Prop Guards???

[nonflyingbrick]

I've flown about 150 flights and my recommendation from personal experience is: use them almost always, except when flying in high wind to a distant target (or when flying to a very distant target under any wind condition).
I personally hand-catch (landing) only when using the prop guards. I put my safety first. The only time ever I crashed was a flip-over when trying to land on a bad landing place (a gym mat on the grass, yes, bad idea) because I prefered not to hand-catch without the guards. If you're fine with a minuscule chance of cutting your fingers with the blades your preference about the guards may vary.
And yes, the guards are a pain to avoid getting them into the video. You have to play with height and acceleration but it's doable.
They do affect speed a bit but it's only noticeable when flying in high winds.

 

[peter west nz]

i bought a set of prop guards when i bought my Phantom Vision.
yes that was a long time ago.
i never attached them to the vision and i never used them.

Same here when I bought my first 2v+. They are still in the packet! I Always hand-catch too - there is a second or so when they are powering-down on landing when you have no control & the windage area of the props allows the bird to be blown over by a gust of wind - just as in any heli. At least they don't usually do dynamic rollovers like the helis!

 

[Phill2]

In the beginning, it is wise to use the prop guards to save from damaging your quad. Yes the prop guards do effect flight ability and slows down response and abilities, but is hard to see if your a novice. Just remember to take it slow and easy and not get in any hurry on learning to fly any Phantom or Quad. Remember to do the DJI dance before every flight (compass calibration) and make sure that you properly calibrate the IMU for safe flying.

Hi Guys
I'm a noob so this is probably a stupid question but what is the IMU?

 

[alokbhargava]

Hi Guys
I'm a noob so this is probably a stupid question but what is the IMU?

Inertia measure t unit. It is responsible to calculate velocity, acceleration, forces etc and is the main computational unit to work out the different forces acting on drone.

 

[CaptPhantom]

I've been flying a lot in heavily wooded areas. The bush in Australia is unforgiving, so the prop guards can be a drone saver when flying amongst obstacles. Eg. Using it as a surveying tool.

Also, when landing in scrub amongst heavy ground vegetation on uneven terrain, the prop guards will save your drone when it tips.

That said, the bird will drift much more in any wind. I have noticed it more with 1.4.

 

[Phill2]

Inertia measure t unit. It is responsible to calculate velocity, acceleration, forces etc and is the main computational unit to work out the different forces acting on drone.

Thanks for that
Where do I find it and what do I need to do with it.
If it's in the manual let me know and I;ll look for it

 

[Phill2]

Thanks for that
Where do I find it and what do I need to do with it.
If it's in the manual let me know and I;ll look for it

Found it thanks
Still getting used to forum format

 

[Noodle]

View attachment 39293

I've been flying a lot in heavily wooded areas. The bush in Australia is unforgiving, so the prop guards can be a drone saver when flying amongst obstacles.

One problem with prop guards is if you hit a tree branch, the prop guard can get tangled high up the tree branch instead of the drone falling down and you could retrieve it from the ground. That's how I lost my very first drone (Syma X5C-1) when its prop guard got tangled high up on a tree

 

[Phill2]

View attachment 39293

I've been flying a lot in heavily wooded areas. The bush in Australia is unforgiving, so the prop guards can be a drone saver when flying amongst obstacles. Eg. Using it as a surveying tool.

Also, when landing in scrub amongst heavy ground vegetation on uneven terrain, the prop guards will save your drone when it tips.

That said, the bird will drift much more in any wind. I have noticed it more with 1.4.

Where are you Palmai?
I'm in Yeppoon QLD

 

[CaptPhantom]

One problem with prop guards is if you hit a tree branch, the prop guard can get tangled high up the tree branch instead of the drone falling down and you could retrieve it from the ground. That's how I lost my very first drone (Syma X5C-1) when its prop guard got tangled high up on a tree

True, snagging risk can increase amongst young or dense growth especially. Even so, I have been wedged without prop guards, 25m up. I ended up chopping the tree down. (The tree was sick for any of you tree huggers). The P3 sustained zero damage on the way down landing gently on decimated foliage. I think in that particular situation, the prop guards would have averted the sticky situation entirely. The navigation error could have been avoided if the glare of the sun did not hinder my screen view. I always wear a screen hood now. FPV Fatshark HD V3 on my list later this year when it is released...

 

[CaptPhantom]

Where are you Palmai?
I'm in Yeppoon QLD

Hi Phill2... I fly my drone in Cobungra VIC and surrounding Mt Hotham area.

 

[alokbhargava]

True, snagging risk can increase amongst young or dense growth especially. Even so, I have been wedged without prop guards, 25m up. I ended up chopping the tree down. (The tree was sick for any of you tree huggers). The P3 sustained zero damage on the way down landing gently on decimated foliage. I think in that particular situation, the prop guards would have averted the sticky situation entirely. The navigation error could have been avoided if the glare of the sun did not hinder my screen view. I always wear a screen hood now. FPV Fatshark HD V3 on my list later this year when it is released...

You need to fly higher than any obstacle in your flying area. No Fpv or prop guard will help you.

 

[CaptPhantom]

You need to fly higher than any obstacle in your flying area. No Fpv or prop guard will help you.

Flying in the mountains above 1000m can be difficult and I am looking for any advantage. Most often, I fly above the tree line.

The terrain includes a lot of downhill flying. I am often showing -ive altitude from the home point which makes it tricky when the drone is a KM or so away.

(Sorry to go off topic), I'd like to consider an autonomous flight app for this type of flying.

I find prop guards to be OK to fly with unless it is very windy, which is rare in that particular terrain. That said, I have had some noteable drift with 1.4 and prop guards on. Looking at moving back to 1.3 and comparing also with prop guards on.

 

[PJ Orlando]

I have them but only if I plan to fly indoors. Have never put them on. I don't have a ton of flights with this yet but I don't think I'll ever need them outdoors.

 

[MrMcfly]

I have the prop guards on. They saved my drone once from an altercation with a tree trunk, strong gust of wind, and inexperience.
I keep them on now for visual orientation. Contrasting colors make seeing the orientation of the drone very easy when it's up high.
You can keep them out of filming by adjusting your gimbal down about 10 degrees before full forward flight. Rarely a deal breaker
when filming, considering you're usually filming the ground.

As you become more savvy with your DJI GO app, you can utilize it for drone orientation (map screen), but visually verifying direction
is a warmer fuzzier feeling for me, so I'll stick with them. I still fly VLOS... something about losing sight of $1k makes me edgy.

 

[SamuelDC1968]

Better yet first time flyers should get a 50.00 quad and learn the controls. Syma x5 or equivalent.

 

[MrMcfly]

Better yet first time flyers should get a 50.00 quad and learn the controls. Syma x5 or equivalent.

Agreed! But everyone will have a first time with the P3, which doesn't fly anything like either of my 'trainer UAVs'.

 

[King Luff]

I have snap ons and occasionally use them. I share my stuff on social media regularly, by using prop guards I can say that i have taken safety precautions when flying near (not over) roads and potential people walking by. They effect the phantom quite a lot in performance but as I only really take stills and not video it doesn't bother me too much.

 

[m0j0]

Agreed! But everyone will have a first time with the P3, which doesn't fly anything like either of my 'trainer UAVs'.

I think the mechanics are the same. The trainers force you to work on the orientation skills. It did help me.

 

[MoOriginal]

They must have performance penalties.

I bought some with my P3 but have never used them. Realized pretty quick they were not necessary since I wasn't going to do any indoor flying. Also I have not wanted to mess with the factory-set screws and introduce any issues.

I did exactly this!