Prop sheared off the propellor

[guywoodland]

Any ideas about this? The blade separated the prop which remained attached all the way back to the ground.

 

[RunningWithScissors]

That sucks. Sorry to hear about your loss. It's hard to tell looking at the photos but, are those genuine DJI props?

 

[Fly Dawg]

You mean the blade separated from the prop hub actually, but which motor. It looks like you hit something, just judging from the missing tip on one side ( which may have occured after impact) and the other edge damage on the same side that separated. Is this Front Right/Left or Back Right/Left?....

 

[Sagebrush]

I too think it was a prop strike based on the missing tip and the leading edge damage of the other blade.

 

[guywoodland]

The drone was in the middle of a sports field hovering at about 8 feet. Nothing around for miles.

You mean the blade separated from the prop hub actually, but which motor. It looks like you hit something, just judging from the missing tip on one side ( which may have occured after impact) and the other edge damage on the same side that separated. Is this Front Right/Left or Back Right/Left?....

As you say separated from the hub. The tip broke when the blade hit the ground having watched it from about 20 feet away. It was the back left. The prop went as I applied power to climb almost at the point that the command was made.

 

[Paul2660]

Lots of more info in this post:

It happened again - prop failure #2...

Based on OP's comments on flight, either prop was defective or damaged somehow when put on the drone as it clearly did not hit anything, flying in the clear.

Note, the prop in the other post appears to have broken in the exactly same place, right by the hub.

Paul C

 

[msinger]

Lots of more info in this post:

It happened again - prop failure #2...

Based on OP's comments on flight, either prop was defective or damaged somehow when put on the drone as it clearly did not hit anything, flying in the clear.

Note, the prop in the other post appears to have broken in the exactly same place, right by the hub.

Paul C

That other poster was using 3rd party props.

 

[Paul2660]

That other poster was using 3rd party props.

HI msinger, towards the end of the post, there is mention by one user who claimed not to use DJI props. However I thought Harleydude, the OP was using a DJI prop. I went back to the first post and he implies that he was using a DjI prop. If I read it correctly, he had a previous issue also. He moved to the Obsidian props.

Obviously I may be missing something. Also, from looking at his first post, Harleydude's prop had a hub failure, where as this issue broke where the blade enters the hub.

Paul C

 

[msinger]

Obviously I may be missing something.

You did, but that's understandable since he split his story into a few threads. You can find the latest update here:

Mid-flight propeller failure - mystery solved....

 

[Paul2660]

Thanks, I did miss that. Personally not clear what would cause someone to use a non DjI prop, even with his volume of flights. But I am just more conservative I guess.

Thanks again for clarification.

Paul C

 

[msinger]

Personally not clear what would cause someone to use a non DjI prop, even with his volume of flights.

In his case, he thought he was using OEM DJI props. Watch his video and he'll explain

 

[Paul2660]

Thanks, that explains it. Based on his airtime and experience I was surprised that non DJI props were in use.

Paul C

 

[RunningWithScissors]

Ahem, this rather relevant question probably got overlooked due to all the commotion above, so I'll post it again...

It's hard to tell looking at the photos but, are those genuine DJI props?

 

[umanbean]

Based on his airtime and experience I was surprised that non DJI props were in use.

Yeah, that was rather surprising wasn't it?

It's hard to tell looking at the photos but, are those genuine DJI props?

Good call, from the photos you can't see the 'DJI' logo stamped into the top - as it would be with all OEM props

 

[msinger]

from the photos you can't see the 'DJI' logo stamped into the top - as it would be with all OEM props

You can see the DJI logo here:

However, the markings on the prop are a little different than all of my P4 props. Compare the "9450s" and lock symbol here:

 

[umanbean]

You can see the DJI logo here:



However, the markings on the prop are a little different than all of my P4 props. Compare the "9450s" and lock symbol here:

Well I'll be dipped... not the first time I've been wrong though

I didn't bother to zoom the photos, and thought the logo would be more prominently visible without having to zoom in. That's what I get for thinking...

 

[RunningWithScissors]

You can see the DJI logo here:

I tried several times but was unable to zoom in on the photos to get that detail, so thanks for that. I'll have to compare those markings that you pointed out.

 

[msinger]

@guywoodland, any updates on this? Did you confirm you were using 3rd party props?

 

[RunningWithScissors]

(crickets chirping)

 

[Ian Bailey]

For critical stuff like props always use genuine gear and always do a proper pre flight check of all your hardware first. If you can't afford genuine props then sell your drone and get a cheap $30 instead it won't matter if you abuse or wreck it then.