Minor crash - change propellers or not?

[Yaros]

Today I took off partially under a tree and then flew right into the tree, the drone got stuck, I retrieved it back and flew it one time, it flew okay after that.
However, after checking the propellers, they are fine except that the paint is missing in some parts of the propeller.
Should I replace the propellers or keep flying with the current ones?

 

[old man mavic]

@Yaros if you are going to fly as a safe and responsible pilot ,then your first mistake was taking off under a tree ,and regardless of what your props look like ,then flying with them after they have been subjected to forces they were never designed to endure ,then the only logical answer to your dilemma is to change them all for a new set and try to avoid trees in future
sorry to sound harsh just being honest with you

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

My general rule.
If I have to ask myself (or others) if my props should be changed, I change them.

A tiny fracture in bayonet fittings would be a future failure in the making.

 

[Camino Ken]

Comparing the cost of new props versus the cost of a new drone the decision is obvious.

 

[Yaros]

if you are going to fly as a safe and responsible pilot ,then your first mistake was taking off under a tree

True, however I didn't see I was under a tree, because I wasn't straight under it, I was just very close, and when I took off the wind pushed the drone in the tree, and it got stuck... Both me and my spotter that was standing next to me and looking at the drone take off didn't realize that I was close until it was too late.

Yeah, at the end I did change the propellers because I don't want any risks involved with the drone as I fly over people (which is legal here in Spain).

 

[shb]

I wouldn't change them. Do a test flight at low altitude and nearby. If there are no problems you can keep flying with them. I hit a wire, and the tip of one propeller was slightly damaged. I noticed the drone was pulling to the left, so I changed it. But I kept it to use in an emergency. If a propeller came off in flight, you would lose your drone, but they won't break in flight if they look good. Maybe you could post a picture.

 

[cheddar-man]

To echo OMM, (and I'm another OM) if in doubt, throw them out. Any little nicks in the blades will affect the aerodynamics of that blade causing unbalance in the whole system.

 

[Starz]

unbalance

The above is the key word in this issue. The bearings used on these motors are very small and not designed for abuse. If there is material missing on one blade, you now have an imbalance in the system. Without the means to re-balance the system, you are reducing the lifespan of that motor.
Not worth the risk, but certainly your choice in how to proceed.

 

[Yaros]

I wouldn't change them. Do a test flight at low altitude and nearby.

I did a flight test with them right after the crash because I didn't have any replacements on me, they flew just fine.
However I don't trust them much, especially because I fly often over water and people.

but they won't break in flight if they look good.

I thought so too, but from experience I can tell you that's unfortunately not true. 2 years ago when I crashed my F450 for the first time into a tree because it ran out of battery and landed in the tree, I retrieved it and flew 2 times without issues, then I went to the beach, took off, was flying towards the water (I was still over sand) when the drone plummeted to the ground at full speed! After looking at the video, I saw that one half of the propeller got snapped off mid-flight! I don't want this to happen to my Mavic, as it is much more expensive than my F450, so for safety reasons I changed the propellers, yes, all of them, and I still have 2 new ones if I crash, hopefully I will not need them any time soon

But I kept it to use in an emergency.

Same, I also kept the old propellers just in case

 

[Merrill277]

Today I took off partially under a tree and then flew right into the tree, the drone got stuck, I retrieved it back and flew it one time, it flew okay after that.
However, after checking the propellers, they are fine except that the paint is missing in some parts of the propeller.
Should I replace the propellers or keep flying with the current ones?

In my experience, missing paint (on the tips right?) won't really affect anything. Dings on edges, cracks etc. will affect flight. As a side note, I used the same props on mine for like a year with nothing wrong with them and decided to change out for a new set. I got more flying time, smoother flying and faster flying by a couple miles per hour. So it is wise I think, to change them out once in a while. You can save your others as backups in case anything major happens.

 

[old man mavic]

propeller change intervals ,are something that are usually written up in a professional pilots log books under safety practices ,that gets submitted to the CAA in the UK or FAA in the US
and will state how many flights will be undertaken, before a mandatery prop change is done,even if no damage is found during the pre flight inspection
for the hobby flyer its down to individual pilots to make that decision based on their pre flight inspection
because commercial pilots often spend a lot of time flying over areas ,that hobby pilots would not be able to do with some of the heavier drones ,then the outcome of a prop failure ,could have significantly more chance of an unpleasant outcome
it is the responsibility of every pilot, no matter what size or weight of drone that is being flown, to ensure as far as humanly possible ,that the aircraft is airworthy
when we put something up in the airspace ,regardless of what it is ,we should always be aware of the potential that the object in question has to cause damage or injury to something or someone
and it is almost a given ,that the one time when safety concerns' ,are forgotten or ignored ,that will be the time when the proverbial excrement will hit the fan ,no matter how many uneventful flights ,have been successfully done before
i know that there will be some members of this forum ,that will think i, and,possibly others are being over zealous ,pushing the safety aspect , but i hope that they are not the ones, that find themselves fighting a costly litigation process when something goes wrong ,and proves to be caused by unsafe practices of them the pilot

 

[YVRGUY]

If you purchased your DJI drone new did they not come with a spare set? If not, buy a new set of props, install them, and keep the old ones as “back ups”. *

Again, any imbalance does magnify uneven stress to the motors.

