Prop Life? When To Replace.

[Drone Master]

I decided to bring up this subject because there is not much talk about it.
This is DJI's first 3 piece prop design that I am aware of and specifically designed and made just for the Mavic Pro.
I wanted to do a poll on this as to what you guys have experience with these props.
Personally, I have witnessed some looseness within the prop assembly itself with 20 flights in.

Other than mishaps, and only with normal flights without incident, what are you experiencing with your props on the Mavic? Are you seeing any unusual wear or looseness between these three parts?

 

[Logger]

After 28 hours flight time, 260km and >200 flights. i cannot see any obvious evidence of wear and tear on mine. Just some minor tip scuffing on the end of two of the props where I drifted against an indoor wall momentarily, in my early flights. I know you do not want mishaps, but I did also manage to mow mine into some long grass at 45kmh too - with no damage to them or the aircraft whatsoever !! Just folded itself up like an F111 and stopped. My props seem as good as new. Surprising really as I had honestly expected to be using up my spares. They remain unopened. Well designed it seems.


Just dirt on the nose. Pollen on battery from a prop strike as it folded and some seed in the left aft motor. This is how I found it.

 

[Andrew F]

After 28 hours flight time, 260km and >200 flights. i cannot see any obvious evidence of wear and tear on mine. Just some minor tip scuffing on the end of two of the props where I drifted against an indoor wall momentarily, in my early flights. I know you do not want mishaps, but I did also manage to mow mine into some long grass at 45kmh too - with no damage to them or the aircraft whatsoever !! Just folded itself up like an F111 and stopped. My props seem as good as new. Surprising really as I had honestly expected to be using up my spares. They remain unopened. Well designed it seems.

View attachment 2896
Just dirt on the nose. Pollen on battery from a prop strike as it folded and some seed in the left aft motor. This is how I found it.

Hey huge kudos, Logger. Some very impressive times and flights logged. The weather here is not cooperating for me. Glad to hear of your successes and I hope others experience the same and better!

 

[J-Dub]

Peter Homer (Youtube guy) suggested that if the hinge is loose and the prop does not stay straight and level when held at one end, simply replace them since the props are relatively cheap. I just can't recall as to why he suggested that a loose hinge is bad. Possibly the loss of prop force through the wind as it buckles on the loose hinge, thereby causing unstable flight? Somebody here knows...

 

[Logger]

Thanks AF. hope you get some nice weather for flying too.
J-Dub, I saw his theory too but think it is just that - his theory. Mine is that the centrifugal force on the hinge will far outweigh any lack of friction. There will be minimal to zero rotation about the hinge lines when the props are spinning other than start/stop or if the prop strikes something.
Let see if someone has a prop failure that is not caused my a mishap. Then we can assess how it failed.

 

[Heavysledz]

A loose hinge will result in the blade angle being slightly off and could create vibration and either more or less lift then the other blades causing the drone to "search" instead of holding a rock solid hover position....

 

[Logger]

Well that's a possibility but not a certainty. Certainly not something I will be worrying about.

The Mavic’s motors are not all on the same plane. Will this affect its flight performance? No.

What happens if the propellers are not fully unfolded before flight? Once the rotors start spinning, the centrifugal force will automatically push the propellers into the correct position, so you don’t need to worry about not having unfolded them perfectly.

This guy cuts an inch of a prop DJI Mavic Pro Drone Extreme test
and it is rock solid, he flies it with virtually its own weight of water hanging below a prop Rock solid. While you are saying that a lack of hinge friction WILL cause it to ahem "Search" ?? I dont buy it sorry.

 

[Heavysledz]

Well that's a possibility but not a certainty. Certainly not something I will be worrying about.

The Mavic’s motors are not all on the same plane. Will this affect its flight performance? No.

What happens if the propellers are not fully unfolded before flight? Once the rotors start spinning, the centrifugal force will automatically push the propellers into the correct position, so you don’t need to worry about not having unfolded them perfectly.

This guy cuts an inch of a prop DJI Mavic Pro Drone Extreme test
and it is rock solid, he flies it with virtually its own weight of water hanging below a prop Rock solid. While you are saying that a lack of hinge friction WILL cause it to ahem "Search" ?? I dont buy it sorry.

I agree...I should have clarified what I meant.....vibration and a slight variance in lift from the loose blade will be the result but likely not enough to notice unless it was extremely loose and likely close to coming apart. I wouldn't bother with it unless the drone started behaving oddly and I had performed all of the calibrations and it didn't fix the issue. An easy test would be to put on a new set of blades to see if it flew better or not....

 

[Logger]

True. Ultimately you would have to think the hinge is the only likely failure point for these props. But I suspect it would have to be in extremely poor condition to get to this point. In general use, not having hit anything, they may well last a very long time if we are lucky.

 

[Heavysledz]

agreed...likely to see more damage if shoved in a backpack or other less than secure means of storage/transport than due to actual flight time...

 

[Drone Master]

So now after 2 months of flight or maximum of 30 flights and at least 3 hours. What prop wear are you seeing now? Anything different or worn?
Mine are a bit loose, but the Mavic is still in check' So Good thing!

