Mantainance after a low Altitude Beach Flight?

[Youngling Elder]

Hello all, yesterday I went for a beach flight with my MA2s, my first one ever and it was real fun and real frightening at the same time. I checked winds and made sure the speed was appropriate for the MA2s, it was @ 19mph.

After such ba exciting mission, I was wondering how I could take proper mantainance of the motors and any part that may have been splashed with salt water. I was flying at around 12- 50 feet above sea level, but I spent most of the time @ 12 feet (around 4 meters) and I did go over the waves (and only the waves) at that altitude, since it's where most of the splash happens, Im worrying about the integrity of my drone's prop motors...


What are some components that may have been splashed or covered in salt after my flight?

Did I reduce the lifespan of my drone doing this?

I've read WD-40 should be put into the motors after a beach flight, is this true?? It sounds like it could kill the motors


The flight lasted 30 minutes approximately

 

[old man mavic]

@Youngling Elder i would not use WD40 or any other type of lubricant or water repellent as you could damage the windings the biggest issue with flying at the beach is the dry sand than can get into the motors and create friction unless you actually flew through wind spray then the motors should be fine,if you are really worried about the salt in both the water and air then you could rinse out the motors with distilled water, but obviously dont go overboard and get it into the electrics below the motors

 

[Bufface]

I have had my mavic air 2 for over a year. I have done nothing special after many beach flights, sometimes I use an air compressor to blow out sand.

I have suffered no corrosion thus far and figure the that the time it takes to become a problem, I will have upgraded to a newer drone.

 

[F00Man]

Hello all, yesterday I went for a beach flight with my MA2s, my first one ever and it was real fun and real frightening at the same time. I checked winds and made sure the speed was appropriate for the MA2s, it was @ 19mph.

After such ba exciting mission, I was wondering how I could take proper mantainance of the motors and any part that may have been splashed with salt water. I was flying at around 12- 50 feet above sea level, but I spent most of the time @ 12 feet (around 4 meters) and I did go over the waves (and only the waves) at that altitude, since it's where most of the splash happens, Im worrying about the integrity of my drone's prop motors...


What are some components that may have been splashed or covered in salt after my flight?

Did I reduce the lifespan of my drone doing this?

I've read WD-40 should be put into the motors after a beach flight, is this true?? It sounds like it could kill the motors


The flight lasted 30 minutes approximately

Youngling,

I have been wondering about this also. I know, if an aircraft (Retired AF here) flies a certain percentage of time over and around saltwater, there are several things that need to be accomplished. Water rinse, corrosion inspections, things of that nature. Haven't found any definitive inspection requirements at all for DJI products.

 

[tlswift58]

Youngling,

I have been wondering about this also. I know, if an aircraft (Retired AF here) flies a certain percentage of time over and around saltwater, there are several things that need to be accomplished. Water rinse, corrosion inspections, things of that nature. Haven't found any definitive inspection requirements at all for DJI products.

As "old man mavic" stated - an easy and light rinse with distilled water and a good blow out with canned / compressed air should be about only thing to do. Wipe down the exterior of the drone as well; but most parts inside the drone are sealed pretty well - considering some whom have crashed into water and retrieved, them got to fly another day after a "thorough" drying with desiccant (not rice) - shows some level of water tightness.

I have flown over the Atlantic (OBX NC) with my Air2 and did nothing to it other than wipe it down and made sure the gimbal lens was clean. It's still flying well months later. If you picked up enough spray to be worried - it would be very noticeable on the gimbal lens and front arms / props of the drone.

As a side not - I try not to fly super low esp for video as the Air2 with it's "digital" zoom helps keep it just a bit higher and provides quality video. Thus far less likely chance of "ditching" the drone in the surf should a gust hit or some other issue with the drone happen (they do - just read the posts) out of the blue.

As an old USAF fighter aircraft maintainer (crew chief) - aircraft like that are far more prone to corrosion due mainly to different metals in combo with another. When we flew near oceans or water on TDY - no special washes were ever done. Drones have far more plastic and sealed a bit better than most fighter jets.

 

[F00Man]

As "old man mavic" stated - an easy and light rinse with distilled water and a good blow out with canned / compressed air should be about only thing to do. Wipe down the exterior of the drone as well; but most parts inside the drone are sealed pretty well - considering some whom have crashed into water and retrieved, them got to fly another day after a "thorough" drying with desiccant (not rice) - shows some level of water tightness.

I have flown over the Atlantic (OBX NC) with my Air2 and did nothing to it other than wipe it down and made sure the gimbal lens was clean. It's still flying well months later. If you picked up enough spray to be worried - it would be very noticeable on the gimbal lens and front arms / props of the drone.

As a side not - I try not to fly super low esp for video as the Air2 with it's "digital" zoom helps keep it just a bit higher and provides quality video. Thus far less likely chance of "ditching" the drone in the surf should a gust hit or some other issue with the drone happen (they do - just read the posts) out of the blue.

As an old USAF fighter aircraft maintainer (crew chief) - aircraft like that are far more prone to corrosion due mainly to different metals in combo with another. When we flew near oceans or water on TDY - no special washes were ever done. Drones have far more plastic and sealed a bit better than most fighter jets.

