Phantom 3pro lost motor mid flight.....total loss
- Thread starter AIRNUTS
- Start date
+1. The shell you have has the notches in each the tabs that look like devils ears. This is the shell that everyone should update to.
I requested lower a shell to be sent from DJI and they supplied me one like yours but without the X brace in the middle.
Sorry for the loss and the pucker factor it must have induced. DJI HAS to cover this type of catastrophic failure!
I would like to send you a set of the Arm Reinforcements that I make. Once you get the bird warrantied please let me know and I will send you a set to keep you, your family, other people and property safe.
That's how I roll.
Here is a picture in white on my bird. I also can print in a variety of other colors if you desire.
With these mounted your motors aren't going anywhere!
The picture is not showing up for me. I'm interested in seeing these.
I did the same. Just don't ever want to worry about cracks. But now this! Wow, glad no one got hurt and that the drone and motor ended up where they could be found. It would be tough getting DJI to believe that the motor separated, without having the pieces.
Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots mobile app
Just speculating that maybe a prop went bad or was way out of balance and the vibration from that is what helped crack the plastic and dislodge the motor. I say this because the crack surrounds the bolt pattern exactly...
I'm not trying to add fuel to any fire, but in actuality, you could have prevented it by adding the strong arm supports when you bought it like many of us have. This shell failure just shows for a fact that adding the strong arm supports when new makes a huge difference. I'm also assuming that you do balance the props and that one of them failed or lost a tip or something
I'm not trying to add fuel to any fire, but in actuality, you could have prevented it by adding the strong arm supports when you bought it like many of us have. This shell failure just shows for a fact that adding the strong arm supports when new makes a huge difference. I'm also assuming that you do balance the props and that one of them failed or lost a tip or something
Says the folder does not exist.
'
Maybe send me a message. Don't want to hijack this poor guy's thread.
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2015
- Messages
- 124
- Reaction score
- 56
- Age
- 52
Just speculating that maybe a prop went bad or was way out of balance and the vibration from that is what helped crack the plastic and dislodge the motor. I say this because the crack surrounds the bolt pattern exactly...
I'm not trying to add fuel to any fire, but in actuality, you could have prevented it by adding the strong arm supports when you bought it like many of us have. This shell failure just shows for a fact that adding the strong arm supports when new makes a huge difference. I'm also assuming that you do balance the props and that one of them failed or lost a tip or something
I been flying radio control planes and helis for more than 20 years, belive me when i tell you that those props were in perfect shape and balance, there is only one reaso why that motor came off, POOR DESING play and simple, no other reason, thats why everyone is recommending the strong arm support, because there is a real problem with the desing of this drone, again i am so glad that no one was hurt, thats all i care at this point.
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2015
- Messages
- 124
- Reaction score
- 56
- Age
- 52
Dont feel bad for me, DJI is going to replace the drone, I did nothing wrong to cause that motor to separeta, and i am more concern with this happening again and someone getting hurt, I lost all my confidence on this drone.
Send me you email and i will send you those pictures
Yea, I figured you did have them balanced, yup I agree with poor design and that's why I bought the plastic strong arms and they have saved my motors because unlike you... I have had 2 crashes
I don't always fly safe for the UAV, I'm diving between trees, etc. I would recheck the balance on that prop to prove to myself that it was still good and post the outcome here for us also. Even back in the 60's when I crashed my first old cox plane dad taught me the ol' saying - °°°What goes up°°°Must come down°°° and they've come down every time sooner or later hehe
Oso
Premium Pilot
Maybe reach out to Chris and see how DJI handled it when the same thing happened to him.
Sudden crash
Did you ever use Loctite to secure the screws to the motors? This product has been know to cause deterioration to the plastic therefore, not recommended. Not sure if it's the blue or red that is not recommended for use with plastic.
After seeing the nice big clear images posted I feel pretty confident the plastic becoming heat soaked plays a large role in this. The breaking points were also the weakest points if it were due to heat. The areas that let go were from pure torque as if the A/C was heavy and having to be full throttle as it climbed upward.
Btw, most on here know I try and help in awkward situations(like this one) by diagnosing the Flight Log. I came across a members flight log a few weeks ago that had to do with a crash and complete damage loss of their P3. Anyway, in this particular flight I found where the motors on this P3 had turned over 12,000 rpm! The normal rpm's is around 7600. So who knows, maybe the OP's A/C suffered from freakish event?
AIRNUTS are you able to attach at least the .txt Flight Log version here for diagnosing?
Good deal Frank! Great to have folks like you to help diagnose issues after the fact. 12,00 RPM. Ridiculous! The ESC's on the mainboard are supposed to limit that kind of RPM from my understanding.
Use Strong Arm (or similar) reinforcement plates and forget about the plastic filler. I wouldn't take the upper shell of my new P3 off when the external plates will do the trick.
Sorry for your loss.
Sorry for your loss.
I'm gonna play the devil's advocate here, and I might get severely flamed for it, but I think it needs to be said.
If your P3 fell from the height shown in your video, it seriously could have killed somebody. It's a stretch, but yeah, a small child on that beach, his little head still soft on top.. Hell, it would have wrecked my hard-headed *** pretty friggin' bad.
If that had happened, not only would you be facing a zillion dollar lawsuit, you very likely would be facing criminal charges.
If your P3 fell from the height shown in your video, it seriously could have killed somebody. It's a stretch, but yeah, a small child on that beach, his little head still soft on top.. Hell, it would have wrecked my hard-headed *** pretty friggin' bad.
If that had happened, not only would you be facing a zillion dollar lawsuit, you very likely would be facing criminal charges.
You can use the Blue loctite on just the tip of the threads that go into the motor . That way no loctite will be in contact with any part of the upper or lower shells.
My Strong Arms have spacers inside that go into the holes so they take up the "gap" between the arm reinforcement and the arm of the drone itself.
Attachments
We can all speculate on worst case scenarios , but in actuality if one looks at the statistical evidence regarding drone injuries they are statistically so low as to be non relevant. If you are of the school of thought that thinks this is because there are not that many drones that have been purchased. Think again. There were over 1 million new drones sold in 2015 alone.
Whats the number one you ask? Crutches , canes , and walkers
Average Annual Injuries: 416,052
Percent of Injuries to Males: 73.8%
Percent of Injuries to Females: 26.1%
Most Common Body Part Injured: Head
So if we need to worry about being injured efforts should be focused on the area that poses the most threat and greatest danger.
https://www.graphiq.com/wlp/e69adlqqnul
Also , when evaluating the case to file for criminal charges one would have to prove intent to do harm. That's not going to happen with a recreational , hobbyist drone pilot unless observed doing intentionally malicious and harmful flying. The flight logs would prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was no intent to cause harm if it even came to that.
Similar threads
