Flying with scratched props

[paulieparker]

Hi all - I'm new here and new to my 3dr Solo. I'm working with support right now on an issue I'm having whereupon using the auto-land feature (under 20 feet or so), the drone descends a few feet and then beelines to the right. The pause/panic button and other controls are useless and it flies until it crashes into something.

So, with this issue, the Solo has crashed a few times (wedged under shingles of the house, into a fence, etc.). All of the props now have minor scratches on them (some are majorly damaged). I know it's probably not advisable or desirable but can I fly with scratched props until I can grab new ones from the store? Do you think after reviewing their logs, 3dr might replace them at no charge?

Thanks in advance!

 

[SteveReno]

Hi all - I'm new here and new to my 3dr Solo. I'm working with support right now on an issue I'm having whereupon using the auto-land feature (under 20 feet or so), the drone descends a few feet and then beelines to the right. The pause/panic button and other controls are useless and it flies until it crashes into something.

So, with this issue, the Solo has crashed a few times (wedged under shingles of the house, into a fence, etc.). All of the props now have minor scratches on them (some are majorly damaged). I know it's probably not advisable or desirable but can I fly with scratched props until I can grab new ones from the store? Do you think after reviewing their logs, 3dr might replace them at no charge?

Thanks in advance!

Common sense, tells me that a damaged prop can break apart & fly off & hit someone. moving at very high RPM's.
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Propeller-Qua...pebp=1440787063230&perid=1Z833SNYM2QCRDF960B4

 

[Jubalr]

Hi all - I'm new here and new to my 3dr Solo. I'm working with support right now on an issue I'm having whereupon using the auto-land feature (under 20 feet or so), the drone descends a few feet and then beelines to the right. The pause/panic button and other controls are useless and it flies until it crashes into something.

So, with this issue, the Solo has crashed a few times (wedged under shingles of the house, into a fence, etc.). All of the props now have minor scratches on them (some are majorly damaged). I know it's probably not advisable or desirable but can I fly with scratched props until I can grab new ones from the store? Do you think after reviewing their logs, 3dr might replace them at no charge?

Thanks in advance!

Hey Paulie, Welcome!
Assign A or B to Manual mode and learn to land in that mode to avoid any GPS issues. Pause will do you NO good when having trouble with GPS/Drifting. Check out the video for more info on this..

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[SkyDoctor]

Hi all - I'm new here and new to my 3dr Solo. I'm working with support right now on an issue I'm having whereupon using the auto-land feature (under 20 feet or so), the drone descends a few feet and then beelines to the right. The pause/panic button and other controls are useless and it flies until it crashes into something.

So, with this issue, the Solo has crashed a few times (wedged under shingles of the house, into a fence, etc.). All of the props now have minor scratches on them (some are majorly damaged). I know it's probably not advisable or desirable but can I fly with scratched props until I can grab new ones from the store? Do you think after reviewing their logs, 3dr might replace them at no charge?

Thanks in advance!

Do you have the latest firmware installed?

 

[SkyDoctor]

Forget about props, you have a serious problem with that Solo.

 

[SkyDoctor]

Common sense, tells me that a damaged prop can break apart & fly off & hit someone. moving at very high RPM's.
Amazon Got them cheaper then anyone else $9.04 i think ?
http://www.amazon.com/3DRobotics-PR...sbs_21_13?ie=UTF8&refRID=0PC3FQ7MJJYQNY6R3V0N

Those porps are for the iris not the Solo.

 

[ChrisM101]

This is exactly why my Solo is still in RMA... of course they haven't managed to send me a new one yet. Nor update me on the status of my repairs.

 

[SteveReno]

Those porps are for the iris not the Solo.

Thanks Chris, it's corrected now.

 

[SteveReno]

Those porps are for the iris not the Solo.

It's corrected now.

 

[SteveReno]

Those porps are for the iris not the Solo.

The Link is correct now

 

[Sashatronics]

It happened to me too yesterday, it drifted all over. So i did factory reset on both Solo and controller, it worked! Had to update and all, but when tested, i noticed less drift.

Today i got my GPS mod installed M8N and it drift even less, i think. i was able to fly manual all over between roof and tress.

