Should you take off the propellers after each flight? P4P

Joined
Dec 28, 2016
Messages
19
Reaction score
1
Age
8
I was wondering if it is recommended that the propellers come off after every flight each day. I read somewhere that the springs me wear out. Is this true?


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
 
FWIW, I don't as I am able to fly where I live and have no need to remove them. Plus my lovely wife has given me a dedicated desk to manage all the drone bits and pieces. I have read of loose prop mounting bases and worn latching springs, but that's not an excuse for me to leave them on.
 
It depends if I take mine off right away, If I'm out flying and come in the house but going to fly a bit later I just leave them on. If I'm done flying and not going to fly that bird for a few days I remove the props. Yes its been noted that leaving them on could cause the spring tabs to stay compressed and then it could cause issues with a prop coming loose.

I have not seen one do that yet but... good practice is not flying remove them. Good for part of the preflight/postflight check as well.
 
It depends if I take mine off right away, If I'm out flying and come in the house but going to fly a bit later I just leave them on. If I'm done flying and not going to fly that bird for a few days I remove the props. Yes its been noted that leaving them on could cause the spring tabs to stay compressed and then it could cause issues with a prop coming loose.

I have not seen one do that yet but... good practice is not flying remove them. Good for part of the preflight/postflight check as well.

Springs behave just the opposite. It is the compress and release cycle that wear them out by causing metal fatigue.
 
Springs behave just the opposite. It is the compress and release cycle that wear them out by causing metal fatigue.

Yes, my brain is way out in left field at the moment been up way to long..
 
I like to take my props off so I can easily inspect them before I fly each time. If you never remove them, it'll be impossible to see if they are damaged around the hub area.
 
Unless there has been a significant number of reports of the springs breaking for that reason, I would take the props off as I do each time. As msinger has already said, it's an opportunity to inspect and clean the props each time before flight.

In my opinion you would have to do an awful lot of prop detachment for a metal spring to break.. I would think those springs would outlast the lifetime of the aircraft itself.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots
 
Springs behave just the opposite. It is the compress and release cycle that wear them out by causing metal fatigue.
I had the same question about springs in an ammo clip. I was wondering if leaving a clip loaded would weaken the springs over a period and have a new "set". After a lot of searching, it seems the springs get weak from being used and not from being compressed for a long time. I'm sure the quality of the steel and processing has a lot to do with it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Slackware
But you are going to be drooling over the new phantom 15, by the time you wear them out taking them off when you are done flying probably.

HAHA can't wait to see that one!! :)
 
The answer to this question is pretty simple and doesn't take much discussion: Things wear out, the more you put wear on them, the faster they wear out.

Do not stress the retaining mechanism in the props if you don't have to. It can be said with certainty that, after enough mount/dismount cycles, the spring retainers will eventually fail from fatigue.

There is no wear issue at all with leaving them on.

So, don't take them off unless you need to. They'll last longer.

BTW, another sad thing we have to live with related to this principle: The more you fly your baby, the sooner it will have a problem :grinning:
 
I take mine off every time (for about 4 months) and have seen zero ill effects.
Not surprised. However, it is also a simple truth that you will see them fail eventually, and sooner, the more frequently your take them off.
 
Last edited:
My after flight ritual is to run inside, remove the battery, place it in front of a fan turned on high, turn the open battery bay to the fan, remove the props and then the SD card.

I don't want the metal springs to be under constant load 24 hours a day, so that's why I remove them. I don't think I'd remove them from the P4P, though, since it uses a different spring mechanism.
 
I don't want the metal springs to be under constant load 24 hours a day, so that's why I remove them. I don't think I'd remove them from the P4P, though, since it uses a different spring mechanism.
Well, just so you know from a materials science perspective the constant, designed load on that spring steel is trivial compared to the flexing that occurs each time to put them on or take them off in terms of metal fatigue.

If you don't need to take them off, don't. It's a very small bit of wear, but why incur it unnecessarily? You don't one of those retainer springs to fail while in flight.
 
I agree with dwallersv that putting them on is where we do the most damage, to clear the locking tangs on the clips we have to go another about 1/8'' and this is where we pass the elastic limits of the steel and go into the plastic zone, that's why they remain lower after several installations. I lift (bend) them back in position when I detect they are not pushing the prop hub on the clips. DO NOT do this after every flight because you are causing more damage, this has to be done none the less or your props will be lose and will cause vibrations first then may fly off. I do mine around every 15 flights and see no fatigue cracks yet. I plan to change the clips and springs for $6.00 once a year or when needed, which ever comes first. I have a metallurgical microscope at work and plan the photograph the used clips and compare to the new, I will post the pictures sometime in April when I change my prop mounts. By the way I take mine off almost every time to store the bird in it's case.
 
I fly a lot from home and leave them attached. Detach only when I pack it away to travel.
 
If there is no load on the springs or very little when the props are installed, then there is no reason to remove them after each flight....maybe other than being able to visually inspect the mechanism after each flight. I've got about 3,000,000' on my springs, but so far, everything looks good. I have no problem at all leaving them on, but again, my concern was that there was a constant load on the springs while the props were installed.
 
I agree with dwallersv that putting them on is where we do the most damage, to clear the locking tangs on the clips we have to go another about 1/8'' and this is where we pass the elastic limits of the steel and go into the plastic zone, that's why they remain lower after several installations. I lift (bend) them back in position when I detect they are not pushing the prop hub on the clips. DO NOT do this after every flight because you are causing more damage, this has to be done none the less or your props will be lose and will cause vibrations first then may fly off. I do mine around every 15 flights and see no fatigue cracks yet. I plan to change the clips and springs for $6.00 once a year or when needed, which ever comes first. I have a metallurgical microscope at work and plan the photograph the used clips and compare to the new, I will post the pictures sometime in April when I change my prop mounts. By the way I take mine off almost every time to store the bird in it's case.
I have a question
I agree with dwallersv that putting them on is where we do the most damage, to clear the locking tangs on the clips we have to go another about 1/8'' and this is where we pass the elastic limits of the steel and go into the plastic zone, that's why they remain lower after several installations. I lift (bend) them back in position when I detect they are not pushing the prop hub on the clips. DO NOT do this after every flight because you are causing more damage, this has to be done none the less or your props will be lose and will cause vibrations first then may fly off. I do mine around every 15 flights and see no fatigue cracks yet. I plan to change the clips and springs for $6.00 once a year or when needed, which ever comes first. I have a metallurgical microscope at work and plan the photograph the used clips and compare to the new, I will post the pictures sometime in April when I change my prop mounts. By the way I take mine off almost every time to store the bird in it's case.
I have a question, if the sticker gets removed how would you know which propeller goes where? Because the stickers tells you which one goes where
 
2 props have a black rings on the hub CW and the other 2 have grey rings CCW, the mounting clips with the black dots go with the props with the black rings.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mac Drone

Recent Posts

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
143,066
Messages
1,467,352
Members
104,933
Latest member
mactechnic