Propeller guards - yay or nay?

[Rodjio Rico]

Hi pilots! I know this is a long debated topic by many drone pilots; and I would like to personally listen to your experiences, theory, or judgement regarding if propeller guards really affect the aerodynamic performance of the phantom series drone or are they really an indispensable auxiliaries for the drone?

Thank you pilots! Hope to hear from you.

 

[Meta4]

If you think you need propguards on your Phantom, you are flying too close to obstacles.
Trees and buildings are the number one killer of Phantoms.
Fly out in the open and you avoid the cause of most crashes.
Propguards have their place - if you are flying in a sensitive location indoors.
But otherwise they weigh your Phantom down, reduce speed and flight time, get in frame, catch the wind like a sail and won't fit in the case, while all the time giving flyers a false sense of security.
Here's an example of how they can affect your Phantom in a windy situation:

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[chascoadmin]

Hi pilots! I know this is a long debated topic by many drone pilots; and I would like to personally listen to your experiences, theory, or judgement regarding if propeller guards really affect the aerodynamic performance of the phantom series drone or are they really an indispensable auxiliaries for the drone?

Thank you pilots! Hope to hear from you.

Never. @Meta4 agree. There not even a reason to fly a Phantom indoors. That's not what they're designed for. Sparks and Mavic Mini's on the other hand...
I have a couple of mapping drones, but also a Spark. I haven't flown a Mavic Mini yet, but would love to hear from someone that DJI didn't cripple to geotag accuracies. If anyone has a picture check your GPS data in file details. See if the go to the thousandth of a second.

 

[Deleted member 62848]

If you think you need propguards on your Phantom, you are flying too close to obstacles.
Trees and buildings are the number one killer of Phantoms.
Fly out in the open and you avoid the cause of most crashes.
Propguards have their place - if you are flying in a sensitive location indoors.
But otherwise they weigh your Phantom down, reduce speed and flight time, get in frame, catch the wind like a sail and won't fit in the case, while all the time giving flyers a false sense of security.
Here's an example of how they can affect your Phantom in a windy situation:

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Wow that's good example alright,very lucky pilot who learnt RTH has slower speed.
Myself feel prop guards are useless,if it going down they just bend with impact anyway probably causing more stress up the arms when contact is made

 

[Starz]

Very dispensable is probably more along the lines of the correct terminology.

 

[Kirby Johnson]

If you think you need propguards on your Phantom, you are flying too close to obstacles.
Trees and buildings are the number one killer of Phantoms.
Fly out in the open and you avoid the cause of most crashes.
Propguards have their place - if you are flying in a sensitive location indoors.
But otherwise they weigh your Phantom down, reduce speed and flight time, get in frame, catch the wind like a sail and won't fit in the case, while all the time giving flyers a false sense of security.
Here's an example of how they can affect your Phantom in a windy situation:

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Yeah, if you are just flying around because you can...But if you are doing something like Palm tree inspections for the dreaded Frizzle Top....you need em..

 

[Starz]

Or a Mavic zoom?

 

[Andy9]

That's all what can be said about prop guards. If you need really it put them on otherwise not.
But about the video. It is very hard to watch as all the time the op just needed to fly it back manually - with the stick!
It is pretty obvious what can happen if not knowing how to fly. I believe he never did the same mistake again.

 

[Florida Drone Supply]

Agreed with @Meta4. Unless you are doing something very specific, where you need to fly close that close to something and you feel more comfortable with them on.

 

[cheddarman]

Out in the open, no. Up close and personal (inspection) yes!

However, personally I use them all the time, just in case! It is very easy for the drone to drift, especially when coming in to land in a tight space. Thay have saved me many times and quite honestly do nothing to reduce the flyability of the AC.

 

[RedDog7]

If you wish to use them, use them. There does appear to be those who wish to dictate who can doe what, when and how. Ignore them, let them laugh. I use them, just in case. Try flying into a brick wall backwards without prop guards and see what happens, a smashed prop and probably a smashed quad. I managed to forget about what others thought as I got older. So if I feel like flying with prop guards I will and often I use them simply to watch someone get all hot and bothered about me using them.

Maybe I'll never find myself in a position to use them, but they were there, just in case.

 

[Erised]

In the open no. When training a newbe yes! They may to tip the craft on take off or landing. It saved my P4 from tilling the lawn a few times.