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What parts do you fear breaking the most on your drone?

Former Member

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When you are flying, aside from the fear of losing the whole drone, which parts would do you least want to have to repair on your drone after a crash?

1. Arm/leg
2. Gimbal
3. Core board
4. Battery
 
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i would say the the complete gimbal assembly and maybe the core board
 
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I agree. But what part do you think costs the most to replace on the drone?
That is a great question. I would have to say the camera because I just don't really know enough about the other major components within the drone to make an informed guess. I am very interested to know what the answers are?
 
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All of the parts. [emoji23]
honest answer. but practice practice practice find out all you can about the app and what each system does and eventually you will not have to worry because you will not be crashing .good luck with your flying
 
honest answer. but practice practice practice find out all you can about the app and what each system does and eventually you will not have to worry because you will not be crashing .good luck with your flying
I'm not too scared of breaking anything, just wanted to make a joke. Lol. I've had my Mavic Pro Platinum since Christmas and probably have about four hours of flying on it. First flight was nerve racking cause I wanted to watch the drone and not my screen. Just comes with messing with RC cars most my life. Second flight it didn't bother me. I just don't do anything I'm not comfortable with doing. I haven't even activated "sport mode" yet. Really don't have any interest flying it 40+ mph right now. I like just flying around and looking at thing from a different perspective.
 
I'm not too scared of breaking anything, just wanted to make a joke. Lol. I've had my Mavic Pro Platinum since Christmas and probably have about four hours of flying on it. First flight was nerve racking cause I wanted to watch the drone and not my screen. Just comes with messing with RC cars most my life. Second flight it didn't bother me. I just don't do anything I'm not comfortable with doing. I haven't even activated "sport mode" yet. Really don't have any interest flying it 40+ mph right now. I like just flying around and looking at thing from a different perspective.
Just a note there ... you are doing the right thing in watching the Drone and not your screen ... You can see a lot more about what's going on around your drone when you do that. Just look at the drone-crash vid's on YouTube and see how many are backed into trees because the operators are looking down at their screens and not up at where the drone is ... So - good habit to keep my friend. Use your screen primarily to set up your photograpy and videos and as a secondary back-up to Visual Line of Sight (VLOS).
 
I'm not too scared of breaking anything, just wanted to make a joke. Lol. I've had my Mavic Pro Platinum since Christmas and probably have about four hours of flying on it. First flight was nerve racking cause I wanted to watch the drone and not my screen. Just comes with messing with RC cars most my life. Second flight it didn't bother me. I just don't do anything I'm not comfortable with doing. I haven't even activated "sport mode" yet. Really don't have any interest flying it 40+ mph right now. I like just flying around and looking at thing from a different perspective.
no worries yes they are great fun to fly. i to have not found a need for sports mode yet if i want to wiz around the sky i use one of my older cheaper drones in Atti mode and fast speed and do banked turns, funnels ,and it really is great and keeps my hand in .the mav is a lady and i fly it as one
 
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Just a note there ... you are doing the right thing in watching the Drone and not your screen ... You can see a lot more about what's going on around your drone when you do that. Just look at the drone-crash vid's on YouTube and see how many are backed into trees because the operators are looking down at their screens and not up at where the drone is ... So - good habit to keep my friend. Use your screen primarily to set up your photograpy and videos and as a secondary back-up to Visual Line of Sight (VLOS).
good advice from FoxhallGH
 
Thank you for all the responses. Heres a little insight on what parts I would least want to have to repair on my Mavic Pro:
  1. Core board = $250+ - if you damage your core board, you have to replace the whole board. Core boards can be destroyed by flying your drone after a crash when the cooling fan isnt working, or simply by exposure to water. If it shorts out, your controller will stop connecting, and you wont be able to fly until it's replaced.
  2. Gimbal - $25 - $279 - If you crash and dont have a gimbal bubble on there, your gimbal could get destroyed. The good news is that most gimbals arent totalled after a crash, they just need components replaced.
  3. Front sensor - $49+ - After a crash, these might need replacement. You pretty much have to take apart the drone to get to them.
  4. Arms - $39+ - Not a difficult repair, but needs a good soldering iron and moderate soldering skills.
  5. The cooling fan - $25 repair - If you crash and you fan gets damaged, it will stop cooling your core board. If your core board fries, then the fan will be the least of your problems. It's like when your fan belt breaks in your car. A $10 fan belt could destroy your engine if it breaks and you dont know it. From time to time, make sure your fan is working.
 