 

[Drone Master]

Ok, so after your last two weeks of flying, what are you seeing?
Is there any additional wear on your current props?

 

[AlexSP]

I haven't seen anything scientific, logic or solid in this regard. Not from DJI anyway, and the track record on the Mavic is still small compared to, say, the Phantom line (due to the limited supply and relatively recent release mostly). Thus, most of the suggestions out there are just opinions, based on not much because, really, no one knows how long they last in face of the variety of conditions possible.

That said, I have my opinion as well. From an engineering perspective, the hinge shouldn't wear out. Very limited angle of movement and little to none friction. The blades are made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, just like the aftermarket ones for the P3 line, which are very durable and long lasting. If designed right and built accordingly, and my opinion they are, it shouldn't break or split.

They're short radius and the individual blades are very lightweight too, and quite flexible which also from a design and engineering point of view are good attributes. Finally, DJI has a very very good track record when it comes to prop design and manufacturing. Previous success doesn't necessarily mean future performance but based on all that pointed above, I'd guess these little things should last a really looooong time in normal use.

I'm currently using a cracked prop that I fixed with carbon fiber resin and it's going strong. It cracked halfway through at a third from the tip during an indoor flight...err, crash... a very thin cross area which at the time I thought would make it impossible to fix without leaving a bulge or something.

But I like a challenge and it worked, it is strong and smooth over the area and well balanced too so I'm testing it with care and attention to see what gives. I am used to fix heli and plane props and these usually fly for yrs (if not crashed of course lol). Hope the Mavic does too!

 

[Drone Master]

I haven't seen anything scientific, logic or solid in this regard. Not from DJI anyway, and the track record on the Mavic is still small compared to, say, the Phantom line (due to the limited supply and relatively recent release mostly). Thus, most of the suggestions out there are just opinions, based on not much because, really, no one knows how long they last in face of the variety of conditions possible.

That said, I have my opinion as well. From an engineering perspective, the hinge shouldn't wear out. Very limited angle of movement and little to none friction. The blades are made of carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, just like the aftermarket ones for the P3 line, which are very durable and long lasting. If designed right and built accordingly, and my opinion they are, it shouldn't break or split.

They're short radius and the individual blades are very lightweight too, and quite flexible which also from a design and engineering point of view are good attributes. Finally, DJI has a very very good track record when it comes to prop design and manufacturing. Previous success doesn't necessarily mean future performance but based on all that pointed above, I'd guess these little things should last a really looooong time in normal use.

I'm currently using a cracked prop that I fixed with carbon fiber resin and it's going strong. It cracked halfway through at a third from the tip during an indoor flight...err, crash... a very thin cross area which at the time I thought would make it impossible to fix without leaving a bulge or something.

But I like a challenge and it worked, it is strong and smooth over the area and well balanced too so I'm testing it with care and attention to see what gives. I am used to fix heli and plane props and these usually fly for yrs (if not crashed of course lol). Hope the Mavic does too!

Well, I guess that sums it up! DJI has no issues so far with Mavic props, but what about balancing them? Anything to add on that?

 

[GlenT]

I decided to bring up this subject because there is not much talk about it.
This is DJI's first 3 piece prop design that I am aware of and specifically designed and made just for the Mavic Pro.
I wantted to do a poll on this as to what you guys have experience with these props.
Personally, I have witnessed some looseness within the prop assembly itself with 20 flights in.

Other than mishaps, and only with normal flights without incident, what are you experiencing with your props on the Mavic? Are you seeing any unusual wear or looseness between these three parts?

Hi Blue Bird, DJI have been producing much larger folding props with their Spreading Wings series Hexa and Octocopter platforms for a number of years now. These wee Mavic ones appear pretty good to me. And as others have noted, they are so cheap it would pay to swap out when you feel they have done their dash. As to when that is, well it comes down to how much work they have done, how they've been treated etc. I have six spare pairs already as to me they are a disposable/maintenance item.

 

[Drone Master]

Hi Blue Bird, DJI have been producing much larger folding props with their Spreading Wings series Hexa and Octocopter platforms for a number of years now. These wee Mavic ones appear pretty good to me. And as others have noted, they are so cheap it would pay to swap out when you feel they have done their dash. As to when that is, well it comes down to how much work they have done, how they've been treated etc. I have six spare pairs already as to me they are a disposable/maintenance item.

can you send some pics of those? would love to see them and make comparison. Thanx..BB..

 

[GlenT]

can you send some pics of those? would love to see them and make comparison. Thanx..BB..

They're carbon fibre and 15". Different ball game compared to the Mavics.

 

[Drone Master]

They're carbon fibre and 15". Different ball game compared to the Mavics.

Those are DJI? Ummm. Ok..cool..

 

[GlenT]

Original Evo props from the S1000. I thought they only came fitted with the plastic ones, but found these.

 

[ghostrider215]

Original Evo props from the S1000. I thought they only came fitted with the plastic ones, but found these.

Will these se fit the Mavic? If so, where do you purchase? Any advantage or disadvantage with these vs OEM?


Ghostrider215