* - using your new ‘A’ & ‘B’ props as a templates check each used prop for chips or unevenness. With a magnifying glass check for fractures or stress lines. So, which ever one’s check out “AOK” keep them for “back ups”. But, throw out the suspect ones.

the plastic

 

[cheddar-man]

and if you do change the props, make sure you put the right propellers on the right motors.

 

[LoudThunder]

if you are going to fly as a safe and responsible pilot ,then your first mistake was taking off under a tree

Old Man Mavic's advice is right on target, but since you were less than smart and took off under a tree, maybe his response's rational went over your head.

When you launch and if you give the Drone a moment to hover over your launch site, your Home Point is updated and if your Drone performs a Return to Home (RTH) it's going to fly up to whatever height you have set in your App and return to the Home Point and it will descend back to the Home Point, right into that tree you decided to take off from…

Always launch into clear air. And when you take off, hover at shoulder height for a short while and perform a flight-ready-check: up, down (a bit), left, right, yaw both directions, it only takes 30-seconds and your controller will also announce your home point is updated. You take off in a hurry and the home point may be updated over a tree, street, pond, etc… before the GPS has established the drone's location…

Finally, your propellers are in good condition right up to the moment they are not… They may only be scuffed a bit, but still structurally sound. I advise you take a good quality magnifying glass and look them over like you are looking for the "Lost River of Gold" There might be an ever "small crack" starting that only a careful examination will find. And every time after you fly, examine your props again.

If a prop breaks in flight, you drone is going to come crashing down, it will NOT fly on 7-props, it needs all 8 of them. Don't believe me, remove just one and try to take off. It ain't pretty and it will possibility cause your drone to flip over and break another prop of two…

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

propeller change intervals ,are something that are usually written up in a professional pilots log books under safety practices ,that gets submitted to the CAA in the UK or FAA in the US
and will state how many flights will be undertaken, before a mandatery prop change is done,even if no damage is found during the pre flight inspection

Interesting, I always thought such prop servicing (replacing) was voluntary and not some sort of mandatory thing.
Do small manned aircraft have such prop change policies ?

My thoughts on this are 'if it ain't broke (or recent incident), don't fix it !
Changing props periodically might just see a bad batch unit fitted.

Mine don't even get removed between flights, they are on all the time.
My thoughts there are why possibly stress bayonet fittings by unnecessary removal and refitting between flights.

Would be interested to hear from commercial operators about any mandatory prop replacement things they need to do under FAA, CAA or other such, always good to know these things.

 

[old man mavic]

when you fly professionally with in the UK a GVC which gives you permissions from the CAA to do so, part of the Log book that you have to keep up to date requires you to state what your objectives are, with regards to how you propose to manage the flight areas where you intend to fly ,other pilots who may be part of your team ,and as part of that statement ,you also need to say what procedures you have in place to ensure your equipment is well maintained ,and inspected correctly, stipulating a mandatory prop change interval ,normally in number of flights flown, is all part of that statement ,and demonstrates that you understand about the stresses that props are put under during use,
and you also have to fly a required number of hours at set intervals to stay current ,and submit those log books to the CAA when requited now most of this is done online
small maned aircraft,have set flight hour inspections and maintenance schedules ,and i am sure that the propeller would have an end of service life span depending on what it was made of
there is a vast difference between the forces being put on an aircraft propeller ,compared to the blades on a rotary winged aircraft like a heli or drone

 

[-MavicMiniPilot]

Today I took off partially under a tree and then flew right into the tree, the drone got stuck, I retrieved it back and flew it one time, it flew okay after that.
However, after checking the propellers, they are fine except that the paint is missing in some parts of the propeller.
Should I replace the propellers or keep flying with the current ones?

Same thing happened to me except my drone fell into sand.

 

[Daytona500]

I keep 2 sets of new props in my drone bag, their cheap compared to a new drone

 

[CKWUSA]

@Yaros if you are going to fly as a safe and responsible pilot ,then your first mistake was taking off under a tree ,and regardless of what your props look like ,then flying with them after they have been subjected to forces they were never designed to endure ,then the only logical answer to your dilemma is to change them all for a new set and try to avoid trees in future
sorry to sound harsh just being honest with you

My gosh, you chastised @Yaros for asking a simple question. Rants like that make me not want to post questions in here. I’m new to drones, as are many of us. I see you’re a moderator. Does that mean you don’t have to treat others with the same respect as is expected from everyone else?

 

[old man mavic]

@CKWUSA well if you feel that my post was inappropriate then of course you are free to report me if you so wish ,as indeed @Yaros could have done had he felt chastised
the fact that i am a mod ,played no part in the answer i gave to him ,and please feel free to PM me if you have any issues with my posts in future.