Should I ground my bird?

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Just going over my P3P since we are leaving for Florida in 2 weeks. I came across the dreaded stress cracks on one arm. You can see where the crack is on the arm, there are actually two cracks there. Should this thing be grounded now?
 

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Open the crack a bit with Dremmel tool, and sand a bit around the cracks, apply 2 part epoxy in the cracks, let dry and sand
Smooth! This will get you going until your new shell can be ordered and shipped!

But I'd definately look into replacing g the shell soon.

J Dot
:cool:

Can't make in any worse!:)
 
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It needs to be a quick remedial fix/delaying action, as you probably haven't got time to get anything else done before you go.... Maybe add a few tight winds of duct tape around the four arms as well, to reduce the torsional stresses between the two shell halves when flying.

If you happen to have some unused quick-fit prop guards lying around, then you could possibly fit only the mounts to spread the load/stresses a bit more in the interim.

Finally, if you haven't done so already, back off the 6 screws on each arm a quarter of a turn or so... It's believed by many here that the crack problem is caused by over-tightening of the screws at the factory, combined with, possibly, some substandard shells, particularly the plastic round the screw mounts.
 
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The problem of stress cracks goes pretty far back. I've flown a P2V+_v2 for a few years now and while others have experienced the problem, I have never had any stress cracks develop, I believe because I had opened the shell early on and have never tightened any of the shell screws beyond just snug. My advice to all new owners of any model is to back off the shell screws a tad. I'm guessing the factory is tightening those screws a little more than is necessary.
 
Its just over a year old, bought it last June 2nd. The last trip I took to Florida I took it out 17,000ft over the gulf and back. I plan to do the same this time around, but maybe not as far. I'll back out the screws a bit and try to 2 part epoxy the current cracks. I am in no position to buy a new one at this point, would love a mavic, but I have complete confidence in this bird as its given me rock solid performance.
 
Also
Drill END STOPS, before you grind crack out a bit!
Drill a tiny hole at the end of the crack
By drilling a TINY HOLE 1/16" and the very end of the cracks, ( or the crack tip or point if you will ) this will keep the crack from spreading further, then epoxy it, end stop and crack.
A little insurance, and works, we do this when fixing airliner wing panel stress cracks, then weld the crack shut, end stop and all!

J Dot
:cool:
 
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Also
Drill END STOPS, before you grind crack out a bit!
Drill a tiny hole at the end of the crack
By drilling a TINY HOLE 1/16" and the very end of the cracks, ( or the crack tip or point if you will ) this will keep the crack from spreading further, then epoxy it, end stop and crack.
A little insurance, and works, we do this when fixing airliner wing panel stress cracks, then weld the crack shut, end stop and all!

J Dot
:cool:
Interesting style of writing....Are you a Drill Sergeant?.... :)
 
HI Kids,
i had the cracks, took the pictures of them, sent them to dji, along with request, then,v-eed out the cracks, epoxied and baking soda-ed them, flew a few flights, cuz it had been way too long NOT flying,(weather on the altiplano of co.)then i sent it back for the new shell, amazing difference, the old shell had lots of torsional flex in the arms, the new one; NONE. took a LITTLE over 2 weeks to get it back, from DJI !! (other than these weekly upgrades of firmware,) i'm still in love with Her, AND her Mavic "brother?"
 
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