P4P Stress Cracks
- Thread starter Notchiro
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Exactly this. I'm not sure if the stock foam case does it but in my case it was a GCP case. Not bashing GCP by any means because I really like their cases but the P4P GCP case I have puts ALOT of pressure on the drone when the lid is closed.
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Checked my back pack case, no problem, great fit without crushing. This case has straps to hold the AC and RC.
i have a crack on each side of the front left motor right behind the marker light on the top shell should i be worried, its the only one so far
Ours have already cracked again after being repaired. I'm thinking now it's just a product of the extensive amount of use they get, not the case as I had originally thought. Who knows...
I have the exact same cracks, I am a professional drone pilot and have flown hundreds of mapping missions with the P4Pro and last mission I noticed a huge piece of plastic missing during preflight checks, and on another arm a new hairline crack starting up.
I have DJI care as as far as I know (sent the drone off waiting for reply) I should get a replacement. I didn't realise how widespread the issue is until I googled it! Makes sense now that they have a new Platinum model made from Magnesium for Professionals who conduct a lot of flying.
I have 8 batteries and sometimes I use all 8 in a day. Also I use a hard professional case for transport.
I have DJI care as as far as I know (sent the drone off waiting for reply) I should get a replacement. I didn't realise how widespread the issue is until I googled it! Makes sense now that they have a new Platinum model made from Magnesium for Professionals who conduct a lot of flying.
I have 8 batteries and sometimes I use all 8 in a day. Also I use a hard professional case for transport.
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Yes. I got a crack in my P4 and DJI replaced the craft with a new one in April. It was 362 days old when I found a crack at the battery hole corner. The P4P is virtually the same shell material with slight design differences to accommodate the extra sensors. This material just isn't cutting the mustard it seems. I sure hope the P5 to uses something better, I'm hoping carbon fiber.
Yes, thanks to another member of this forum that motivated me to inspect my shell. I had a vinyl wrap on my craft at the time. It had 3 days left on warranty, so I decided I better remove the wrap and inspect the shell after reading about others with cracks around the battery hole. Sure enough, mine had the identical crack in the right lower corner of the battery opening. Who'd a thunk? Worked out great and I was glad I sacrificed my $20 wrap for an annual inspection.
Are all P4P owners going to have stress cracks on the airframe? I purchased my P4P in May of this year and now only have 37 flights. I have been honing my flight skills and yesterday I flew the bird in the sport mode for the first time. I guess I will need to invest in a magnifying glass to inspect with.
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Hard to say, they sold a lot of P4Ps and we see only a small slice of that here. But, I guess preflight inspections will always have to include visual inspection for cracks.
I would wonder, if you catch the crack quickly, if stop drilling it with a small drill or ever a hot pin, might stop the crack. It has been reported that Super Glue will hold, but must be used with caution, as it tends to seep past the intended area.
For those that are not under warranty, this could be a valid method to try to contain them. My experience with aircraft, shows me that cracks in aluminum are not uncommon. Go down the line of private aircraft and look for small holes, drilled at the end of a crack. I had a few on my Piper Cherokee 180, mostly on the flaps, they take a lot of stress when landing. I did end up replacing one flap, when I felt uncomfortable with a new crack. Now, this was completely legal, done by a certified aircraft mechanic, so this is a common practice.
Bakersviile Quad, I do understand stress cracks and stop drilling them from my days as a A&P. I guess anything that flies endures different loads which can cause cracks or failure. I am working on smooth transitions and not making any harsh maneuvers or stops. I just ordered a nice magnifying glass to add to my bag and to use on my post flights. I will follow up on this string as I get more flights under my belt.(DB)
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Yeah, me too, I don't have enough air time on the P4P to see anything yet I guess. But, I will keep a good eye on these problem areas. As an A&P, you have seen this many times. I too worked on aircraft, A&P in the Military, Vietnam era, F-8, A4, F4 Phantom mostly.
Plastic isn't as strong as aluminum , in resisting cracks, I am pretty sure of that. But usually cracks come from vibration or load, either one will crack most anything. The first thing I did was balance all my props, got 4 sets with the new P4P. I wrote a thread about that and how the props were not only unbalanced, but did not weigh the same, up to .6 grams difference between the 16 blades. Balance is a keen issue as you well know.
Next, load is the suspect for me. The vents present a problem, they are in a poor place structurally to me. They are necessary, I get that, but reinforcement is essential when there is a hole in a load bearing structure, like a motor mount or bulkhead or the wing. I think that motors, spinning independently, as a drone does, might cause twisting loads on that structure, which would result in cracks. The vents are a perfect place for that to happen.
The ones near the motor, well, those look like stress related cracks, maybe from the screws tightening on the plastic? Holes for screws or rivets are typical places for cracks to appear.
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UPDATE - I was offered either a replacement for $350 or repair for $115, I took the repair, get it back mid next week.
I'm not worried about the cost, but will keep this limitation of the platform in mind. I have another professional fixed wing drone that has completed over 2000 hours of flying and apart from incidents of complete or partial destruction (requiring insurance claim and rebuild) no wear and tear ever occurred during all those hours.
I suppose that is the difference between a $25k proffessional platform and a $2500 consumer 'pro' platform. Still, that's a lot of stress cracks that could be repaired for the savings.
I'm not worried about the cost, but will keep this limitation of the platform in mind. I have another professional fixed wing drone that has completed over 2000 hours of flying and apart from incidents of complete or partial destruction (requiring insurance claim and rebuild) no wear and tear ever occurred during all those hours.
I suppose that is the difference between a $25k proffessional platform and a $2500 consumer 'pro' platform. Still, that's a lot of stress cracks that could be repaired for the savings.
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Hmmm...was the brake level increassed to the extreme. Or anything other extreme conditions?
