A little chirp in the one of the propeller.

[Rohith Maddali]

Hey all first of all thank you all for the help. I am a super beginner with drones and I recently purchased the Mavic mini 3 pro and I can see that one of the prop has a very minute chip on one of the edge like it is really not noticeable until you focus on it for a few seconds. The flight seems to be normal but I wanted to get some advice as it if I can fly or do I need to change that set of prop. I do not mind because I still have the extra set of props that came with packaging.

 

[msinger]

I can see that one of the prop has a very minute chirp on one of the edge like it is really not noticeable until you focus on it for a few seconds.

Perhaps an imperfection in the prop if you're sure it did not strike anything. If that's the case, you could probably keep flying with no trouble. Or just replace that prop.

 

[FLDave]

How big is the minute chip? How did it get there?

 

[Rohith Maddali]

Perhaps an imperfection in the prop if you're sure it did not strike anything. If that's the case, you could probably keep flying with no trouble. Or just replace that prop.

I did hit my own pants the during my first flight haha.

 

[Rohith Maddali]

How big is the minute chip? How did it get there?

The chip as in the chip did not break or cause any small piece to go missing I would say its a slight crack which is around 1 to 1.5mm.

 

[KI5RLL]

We don’t have pictures which are probably hard to focus for that size chip anyway.
DJI engineers these props to be tough. But they also can be brittle. They know stuff happens.
I swap mine out at near 300 miles flown if they make it that far without damage. Rarely.
Thoughts:
The Mini 3 props turn at 6000 to 12000 rpm. 1/2 gram at that rpm is significant imbalance in centrifugal force. A little imbalance on that motor bearing may add up in a few million revolutions which comes fast.
Two things to consider. 1. Enough damage to remove that piece, and 2. invisible prop stress or micro damage it caused that you can’t see.
That micro stress or possible weakening is invisible now, but may fail later. These are glass infused nylon blades. Tough and flexible in a wide temperature range. So any strike, enough to cause visible damage, is notable.
I won’t tell you to knowingly fly damaged equipment that often operates at over 10000 rpm.

Safe flying,
KI5RLL

 

[Rohith Maddali]

We don’t have pictures which are probably hard to focus for that size chip anyway.
DJI engineers these props to be tough. But they also can be brittle. They know stuff happens.
I swap mine out at near 300 miles flown if they make it that far without damage. Rarely.
Thoughts:
The Mini 3 props turn at 6000 to 12000 rpm. 1/2 gram at that rpm is significant imbalance in centrifugal force. A little imbalance on that motor bearing may add up in a few million revolutions which comes fast.
Two things to consider. 1. Enough damage to remove that piece, and 2. invisible prop stress or micro damage it caused that you can’t see.
That micro stress or possible weakening is invisible now, but may fail later. These are glass infused nylon blades. Tough and flexible in a wide temperature range. So any strike, enough to cause visible damage, is notable.
I won’t tell you to knowingly fly damaged equipment that often operates at over 10000 rpm.

Safe flying,
KI5RLL

Thank you so much for all the information. I will be swapping out the props and one last question is is it a necessary to swap both of them out or is just one of the blades fine? Haha to be honest I did not want to use the new extra props this soon. Thanks again!

 

[old man mavic]

@Rohith Maddali ,always swap the pair of props not just one of them ,and make sure that you have the correct ones, they are marked near the hub of the prop, the screws are very very tiny ,so do it in a well lit place, and use new screws supplied to attach the props ,make sure you have them nipped up ,but not overtightened ,as it makes them difficult to remove next time you come to remove them

 

[KI5RLL]

Thank you so much for all the information. I will be swapping out the props and one last question is is it a necessary to swap both of them out or is just one of the blades fine? Haha to be honest I did not want to use the new extra props this soon. Thanks again!

Is fine to only replace 1 bad prop as long as the other are fine also. Since your other props are still pretty new anyway. Eventually as you fly a lot you may need to order some replacements. Easy to get online.

Safe flying,
KI5RLL

 

[dart106]

Since a new set of props is relatively inexpensive, go the conservative route to remove any doubt and replace it with the same type prop.

 

[BigAl07]

WELCOME to the forum.

Keep in mind that these aircraft have many Single Failure Points with the props being one of them. This means that any type of loss in that component means the aircraft is coming down with significant damage/destruction of the aircraft likely.

Any time you can reduce the odds of a Failure on one of those Single Failure Points you absolutely should. Props are cheap, readily available, and super easy to replace. It's almost silly to even think of not replacing it since it's so critical in the operation of your UAS.

 

[Nickyb65]

Hey all first of all thank you all for the help. I am a super beginner with drones and I recently purchased the Mavic mini 3 pro and I can see that one of the prop has a very minute chip on one of the edge like it is really not noticeable until you focus on it for a few seconds. The flight seems to be normal but I wanted to get some advice as it if I can fly or do I need to change that set of prop. I do not mind because I still have the extra set of props that came with packaging.

Personally I would replace the props, just to be on the safe side.

 

[Cymruflyer]

If you can see a nick or chip in a prop then it has had a hard hit tosomething. What you can't see is the possible (and most likely) microfractures that go along with such damage. During flight there is always vibration going through all props, on drones or aircraft we sit in.

This vibration can and is often enough to continue the propagation of such minute fractures which will eventually lead to the crack or split moving along the blade and finally causing it to break off. That will result in a LOT MORE expense than the few dollars it costs to replace that prop.

I always like to err on the side of low cost! Flying anything has risk associated with it. As a good pilot, you should always be doing things that will minimize that risk and replacing a prop is one of those things.

 

[Lister]

I just replaced some blades on my Mini 3 and I experimented with the removed ones. I was amazed at how tough and flexible they are.