Minor propeller damage: safe to fly?

[szh]

I noticed minor damage on one of the propellers. There is a slight bend at one point which I cannot unbend. It is present on both blades, around the same area.

I am not sure how it got there. It was either pressed during transport (unlikely, as I was careful), or it happened when I accidentally clipped a single stem of tall grass during landing (although I did not notice this at that time: I cleaned off the propeller and it appeared fine).

I have flown with this propeller at least twice, and I did not notice anything strange (such as different propeller sound). The damage looks very minor. But I am nervous about continuing to use it because a propeller failure would mean losing the entire drone. Perhaps it can lead to vibration, or there are invisible micro-cracks ...

There are no scratches or cracks visible around the area, only a bend.

Would you fly with such propellers, or replace them?

 

[butterflyslicer]

Buy a new pair and keep the oldies for trimming the hedges.

 

[james_mav]

I wouldn't be afraid to fly with the props but I'd replace them as soon as possible.

 

[Enigma]

I noticed minor damage on one of the propellers. There is a slight bend at one point which I cannot unbend. It is present on both blades, around the same area.

I am not sure how it got there. It was either pressed during transport (unlikely, as I was careful), or it happened when I accidentally clipped a single stem of tall grass during landing (although I did not notice this at that time: I cleaned off the propeller and it appeared fine).

I have flown with this propeller at least twice, and I did not notice anything strange (such as different propeller sound). The damage looks very minor. But I am nervous about continuing to use it because a propeller failure would mean losing the entire drone. Perhaps it can lead to vibration, or there are invisible micro-cracks ...

There are no scratches or cracks visible around the area, only a bend.

Would you fly with such propellers, or replace them?

View attachment 17284

All good advice....
I'm interested in how this might happen, which blades are damaged, the front two for example. Would you say it's impact, or warped, or heat damage. I assume they are standard stock props.

 

[Mr. Salty]

A pair of propellers costs less than $9 in the U.S. I would replace them.

 

[HVYMTL]

I agree with Mr.Salty.. with how cheap they are why take a chance.. on the other hand here's a good video on prop damage..

 

[Marco Cantieni]

The props are kinda your lifeline. I would not risk it extensively flying with those props. Even if they perform sufficiently they definitely will stress the bearings on your motors. I admit €9 bucks for two props is a nasty price but... the lifeline thing

 

[Dan]

It would be nice for those that have data on battery assessment to look at how much of a damaged prop is required to cause an extra load on the battery by the motors having to work harder