I knew it would happen. Boy Scout ready. Just got lucky.

[Rchawks]

I dropped a cable once that I use with a MA2 and never did find it in the grass.

 

[waldemar]

I knew the day I got my Mini 3 pro that one day I would drop one of those oh-so-delicate conntrol sticks from the DJI RC conntroller. Well, today was the day. I was out practice flying my Mini 3 and when finished sat in the car as I put everything away. Of course I dropped one of the sticks between the seat and the console. I looked for 10 minutes with my phone's light but didn't see it, but found a lot of other small odds and ends while spelunking down there. Cuttting to the chase I finally found it after much hunting in the near dark. I had imagined scenarios where I wouldn't have been so lucky and on day one of Mini 3 ownership my Boy Scout training kicked in and I ordered a spare set of control sticks. At 4:45pm it was already dark outsiide and I can't imagine finding the stick had I dropped it in the grass. [When are they going to make daylight savings time permanent???? Dark at 4:30????]

Luck of finding the dropped stick probably wouldnn't have gone my way had I not had a spare set. You know how that works.
Bottom line: If you own a DJI RC controller and don't have a spare set of control sticks...

Try to find steel (not aluminum, or plastic) sticks. Then if you have a pole with a magnetic tip (like I do) you can easily retrieve it.

 

[old man mavic]

@waldemar sounds like a good idea ,unfortunately the sticks need to be none ferrous, so as not to cause issues with the RC ,due to them becoming magnetised

 

[vindibona1]

Try to find steel (not aluminum, or plastic) sticks. Then if you have a pole with a magnetic tip (like I do) you can easily retrieve it.

To the best of my knowledge none are made with steel. When I take stuff apart I often have a magnet near by to put screws and metal parts on so they don't get lost before reassembly. And magnets are a great search tool for small screws, nuts, bolts that fall on the floor. But what @old man mavic said is probably true. Steel probably wouldn't be a good idea, though being able to find steel parts would be way easier.

 

[waldemar]

@waldemar sounds like a good idea ,unfortunately the sticks need to be none ferrous, so as not to cause issues with the RC ,due to them becoming magnetised

You are right. I wasn't thinking this through. It only came to me, because I dropped the cap of my tooth paste tube into the wash basin sink this morning and was cursing why it wasn't made of metal, so I could just pull it out with my magnet stick. So my second best idea is: don't lose it -

 

[AMann]

I keep the sticks permanently attached to the remote. Problem solved.

That and a strap on stick/screen cover when it’s stowed.

 

[Looking Down On You]

You can fly without the sticks.

Yup one unscrewed itself while packing drone up... Fell into gravel, Grey gravel. Next Day I flew with one stick on and one stick off (diddle diddle... Never mind). Ordered replacement and now have spare attached on bottom of controller. Tightening sticks now part of preflight check list.

 

[Kiwibob]

I recently bought a DJI RC controller separately for my Air 2S & there was a spare set of sticks in the box. Almost missed the little pack in the little box with the manual & was starting to worry that DJI cheaped out, but not for us in Australia & NZ if you buy it separately it seems.

 

[TonyPHX]

The M3E with the RC Pro Enterprise only comes with one set of sticks. (Yep, I looked for the pack of extras...and it does not exist with M3E.). Your post encouraged me to get a few extras. : )

 

[MS Coast]

You can fly without the sticks.

And you can use machine screws from the hardware store. 8-32 is the size. Available in stainless steel if you're worried about magnetic effects.

 

[MS Coast]

@waldemar sounds like a good idea ,unfortunately the sticks need to be none ferrous, so as not to cause issues with the RC ,due to them becoming magnetised

I'd be surprised if ferrous joysticks would affect the controller. And how would they become magnetized?

I've rested controllers on a metal table and on vehicles without any effect. I don't recall seeing any warnings in the manual about ferrous metal or magnets near the controller. Did I miss something?

 

[Bohemian]

I keep my control sticks attached at all times, mostly for convenience, but also beacuse of all of the horror stories I have read here and other places.

The Fly More case is easy as it allows me to put the controller in (carefully!) with sticks on.

I had to mod my hardcase slightly by carving some appropriately sized holes in the foam of the top lid.

I can still lose the case (although I do use AirTags) but I should not lose the sticks!

 

[old man mavic]

I'd be surprised if ferrous joysticks would affect the controller. And how would they become magnetized?

I've rested controllers on a metal table and on vehicles without any effect. I don't recall seeing any warnings in the manual about ferrous metal or magnets near the controller. Did I miss something?

if the sticks become magnetised they can cause issues with the operation of the hall effect type of control units ,that are found in the RC s that DJI drones use

 

[MS Coast]

if the sticks become magnetised they can cause issues with the operation of the hall effect type of control units ,that are found in the RC s that DJI drones use

To satisfy my curiosity, I got the beefiest refrigerator magnet in the house (easily supports 55 grams) and hovered the drone three feet over the grassy lawn. I moved the magnet all around each control stick in various orientations and found no effect on the drone at all.

I suspect that worries over magnetized control sticks are something we can put aside.