DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

Minced Bug Juice...

Todd Clarke

Well-Known Member
Joined
Aug 19, 2020
Messages
83
Reactions
91
Age
54
Location
Sydney
So I'm doing the MA2 thing yesterday flying at a very familiar place and taking video when through the camera I see a cloud of bugs. It took a few seconds to understand that much of that cloud was in fact hundreds of bugs passing through the spinning props, and being instantly blitzed!! I brought it down to find the props coated on bug-parts and most of the drone body covered in a thick, sticky, and very smelly soup of chunky minced bug-juice. It took around 45 minutes of cleaning with anti-bacterial wipes and a good number of tooth picks to gouge all the bug-bits out of every groove and indent of the drone. Lesson learned...

IMG_8331.JPGIMG_8334.JPGIMG_8336.JPGIMG_8339.JPG
 
  • Like
Reactions: 280 and RobertR
Bees tend to not appreciate drones. And the mess they create isn’t fun to clean up. Best to move away when they show up and avoid the cleaning process. Good luck with the wipe down!
 
Yuck. ?
 
If we do enough flying, it's inevitable that we'll eventually run into a swarm of insects like what happened here. So I might as well ask the obligatory question: What's the best way to clean off insect remains from our precious drones? Is there a recommended chemical/cleaner that will effectively do the job without without harming the plastic? Just warm soap and water, or something a little more aggressive?
 
I’ve always used baby whips with aloe.
 
That was the only thing I had in the car...and I wasn't going to put it back in the case in that condition!! I always keep baby wipes with aloe in the car. Worked perfectly and doesn't seem to have harmed it in any way. It actually looks pretty slick after the wipe-down!!
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Marcass Carcass
  • Haha
Reactions: Marcass Carcass
Must have been Class Bee airspace. ?


Ba dum tss. ?


Goodnight everybody. ?

.
 
So I'm doing the MA2 thing yesterday flying at a very familiar place and taking video when through the camera I see a cloud of bugs. It took a few seconds to understand that much of that cloud was in fact hundreds of bugs passing through the spinning props, and being instantly blitzed!! I brought it down to find the props coated on bug-parts and most of the drone body covered in a thick, sticky, and very smelly soup of chunky minced bug-juice. It took around 45 minutes of cleaning with anti-bacterial wipes and a good number of tooth picks to gouge all the bug-bits out of every groove and indent of the drone. Lesson learned...

View attachment 127405View attachment 127406View attachment 127407View attachment 127408

Welcome to aviation!
 
That would be a great reply to this thread:

Propeller Airfoil Shape:
 
What I use:
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20210418-205738_Chrome.jpg
    Screenshot_20210418-205738_Chrome.jpg
    241.8 KB · Views: 3
  • Screenshot_20210418-205847_Chrome.jpg
    Screenshot_20210418-205847_Chrome.jpg
    149.6 KB · Views: 3
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Forum statistics

Threads
130,592
Messages
1,554,187
Members
159,598
Latest member
fast54