getting ripped off from being put into bags. Does seem a flimsy piece though. If mine goes, so be it.

As to the landing gear piece, I've never had a hard landing (yet) where I could damage the gear, but I always manually hover and land it ("Grease the landing" as my CFI would tell me.). Never have used the RTH or Auto-Land either as I don't trust the altitude system at all on mine as it often shows -40 feet or something in GO so I don't know how that bird's automation would handle that and maybe come in too hard thinking the ground was another 40 feet below. I've seen some pretty troublesome (hard) RTH landings in other's videos so I don't go there and grease it in manually.
VPS would correct for miscalculated landing altitude. Altitude should be more accurate though unless ambient barometric pressure changed enough during flight.
If all else fails you can cancel RTH before it hits the ground, as well as being able to still control it.
 
Well I just received another dji supporr mail stating that the'll keep me i formed when replacement parts arrive ad again they ask for my shipment address.. we'll see.
Since the damage occured I attached a cord/strap and became a master in handcatching ;-D

Hopefully this stuff does' t happen too often.. bought extra landing gear for landi g in sand and grass, a silicon cover to protect the controller and then something stupid like a pavement edge causes the damage grr..
 
The rubber plug on mine is really stiff to open and I always close it right after unplugging the charger because it gets in my way and I'm afraid I am going to rip it off. I figured it was that thick to protect from light rain spray or water ingestion so I will always try my best to keep it covered. I applied some PAM to it to help it. Thank you all for suggesting hand catch. I never use auto land but I have noticed that even with the slightest throttle input the land can be a little harsh depending on wind and how uneven the surface is. I haven't been hand catching since I don't want to set my remote in the mud but I think once I get a remote strap and a cover for my remote I will be hand catching from now on.
 
The rubber plug on mine is really stiff to open and I always close it right after unplugging the charger because it gets in my way and I'm afraid I am going to rip it off. I figured it was that thick to protect from light rain spray or water ingestion so I will always try my best to keep it covered. I applied some PAM to it to help it. Thank you all for suggesting hand catch. I never use auto land but I have noticed that even with the slightest throttle input the land can be a little harsh depending on wind and how uneven the surface is. I haven't been hand catching since I don't want to set my remote in the mud but I think once I get a remote strap and a cover for my remote I will be hand catching from now on.

I hold the remote in one hand and catch it with the other hand. Then I just hold the throttle fully down for a few seconds until the motors switch off. You definitely don't need to put it in the dirt, and it's nice to have the remote in hand so you can cut the engine off immediately. It doesn't feel right to me to not have the rc in hand while the phantom is on. You should give it a try as long as you feel comfortable doing so. Good luck and happy flying to you!
 
  • Like
Reactions: K9VXV
I hold the remote in one hand and catch it with the other hand. Then I just hold the throttle fully down for a few seconds until the motors switch off. You definitely don't need to put it in the dirt, and it's nice to have the remote in hand so you can cut the engine off immediately. It doesn't feel right to me to not have the rc in hand while the phantom is on. You should give it a try as long as you feel comfortable doing so. Good luck and happy flying to you!

Thank you. I have an IPhone 7 Plus in an Otterbox so it has to be a bit off center so I don't clip against the volume buttons. My remote is just squirrelly on the balance when I hold it in one hand but I will give it a try! I live in a Valley. It's full boggy, wet grass and mud so it would be very nice to work on keeping things cleaner. I clean the Phantom after every flight but it would be nice to just have bugs and things instead.

Jesse
 
Never seperate the drone and the controller would be my advice :)

I don't understand how that would work though.. the drone tries to keep it's gps coordinate so it would be a struggle to walk back to your remote..? A simple key-neck-chord works fine. Manouver the Phantom in front of you at the right height.. Keep fingers on the controller stick and rth button grab the landing gear with the other hand and pull the stick and push the button. Nothing too it when you try it a few times. (just don't get sloppy and keep watching your fingers :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: K9VXV

Recent Posts

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,352
Members
104,933
Latest member
mactechnic