left gimbal cover on when starting the drone

Smerz · Jul 26, 2019

hey this was like my 5th flight and being a newb and being excited to fly i left the gimbal cover on when i started up the drone .. as soon as i realized i took it off quick shut down the drone and restarted it everything seems fine. when it sin the air the camera seems to be totally stable. not knowing how it is supposed to preform though in my hand if i shake the drone left to right the camera does not stay stable is the gimbal ruined or is that normal ???in the air it is fine ??? please any feedback would be appreciated i have dji care refresh if needed

msinger · Jul 26, 2019

Smerz said:
not knowing how it is supposed to preform though in my hand if i shake the drone left to right the camera does not stay stable is the gimbal ruined or is that normal ?

Is the drone powered on when you're doing this?

Smerz · Jul 26, 2019

yes it was on but i just landed it and i was shaking it back and forth pretty fast

Smerz · Jul 26, 2019

i didnt get any warnings or anything when i took it off and it seemed to be fine in the air

msinger · Jul 26, 2019

The gimbal was not designed to be shaken back and forth quickly. And that's a situation that would never occur mid-flight.

The gimbal should slowly reposition itself as you slowly move the drone in another direction while holding it. If you're not sure it's working properly, post a video (of the drone itself) showing what it's doing and I can confirm.

johnmeyer · Jul 26, 2019

Others have reported doing this, and apparently everything was OK. If your gimbal and camera still work, then I wouldn't worry about it.

Smerz · Jul 26, 2019

ok so then everything seems fine all the controls work fine on the gimbal like the up down and when i press the screen to move it around there was no problems thank you need to make a checklist for now on well i had one but need to add that to it lol thanks for your help was worried for a little ..

msinger · Jul 26, 2019

johnmeyer said:
Others have reported doing this, and apparently everything was OK

Yep! This rarely causes damage to the gimbal. It's certainly something that should be avoided though.

POLL: Have you powered on your Mavic with the gimbal lock attached?

A lot of people worry about damaging the gimbal after accidentally powering on the Mavic with the gimbal lock attached. Have you ever done this? Please vote above.

mavicpilots.com

JAW · Jul 26, 2019

I did the same thing with no apparent damage.

Mossiback · Jul 26, 2019

Smerz said:
... i left the gimbal cover on when i started up the drone ...

A quick and cheap way to prevent this is to tape some ribbon or streamers on the cover so it is obvious when left on.

johnmeyer · Jul 26, 2019

Mossiback said:
A quick and cheap way to prevent this is to tape some ribbon or streamers on the cover so it is obvious when left on.

Great idea!

RonBower · Jul 26, 2019

I accidentally left the cover on earlier this week.. Was in a hurry and not as careful as normal. When I went up I immediately received a message on the controller screen saying something like "Gimbal Overload" I was only 20 feet in the air. Of course I quickly landed, powered down, and removed the cover. I had only been in the air maybe 1 minute total. Restarted the motors, no message, so I took off. Everything was fine and I have flown over 2 hours since then with no issues. Lesson learned though. Be cautious and deliberate before each flight. I like the tape idea mentioned by johnmeyer above.

Tampa · Jul 27, 2019

I did this as well (actually more than once) with no damage. Then I saw a post with painters tape as a solution...haven't left the cover on since.

RedBird2020 · Jul 28, 2019

If you want to know if your drone registered a "Gimbal Overload" error, post the .txt file from that flight. The .txt files should be located in folder FlightRecords if your using an iPad/iPhone/Android.

On my 4th flight, landed slightly off my landing pad in the grass. Front legs and camera/gimbal rested in the grass, rear legs on the pad. It registered a Gimbal Overload. Flew 43 more flights since then and never noticed a problem.

ajkm · Jul 28, 2019

Consistent use of a printed checklist - as all fixed-wing pilots are trained to do - will eliminate this mistake.

DWJM2513 · Jan 5, 2020

I've recently got my mavic mini and have left the gimbal cover on twice now. The first I realized it quick enough that it didn't throw any codes. The second however I got an orange warning on my tablet that said "gimbal stuck" so I quickly took it off and haven't had any problems

ajkm · Jan 5, 2020

Which is why "buy and fly" isn't the way to go. Pilots are trained, here at least, to use checklists rather than just launch the RPA in the air on a whim. Such mistakes become rarities when a fixed procedure is followed accurately each time we fly.