Galvanic corrosion has always been a problem....Hmmm,1977 - 1981. Myrtle Beach AFB, SC. A-7 and A-10 aircraft. I guess back then, we had special inspections determined by how long a flight was over water I remember....I guess I am getting too old and feeling the effects of dementia that I hallucinated those. Oh well.
BTW - Thank for the info. Good ideas with wiping it down and such,

 

[scro]

The parts of the drone that are most susceptible to corrosion are actually the circuit boards. They usually have a thin varnish to give them some corrosion protection, but they also have electricity running thru the tracks and wires, which can accelerate corrosion in the same way salt water can. The motors are fairly immune to water - they'll run underwater even, and the plastic shell won't be affected by salt water spray.

I've flown at the beach a few times and not done any special cleaning afterwards. I've also crashed my drone into a tree and had it stuck there for a month in the wind and rain. After a full disassembly and inspection all I found were a few pine needles inside and a tiny speck of corrosion on one leg of one of the components on one of the circuit boards. The drone still flies fine 1 year on.

 

[360 Guy]

I'd use CRC Electronic cleaner if your worried.
Just my .02

 

[tlswift58]

Galvanic corrosion has always been a problem....Hmmm,1977 - 1981. Myrtle Beach AFB, SC. A-7 and A-10 aircraft. I guess back then, we had special inspections determined by how long a flight was over water I remember....I guess I am getting too old and feeling the effects of dementia that I hallucinated those. Oh well.
BTW - Thank for the info. Good ideas with wiping it down and such,

I was at MB from 79-81 working the A-10 for awhile (Demon Section). I think I did state "corrosion" was an issue, yet not 100% based on being around salt air / water. Having been in places like Korea, Louisiana with several trips to places like Tyndall, Patrick, and other coastal salt air towns, and a host of other bases - we washed planes every 90 or so days. The mating of dissimilar metals was our greatest problem in older planes like the F-4 and such. Newer jets like the A-10, F-15, and F-16 were far more advanced in understanding those corrosion issues. A-7's def fit into old school jets that needed more inspections overall - not just for corrosion.

I flew for several weeks from south GA to OBX in NC - all coastal salt air climates. No issues as yet and most of that was a year ago. Been back to OBX a couple of times since then for a week and still nothing.

Bottom line is that most of our drone is plastic with the Air2 and Mini's. Unless you break the seals on the drone body - they are really good at keeping out water, salt air, etc. The exposed motors are different and simple measures as described will help keep them flying. You can be far more meticulous if you want - it's your drone. Think it needs more cleaning / etc - go for it.

 

[Youngling Elder]

I can't be thankful enough to you all. I asked without expecting many to answer and instead I got far more in-depth replies that what I expected along with profesional mantainer! This community is more than incredible. Many thanks! I've decided to go with the simple wipe as experience has spoken in favor of no special mantainance.

 

[360 Guy]

Good choice !!

 

[Croc End]

Yep all well said, Wipe IT

 

[jaswalt]

@Youngling Elder i would not use WD40 or any other type of lubricant or water repellent as you could damage the windings the biggest issue with flying at the beach is the dry sand than can get into the motors and create friction unless you actually flew through wind spray then the motors should be fine,if you are really worried about the salt in both the water and air then you could rinse out the motors with distilled water, but obviously dont go overboard and get it into the electrics below the motors

I personally would only clean the electronics if I was 100% certain it got wet. As others have said, don't even dream of putting something like wd40 into it. I think if you didn't notice water on the drone immediately after it returned, you are probably fine. But there are various opinions one can choose to follow if your electronics decide to take a swim. One thing we did in the Army, but only after it was confirmed the electronics got wet in the first place, is pour rubbing alcohol into and over every part of the electronic device in question. The alcohol will displace any water and even rinse any salt contamination away. The alcohol itself will not corrode any metal parts and has some positive abilities to stop corrosion and will dry fairly quickly (as compared to water). Some precautions need to be taken: Obviously remove all batteries and make sure the device is not plugged into anything. Keep in mind that speakers will take a bit longer to dry (upwards of 2 weeks) and will have reduced volume until they do. After 2 weeks I could hear mine pretty well, but they continued to improve for a couple of months. Any tightly enclosed areas like manual switches will also take longer to dry. In all, I would suggest waiting at least a week with the electronic item in a well ventilated area. I ran a cell phone through my washing machine twice and even dropped it in a glass of milk (yeah, same poor phone) and after each incident I dumped an entire bottle of rubbing alcohol into the phone. The phone continued to work for an additional 2 years after the last dunking before I upgraded it--still working normally. I've also employed the same remedy to a handheld ham radio with no lasting issues. 22 years later the ham radio still works. As for the batteries, there is no saving them if water got inside of them. They will eventually start to swell and by the time you notice it, they are already dead. This method of treating electronics that get wet is better than the bury-in-rice method because rice will do nothing to prevent the corrosion that is initiated by getting wet. It's often best to displace water on electronics rather than let them dry by evaporation. I have a couple of friends who have had similar lasting use out of various pieces of tech after drying them out with alcohol. One other note of caution--some clear plastics do not react kindly to the alcohol. One of my friends had a clear plastic screen over a lcd display go opaque the instant it came into contact with the alcohol. Again, this is only if your electronics are confirmed to be completely wet inside and out. I wouldn't do this to your drone if it didn't get a full dunking.