 

[Timmytimetravel]

I flew about 5 flights with a half inch missing from one prop, couldn't get spares. Didn't seem to make a dufference, and it held level (maybe tech compensating for it ) That made me very doubtful about the whole prop balancing thing making a difference.
However. I got a balancer and checked my 12 props. Sure enough, not just the ones with dirt on them from the last firmware uneven landing flip upside down on the ground dance thing. But new ones from packets, out of balance. I had 4/12 in balance !

I've yet to see if it makes a difference, but I flew out to an island 1600ft out. When trying to get some shots, one direction was very shakey. I didn't think at the time to simply rotate 180 and try the same direction, and I've experienced similar in strong wind before. However there was no wind on shore that day (not to say out there was the same), and also it may simply be a factor of speed but it was directional.

Could also have been the peau productions go pro with the rectilinear lens mount lens I only had the internal nd4 on it which claims it should not affect balance. (This is still no gimbal).

I don't know if I can go to the same spot, same conditions with a balanced set to compare, but it's a small investment to balance them, then they are out of the equation of potential issues.

 

[SteveReno]

Unbalanced props will vibrant motors, ruin bearings.

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

 

[Psywarrior]

Hey Paulie, Welcome!
Assign A or B to Manual mode and learn to land in that mode to avoid any GPS issues. Pause will do you NO good when having trouble with GPS/Drifting. Check out the video for more info on this..

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Just stay in fly mode. Pull back on the throttle stick to land and continue to hold throttle down until motors shut off. That will keep all other functions available.

 

[Burkeam]

Invest into a prop balancer and dress any scratches. Keep spare props on hand. Brand new props are out of balance or at least 50% of them in my experience. I use scotch-brite to dress the leading and trailing edges of used props. I have even take a small file to remove the larger nick. Pinch the edge of the prop and drag between two fingers. When your done the edge should feel the same along the whole length. This is probably one of the most overlooked preventative maintenance items on all uav. Small imperfections and out of balance props drastically affect the efficiency of the airflow, cause damaging vibration to the motor, craft, electronic and camera performance. I speak as a pilot and certified A&P(airframe and powerplant mechanic) only fools don't maintain thier props. Now we are flying unmanned but there is still value in the maintenance. Lastly I strongly don't recommend fly with a chipped prop but I have. It can blow apart without notice. Mine actually got 1/2" blown off from flying inside a fireworks show -not my Solo but my POS P2V+. It still flue fine and I notice the damage the next morning.

 

[paulieparker]

Common sense, tells me that a damaged prop can break apart & fly off & hit someone. moving at very high RPM's.
Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Propeller-Qua...pebp=1440787063230&perid=1Z833SNYM2QCRDF960B4

Thanks! They're only superficially scratched and don't appear as if they'd break. Thank you for the link. That's $6 less per set than at B&H or BestBuy. I ordered 3 more sets.

 

[paulieparker]

Hey Paulie, Welcome!
Assign A or B to Manual mode and learn to land in that mode to avoid any GPS issues. Pause will do you NO good when having trouble with GPS/Drifting. Check out the video for more info on this..

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Thanks!! That looks like what I'll have to do, I suppose.

 

[paulieparker]

Do you have the latest firmware installed?

Yep - it's happened before and after the update.

 

[paulieparker]

Just stay in fly mode. Pull back on the throttle stick to land and continue to hold throttle down until motors shut off. That will keep all other functions available.

Thanks, I'll give that a whirl

 

[paulieparker]

Invest into a prop balancer and dress any scratches. Keep spare props on hand. Brand new props are out of balance or at least 50% of them in my experience. I use scotch-brite to dress the leading and trailing edges of used props. I have even take a small file to remove the larger nick. Pinch the edge of the prop and drag between two fingers. When your done the edge should feel the same along the whole length. This is probably one of the most overlooked preventative maintenance items on all uav. Small imperfections and out of balance props drastically affect the efficiency of the airflow, cause damaging vibration to the motor, craft, electronic and camera performance. I speak as a pilot and certified A&P(airframe and powerplant mechanic) only fools don't maintain thier props. Now we are flying unmanned but there is still value in the maintenance. Lastly I strongly don't recommend fly with a chipped prop but I have. It can blow apart without notice. Mine actually got 1/2" blown off from flying inside a fireworks show -not my Solo but my POS P2V+. It still flue fine and I notice the damage the next morning.

All good info here.. thanks, Burkream!