Plastic degradation-just a thought

choo choo · Mar 9, 2018

We all know that plastic degrades over time, becomes brittle, and some faster than others.
I wondered if there was a time limit when it would be wise to replace the props with a fresh pair to guard against the locking tabs breaking off in flight when the plastic becomes brittle and then losing a prop. The locking tabs and blades must be under a great deal of stresses in flight, is there a certain number of ‘hours flown’ that it would be wise to replace them as well. Aeroplanes have stringent checks and a timescale for replacing critical components before the fail due to fatigue. Should we be thinking the same about our props now the Mavic has been produced for about 2 years now, many will be on their original props.

Lake_Flyer · Mar 9, 2018

It really depends on the conditions you usually fly in, where you live, your flying style, and the way you store your Mavic and props. If you store it in the dark at room temperature, there's little chance it gets brittle because of UV (enemy no1) or cold and dryness. You could pack the props in a sealed plastic bag to keep them from drying out if you are in a very dry climate.

I would recommend to change blades as soon as you notice anything. Changing them once a year, regardless of number of flights, seems like a good strategie (if you haven't changed them already because of damage).

Keep a record of when you change which propellor if you want to be sure.

Doug Lare · Mar 9, 2018

Probably the number one thing to affect plastic degradation is UV sunlight. But I think that this is relatively slow compared to other factors such as stress of the propellers in normal use biting into the air and flexing. If you store your Mavic/ Propellers in a dark room, or box, you should not worry about UV. It's way slower than people try to make it out t be. If you left your pros laying out exposed to constant UV sunlight, it would still be many years. If your concern is the physical life of the props since production, consider that in landfills, plastic items buried for decades are still dug up, in usable shape and condition. (of course variances in plastic types apply)