A question for pilots that use prop guards

[Torque]

Yeah, after my earlier post, I went out and looked at the Neo again and it does seem kinda loud. But I also saw in one of the reviews that it only has a range of about 65 feet. Is that true? Maybe they just meant that it was limited to 65 feet when using the Quickshots and not when flying manually?

This is only when flying without a controller (including the phone), so yes, just when doing automated quick shots. I've flown mine beyond VLOS using the RC2

 

[Torque]

This question is for pilots that actually use prop guards. If you don’t use them or feel they shouldn’t be used, please move along without commenting.

I fly a Mini 4 Pro and would like to get some prop guards to be 107 compliant for flying near people. Also for times when wires or trees (without leaves) are nearby.

I have read that the prop guards may cause problems with the obstacle avoidance system. My question is how much of a problem is this since the prop guards help minimize the chances of damaging your drone if you run into something?

I am aware that there are some downsides to using them like added weight, drag, shorter flight times and the time to install and remove them - I can deal with that. But are there any other downsides that you have experienced in using prop guards?

I have also seen where people have painted them bright colors for added visibility. What color would be best? I understand that they added visibility has the downside of bringing out the Karen’s. Has anyone experienced that?

TIA for your input!

I have prop guards for almost all of my drones, and rarely use them. However, living in the Pacific Northwest, I'm often flying in a forest - and prop guards have saved my drone several times from being taken out by those tiny terminal branch tips. So when planning a new path through the trees, prop guards work well - you can't fly directly into a branch, but the guards will prevent the props from hitting tiny branches and sending the drone to the ground.

Prop guards will not make your Mini 4 a category 1 drone (legal to fly over people). The only DJI drone that meets the category one drone is the Neo as the props are completely enclosed.

I also have skins or decals on most of my drones. As far as color goes - after a few hundred feet all colors just appear the same; a dark spot in the sky. Now if you crash, the bright colors do make it much easier to locate the drone in the field or trees/brush. The only skins I've found that truly help me maintain VLOS are metallic ones - and then the sun has to be at the right angle to reflect off the metallic surface. But this works as well as a strobe for me. Aerial Pixal makes a nice silver or gold metallic decal and WrapGrade also makes a very nice silver skin. Both of these are very effective when the sun hits the drone's butt/battery and reflects off that bit of skin on the battery.

 

[samysys]

Hi, I am not sure about the purpose of your flight so can just assume to be video/photo taking related.

Neo dose not have gimbal. So even with slightest wind, the video would be tilted, may be you would like to consider that.

I tried prop guard with mini 3 pro but not mini 4 pro before. The effect of wind on the drone is significant. So you may have to pay special attention to that. monitoring the atti ball is a good idea.

Some friends of mine recommended to use tripod mode when working with prop guard. I never tried that before but that seems to make sense.