Front leg collapsed mid air, nearly cut off by back leg

Rattydude77 · Jun 30, 2019

Okay I got it now he didn't have the front legs extended all the way out the so the back leg prop is what cut into the foot of the mavic

Hauptmann · Jul 1, 2019

RunnerGuy said:
duct tape is boring. DUCK TAPE rocks
View attachment 76672

I too called the stuff "Duct Tape" for years, until I tried using it on HVAC ducts. Didn't work worth a krap. Then I looked it up. Check this out:

Here's How World War II Led to Duct Tape

One of the world's most versatile fixer-uppers only came about because of one persistent woman's plea to the President.

www.thoughtco.com

WithTheBirds · Jul 1, 2019

silverdragon said:
duct Tape....not Duck tape

That’s probably close to the most monumental failure of a call out I have seen on this forum. It would seem both duck and duct are correct.

silverdragon · Jul 1, 2019

Rattydude77 said:
I read that but the back leg cutting into the front leg isn't the legs plastic on all the mavics

The OP stated what happened to the letter, where does hard landing and or any other theory came I to play here. The propeller cut into the leg/foot. That's were it stands as of now.

silverdragon · Jul 1, 2019

Hauptmann said:
I too called the stuff "Duct Tape" for years, until I tried using it on HVAC ducts. Didn't work worth a krap. Then I looked it up. Check this out:

Here's How World War II Led to Duct Tape

One of the world's most versatile fixer-uppers only came about because of one persistent woman's plea to the President.

www.thoughtco.com

Geezer, I did not know how important duct/duck tape is important to mankind. I know it had unlimited uses but a roll
even goes on space missions. The history of duct tape was interesting...

alibaba30 · Jul 1, 2019

Thanks alot for all the great responses! I'll ground my Mavic 2 for now and return it to the store once I get back.

Mossiback · Jul 1, 2019

alibaba30 said:
...I powered it up and let it hover over the take off spot for about 10 seconds before I moved it sideways and got it into position. Right after I maneuvered it, it started making a terrible sound and I looked up to see that the front left leg had collapsed backwards and is was being cut into by the left back leg...

If the leg snaps into place as it should, and there is no difference in feel or fit between the two front legs, and you did not "move it sideways" into something, then I would suggest the unlikely possibility of a bird strike. You were not looking at it when it happened so did not see what caused the arm to move and I cannot think of any movement the Mavic can make on it's own to cause the arm to fold back since the props cause only upward thrust. Even extreme braking is an increased upward thrust, not backward. While hovering it could have been hit by a bird protecting it's nesting area.

alibaba30 · Jul 2, 2019

Mossiback said:
If the leg snaps into place as it should, and there is no difference in feel or fit between the two front legs, and you did not "move it sideways" into something, then I would suggest the unlikely possibility of a bird strike. You were not looking at it when it happened so did not see what caused the arm to move and I cannot think of any movement the Mavic can make on it's own to cause the arm to fold back since the props cause only upward thrust. Even extreme braking is an increased upward thrust, not backward. While hovering it could have been hit by a bird protecting it's nesting area.

That is a possibility, although not a very likely one since I didn’t see any birds before or after the incident.

Mossiback · Jul 2, 2019

alibaba30 said:
That is a possibility, although not a very likely one since I didn’t see any birds before or after the incident.

I know it was a stretch, but if your M2P did not hit anything and the front arms were properly positioned, then something must have hit the arm to fold it back. I can't think of a force that would push the front arm back without obvious damage to the arm besides a bird.

fr4nszzz · Jul 7, 2019

silverdragon said:
I found a method on YouTube on how to change the foot without desoldiering. It took me 45 minutes because I took my time. Keep in mind, the were no issues with the antenna or wire. Patience and a Exacto blade and steady hand was used to achieve it.

Can you provide me the link? Tia

lolo780 · Jul 7, 2019

Just open up the plastic until the LED can slide through.

fr4nszzz · Jul 7, 2019

lolo780 said:
Just open up the plastic until the LED can slide through.

There is a tiny screw attach the led..you cant just slide the led to change the leg..its different from mavic 1..

BrooklynFlyer · Jul 7, 2019

I had the same thing happen on my Mavic Pro which I have had since Nov 2016 and have not had any other problems with. It hasn't affected the drone really.

Don't send for repair unless it is not functioning.

Buy a replacement leg it you really want to, but you should be fine as is.

Landers · Jul 8, 2019

alibaba30 said:
Last night as I was flying my brand new Mavic 2 Pro for the second time, this thing happened. I extended the legs on the drone, set it down and made sure everything was alright. I powered it up and let it hover over the take off spot for about 10 seconds before I moved it sideways and got it into position. Right after I maneuvered it, it started making a terrible sound and I looked up to see that the front left leg had collapsed backwards and is was being cut into by the left back leg. I quickly grabbed the drone and manage to shut it off after a couple of seconds. As you can see from the photos, it got slashed pretty deep. I let it cool down for about 15 minutes before I powered it on to see if there had been any damages to the hardware. My Smartcontroller is not giving me any warning or notifications about any errors. The crash detectors and everything seem fine.

I'm an experienced pilot, who has flown the Mavic 1 for about a year and a half. I recently upgraded to the Mavic 2. I would never have taken off if the legs were not fully extended. And as you can probably tell if you try to position the leg in a half-extended position, is that it will snap either forward or backwards, making it nearly impossible to have it half extended before take off. So the only reasonable explanation is that the leg was thrusted backwards by the drone's movement in air, which makes me wonder if I've received a unit with a weak hinge. Can anyone advice me on wether I should continue flying and whats inside the leg? Is there anything important inside the leg, or is it just a piece of plastic keeping the drone up? I'm currently on holiday and won't be able to return it for repairs for another week and a half.

View attachment 76594 View attachment 76595

Hi alibaba30, it might be nothing but your description is inconsistant.

You say
“I powered it up and let it hover over the take off spot for about 10 seconds before I moved it sideways and got it into position. Right after I maneuvered it, it started making a terrible sound and I looked up to see that the front left leg had collapsed backwards and is was being cut into by the left back leg. I quickly grabbed the drone and manage to shut it off”
Okay fine, then you say....

“I let it cool down for about 15 minutes”

Cool down?
It has only flown for 10 seconds, why would it need to cool down?

If we are going to get to the bottom of problems accuracy is paramount.