Just a note there ... you are doing the right thing in watching the Drone and not your screen ... You can see a lot more about what's going on around your drone when you do that. Just look at the drone-crash vid's on YouTube and see how many are backed into trees because the operators are looking down at their screens and not up at where the drone is ... So - good habit to keep my friend. Use your screen primarily to set up your photograpy and videos and as a secondary back-up to Visual Line of Sight (VLOS).

Quick question... does VLOS in the UK demand that you look at the drone while you are flying, or does it just have to be within range of being able to see it?

Im going to guess that 95% of people here transition from watching the drone when they are first learning to fly, to watching the display after they are comfortable dedicating their eyes to the display. If I watched the drone the whole time Im flying, how will I know what to record? :oops:

The USA FAA VLOS rule (I know that this doesnt apply to the UK) states that "the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the remote pilot in command and the person manipulating the flight controls of the small UAS. Alternatively, the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the visual observer." I sometimes bring a spotter, and I love spotting for other people too. Makes it more fun. I always bring a spotter when Im using goggles. Situational awareness is severely hampered when Im wearing them, so it's necessary for me to have someone there to spot, and that allows me to stay within the VLOS rule.
 
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Quick question... does VLOS in the UK demand that you look at the drone while you are flying, or does it just have to be within range of being able to see it?

Im going to guess that 95% of people here transition from watching the drone when they are first learning to fly, to watching the display after they are comfortable dedicating their eyes to the display. If I watched the drone the whole time Im flying, how will I know what to record? :oops:

The USA FAA VLOS rule (I know that this doesnt apply to the UK) states that "the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the remote pilot in command and the person manipulating the flight controls of the small UAS. Alternatively, the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the visual observer." I sometimes bring a spotter, and I love spotting for other people too. Makes it more fun. I always bring a spotter when Im using goggles. Situational awareness is severely hampered when Im wearing them, so it's necessary for me to have someone there to spot, and that allows me to stay within the VLOS rule.
i think the point Foxhall was trying to make was that if you are looking at the screen for to long instead of the drone it is easy to become disorientated VLOS means just the same in the uk
 
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Quick question... does VLOS in the UK demand that you look at the drone while you are flying, or does it just have to be within range of being able to see it?

This part of the law comes from section 166 of the Aircraft Navigation Order 2009 (this is what makes the 'drone code' actual law) which states the following:

(3) The person in charge of a small unmanned aircraft must maintain direct, unaided visual contact with the aircraft sufficient to monitor its flight path in relation to other aircraft, persons, vehicles, vessels and structures for the purpose of avoiding collisions.

The Air Navigation Order 2009

The way that reads to me is that you don't need to watch it 100% enough of the time but do need to monitor its movements enough to be aware of anything around the drone.

Im going to guess that 95% of people here transition from watching the drone when they are first learning to fly, to watching the display after they are comfortable dedicating their eyes to the display. If I watched the drone the whole time Im flying, how will I know what to record? :oops:

I agree about not watching the drone the whole time but I do try to keep an eye on it and not get too hooked on watching the display as that way if for any reason the display drops out I know exactly where the drone is and I'm also aware of anything that might cause an issue I may not have seen on the video feed.

In terms of what I'm most worried about damaging I'd say the gimbal as from reading various threads, that seems the most likely to be damaged and can be a fiddly repair.
 
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