Hello all. I'm wondering if anyone "tunes up" their drones. You know, like lubrication & oil change every 6,000 miles, battery checks, spark plugs, fans, etc?
Do you tune up your drone?
- Thread starter Paul Harvey
- Start date
PINEBARON
Well-Known Member
Prior to every flight for sure. A vehicle stopping on a road is quite different to a drone or any airborne vehicle dropping from the sky. As an active RC plane flyer and modeler for over fifty years, I still check all functions, engine/s, propellers, batteries, moving surfaces etc prior to each flight. Luckily a model plane running out of fuel or facing engine failure midair can usually be saved depending on altitude and proximity to a landing area. Drones, the ones we fly, would fall out of the sky and may or may not survive a fall.
No oil needed and it attracts dirt.
Maintain the batteries monthly. Don't let them brick themselves by losing the charge.
Get a free account with AIRDATA to monitor the functions of each flight.
airdata.com
Check the props before each flight.
Maintain the batteries monthly. Don't let them brick themselves by losing the charge.
Get a free account with AIRDATA to monitor the functions of each flight.
Drone Data Management and Flight Analysis | Airdata UAV
Need an easier way to manage and analyze drone flights? Get notified of potential problems, keep up with drone maintenance, and create customized reports with Airdata UAV. Sign up today!
airdata.com
Check the props before each flight.
I've never changed the spark plugs on my drone. I haven't changed them on my car either, at least not since cars came from the factory equipped with iridium plugs. Neither have I checked or changed the oil on my drone. Where are the dipstick and filler cap?
I fly often enough that I don't have to worry about charging the batteries for purely maintenance reasons. I just charge them, as needed, before each outing. I can hear the fan running sometimes but wouldn't know how to check it otherwise. It's buried somewhere inside the body, no-man's-land for me.
I do check the props before every flight, if only to align them rather than letting centrifugal force do the job. And I'm a stickler for keeping the glass covering over the camera lenses free of dust. That's why I fly, after all. To take photos and video.
So far, so good.
Cafguy
Well-Known Member
I have a Battery Schedule for their care and I do a Pre-Flight each time.
None of that kind of thing is necessary.
The brushless motors are extremely reliable,
Droning on and on...
Well-Known Member
The plugs should be re-gapped every 50 flights or you start to lose power, and the valves should be adjusted on a similar schedule or they get noisy.
Also top off all the fluids before every flight.
Also top off all the fluids before every flight.
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That's what I thought too.
Just created an Airdata account but not too clear if and how I can upload from the RC2. Seems to be a few people with probs when I search but no solutions. Any thoughts?No oil needed and it attracts dirt.
Maintain the batteries monthly. Don't let them brick themselves by losing the charge.
Get a free account with AIRDATA to monitor the functions of each flight.
Drone Data Management and Flight Analysis | Airdata UAV
Need an easier way to manage and analyze drone flights? Get notified of potential problems, keep up with drone maintenance, and create customized reports with Airdata UAV. Sign up today!
Check the props before each flight.
Cafguy
Well-Known Member
- Connect RC2: Plug your DJI RC2 into your computer with a USB-C cable.
- Locate Logs: On your computer, find the RC2's storage and navigate to: Internal shared storage > Android > data > dji.go.5 > files > FlightRecord.
- Copy Files: Copy the .txt flight log files (e.g., DJIFlightRecord_...txt) to your computer's desktop.
- Upload to AirData: Go to AirData's Manual Upload Page and drag-and-drop the .txt files into the upload box.
a2tomm
Well-Known Member
NEVER EVER oil your drone motors ,when starting out several years ago (THE OG MAVIC 1) I added one drop of 3 in 1 oil to each motor ,it flew ok for about a year ,but on a RTH I noticed smoke coming from one of the motors ,took it home put the quad under a bright desk lamp and noticed burn marks on all 4 motors ,made a few phone calls to the experts .They said brushlass motors dont like any luberication ,I replaces all 4 motors kept them in a box in the basement ,they now put off a stink
a2tomm
Well-Known Member
I live high in the mountains of PA and will go more than a month even 2without flying ,I have always charged my batteries 100 % in time they dissapate ,Never had any problems .I must say having at least 4 batteries per drone helps
I've never changed the spark plugs on my drone. I haven't changed them on my car either, at least not since cars came from the factory equipped with iridium plugs. Neither have I checked or changed the oil on my drone. Where are the dipstick and filler cap?
LOL!
WDKZoom
Well-Known Member
I occassionally add a drop of aerospace 303 to the rubber bushings that buffer the camera to keep them from drying out on my MavicZoom.
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Daniel NZDF
Well-Known Member
I always go over my drone in detail before each flight. Learnt to do that after a prop flew off while in flight. OUCH!
Cafguy
Well-Known Member
Be careful! While doing a tune-up, I was messing around with one of my Drones and the Magic smoke came out, I have been all over the net and can't find the stuff anywhere!
Daniel NZDF
Well-Known Member
Cafguy
Well-Known Member
It was a stack for a whoop I hate tiny stacks I actually soldered a strand of the wire from one pad onto the pad next to it! Being too lazy to make a quik smoke stopper, I just plugged in a battery and let her show me the problem in old native American speak. effective but expensive!
Daniel NZDF
Well-Known Member
When I was a little kid, I had a RYOBI Drill, which had a slightly squeaky motor. I unbelievably liberally poured motor oil into the old brushed can motor. Guess what?? It smoked terribly when in use. Still does that to this day, years later
