Expected lifespan? History of DJI drones?

[Logger]

Sorry to here about your unwanted swim ..... Hope you find out the reason

It was a combo of .550 firmware autoland bug & pilot error, possibly with a dash of dodgy compass. All refreshed several months back with a refurb unit. No problems since.

I replace my props after 1 million feet flown.

Thats arbitrary. Keep them as spares I suppose.

 

[Glenn Goodlett]

No, old props go to the trash.

 

[Robert Granata]

Replaced the props once (even though they looked fine) at around 1000 miles. I guess now I have to start worrying about the motors.

 

[Logger]

S'Pose one day an otherwise undamaged prop will fail due wear. Haven't heard of one yet though. So I only change based on condition.

 

[Kestrel]

Dang you guys, no job? Retired or is it your job. I can only find 2 days a week to fly and thats my days off and then I have to contend with weather, i'm jealous that you guys get to fly so much.

 

[collins]

Can those with very long flight histories say something about battery life? Are you still using the same batteries? By roughly how much has battery life fallen?

 

[Xcel]

Can those with very long flight histories say something about battery life? Are you still using the same batteries? By roughly how much has battery life fallen?

I'm at 117 cycles on a 4 month old battery and GO4 reports 3614mah out of 3830, which would be around 94%.
Healthy drones on the other hand reports Battery Life at 90%.
Others on this forum have reported much higher cycle counts.

 

[Kestrel]

Battery life also depends on how you store them.

 

[Glenn Goodlett]

I have never worn out a DJI battery. Most all of mine have over 100 cycles. I baby my batteries though, none have ever set overnight with a full charge and all are stored at 50%. I can count on one hand all the times any battery was discharged below 20%. I'm a holdover from when LiPo batteries were expensive.

 

[Buzzy]

Hi. I'm new. This is my first post. Go easy on me. I think the original question was a very good one. I would ask it again slightly more specifically (for me): How long in hours will the Mavic Pro last if I take care of it? This means the life span with no crashes/impacts, no bad landings, no heavy exposure to salt air, no rain/mist/water, no fully depleting the battery, not riding in full-time sport mode.

I know nobody can answer this, since there are so many factors to consider. So I'm not really sure anyone can answer, except for you really careful, high-mileage pilots.

Maybe a better question would be to just mention the first things that start failing as the hours add up.

I have close to 39 hrs on mine. It looks exactly like when I bought it brand new. I admit I didn't figure out out how to flick it into sport mode (I didn't realize I have to set the switch each time) until about 30 hrs. I 've flown it for several hours at the beach and over the ocean and never in rain/mist. I've never crashed it. Ok, I lied. I have swiped a few objects with the props when landing on a table on a windy deck at the beach. I've never fully impacted anything; just grazed a chair with the props.

I'm not counting hitting birds. About 7-8 birds/bats have hit my mavic. (Want to see a cool pic of one?!)

I have been through 2 or 3 props (no sets) when I cracked them (landing as mentioned). Funny thing is, the leading edge doesn't crack; the trailing edge cracks. I personally wouldn't change them unless they have visual damage. I haven't read or heard of any failing without prior damage.

I have 3 batteries and I use them frequently enough that I have never let them start self-depleting (I think they do this automatically after sitting un-used for 10 days). They have each been used (100%---> 15%) about 50 times. Two of them work like brand new, but I have noticed one of them acting funny (ie, I stored it for about 8 days and when I took it out of the carrying case it felt warm and was down to about 91%). This particular battery was over-drained one time. A few weeks ago I decided to see how long/far I could go and I drained the battery to 1% (actually 0% and landing immediately). This battery didn't like it; it was very hot and the underside had bulged out. I shrunk down and then worked fine afterward, but I'm not going to fully drain it again.

I think it's safe to say sport mode flying will shorten the life of the mavic. It obviously adds so much physical stress to not just the motors but everything else.

 

[FlyGuy8675309]

Very similar to a car: parts and build quality, how well it's maintained, and how rough the operation and environment is... it all factors into the lifespan of a machine. I got a heck of a deal on a P3 that was only driven by a little old lady on Sundays so she could fly over the church...

 

[cderoche]

It was a combo of .550 firmware autoland bug & pilot error, possibly with a dash of dodgy compass. All refreshed several months back with a refurb unit. No problems since.

Thats arbitrary. Keep them as spares I suppose.

I have over a million feet on my original props, all 4 seem to be like new to me. No issues.

 

[lisadoc]

I have over a million feet on my original props, all 4 seem to be like new to me. No issues.

I replace mine every time that DJI comes out with a new version that's 4 dB quieter.

 

[KrisTM]

Came across this thread looking for a time I need to depreciate my drone purchase across for tax purposes. I found the answer so ill put it here as it isn't really listed anywhere easy to find and this thread pops up right at the top. In Australia the effective life of a drone or remotely operated rotary aircraft is 2 years.
https://www.ato.gov.au/law/view/document?DocID=TXR/TR20172/NAT/ATO/00006