Phantom 3 Crack Repairs

Im at 124 flights, 200Km flown, and after inspection i detected cracks on all sides, the back arms have cracks on 1 screw per arm, and the front arms have cracks on 2 motor screw mounts per arm,,,Contacted DJI and they said i've to send back the unit with a minimum turn-arround time of 8 week after it is checked in !!!!
So basicly i would have to not fly again for rest of summer, this is a BAD solution, i never touched the shell, 0 hard landing, 0 crash, I still use the same blades since day 1, they do have lot of bug kill marks but no cracks or anything....I never expected cracks to form there so it was not part of my check routine, only after reading about this I checked and found that so maybe they have been forming for a while...Here are photos of my P3A i sent to DJI with zoom on the photos with the cracks...Should i keep flying like this ? !!!! This is scary...And what they offering is unacceptable, 8 weeks turn arround is NOT how RMA for defect is suposed to work, they should send me a new complete BODY with no mistake and a box with shipping label to ship back my old body...

The scaryest pic is 9/21....look that crack OMG !
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/xv3nyg26ndw21y7/AAA_wjuk8Lg9LJtBWNUrqlkPa?dl=0

Based on that you probably should do some Phantom Forum repairs if you want to stay in the air. There are plenty listed here. They for sure will keep you in the air.

Not the answer you wanted to hear, I am sure and we all hear your frustration:(-- but these 2 to 3 month wait times are not going to get any better, anytime soon. To me, flying and taking pictures and video may be the way to bury the frustration so it doesn't steal all your joy with the hobby or profession. Keep it in the air-- better times are coming. ;)
 
Awesome suggestion. Didn't know Bondic, but did the same thing today. Had a crack through one of the arms, barely noticeable, right under the ESC. Applied amply, just as you did. Had ordered a refill just to be sure, but didn't even need it. This glue is really awesome.
 
Didn't even notice my crack until my P3A started flying like crap if I accelerated. The play that the crack allows made that motor twist and it would almost fall out of the air under acceleration.
 

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Question regarding bondic. I am reinforcing a brand new shell that I plan to transplant to (my previous cracked BAD after 54min/18 flights and no crashes). Why not use hot glue? Seems to absorb vibration and still hold everything together, also is able to be removed later?

Any inputs as to why bondic would be better than hot glue?
 
Hot glue would probably delaminate from the plastic and separate.

Update on the Bondic. I fixed my original shell and ordered a new one. The fix is holding up so well, I can't see changing the shell at this time. But when I do, I plan on using the Bondic again, no question about it.
 
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Hot glue would probably delaminate from the plastic and separate.

Update on the Bondic. I fixed my original shell and ordered a new one. The fix is holding up so well, I can't see changing the shell at this time. But when I do, I plan on using the Bondic again, no question about it.

Makes sense, hot glue doesn't last long, will try Bondic too but Im still thinking of applying some hot glue on top, as my cracks werent limited to the screws, they were "hairline" cracks all around the arms bottom edge. Seems like a strong chinese man tightened my screws at the factory.
 

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Nice thing about the Bondic is that when it dries, you can sand it and it has an opaque appearance that blends well with the color of the phantom. It would repair that crack nicely
 
Nice thing about the Bondic is that when it dries, you can sand it and it has an opaque appearance that blends well with the color of the phantom. It would repair that crack nicely

Im not even going to bother with the crack. It sure can be repaired... I am still flying with added zip-ties and uavbits strong arm and I feel confident even with the cracks that it would hold. But I have bigger plans... this new shell is going to be awesome!!! And screw DJI, Im going rogue.
 
I have an Advanced also. I've been checking for the cracks I've read about on this forum. But I thought the problem was regarding the two screws further back behind the motor mounts. After seeing your pictures, I looked closely at the 4 holes under the motors. Mine looks different than yours. On most holes I wouldn't be able to see cracks if they were there. My screw heads are nearly flush with the surface, and the size of the screw head is almost as big as the recess.
 
I have an Advanced also. I've been checking for the cracks I've read about on this forum. But I thought the problem was regarding the two screws further back behind the motor mounts. After seeing your pictures, I looked closely at the 4 holes under the motors. Mine looks different than yours. On most holes I wouldn't be able to see cracks if they were there. My screw heads are nearly flush with the surface, and the size of the screw head is almost as big as the recess.
How long have you had it? It may be a later production run where they modified the mounting holes to overcome the cracking issues and used different screws. Don't know that for fact, but DJI certainly took the necessary manufacturing steps to correct this well known issue. Those coming off the assembly line now are surely changed for the better.
 
No, mine was early. I pre ordered. If had about 65 gentle flights.
I just looked again. I have to say the depth of the screws is not entirely consistent, but on most of them, I see only a little of the "wall" of the mounting hole.
 
Me also-- have not had the cracking issues yet, but I had mine apart about a week after I got it-- had to replace a motor-- so all the screws got removed and I know that I didn't over torque them, when I put them back in.
 
How long have you had it? It may be a later production run where they modified the mounting holes to overcome the cracking issues and used different screws. Don't know that for fact, but DJI certainly took the necessary manufacturing steps to correct this well known issue. Those coming off the assembly line now are surely changed for the better.

You'd think that would be the case but I'm still hearing of new owners having the cracks. It's anyone's guess as to what they are doing to correct the issue - if it's just a screwncretorque without any shell enhancement, then the cracks be ongoing I would think.

Not heard anything formal from DJI regarding this, and not sure if any of the DJI 'support' personal have leaked anything regarding any changes to shells, in the various forums
 
I had mine arrive May 8th or something, so really early order. I have not had those cracked screw holes, but a whole crack through one of the wings, as I described, right under the motor. Now that may be due to some crash as I'll happily concede, yet it was good to learn about Bondic; the repair is easy to do anyway.
 
We don't have bondic in Aus either..
I will use hot glue gun and save for a new revised shell.
 

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