Attention Prop Guard Users. BE ALERT!

One could probably fly a thousand times without prop guards and never have a problem, especially if all flying is in an open area. I flew mine as soon as I got it while waiting for the guards (ordered later) to arrive - nary a problem. After I got the guards, I put them on, but without the string. Flying close to the house (weather too crappy to make a trip to a better flying site), a gust pushed the Phantom up against the house ... it just bounced off and kept flying. A few days later, still tooling around the house I misjudged my closing distance to a residential light pole - guard hit the pole and the Phantom bounced away, but before I could react it attacked the pole a second time dead center between the guards - one blade severely cracked, a second chipped. It dropped six feet straight to the grassy ground. No damage to the Phantom but two blades trashed. Lesson learned. I now have the string installed. Keeping an eye on the string condition is a good tip.

If you're always going to be flying out in the open (no trees, poles, buildings, obstacles of any kind); prop guards are probably pointless other than perhaps making the Phantom easier to see. But if you occasionally get the urge to just get in a quick flight around the back yard, they may well save you some blades, if not worse damage.

As others have mentioned, landings gone slightly awry can tip your craft and possibly damage props. Additionally, if you like to try very slow lift offs (probably not a great idea) and a couple of props generate lift just a bit before the others, it can also tip the craft.
 
When I think of Prop Guards I think of the money I have saved in lost props.
In the few tips overs and min crashes the guards saved my props :D
 
Thinking out loud here:

DJI supplies string, I'm thinking fishing line. Either way the string/line can't be made completely tight.

My guess is that monofilament line - fishing line - is stronger and is more resilient that string. I'll be looking for wear every time I take the P2 out.
 
I've been keeping an eye on the string circle and rotate it slightly within the eyes from time to time to prevent chaffing.
 
I thought the idea of the string was to stop things being drawn inbetween the guards by the counter-rotating blades.
Hold your arm up in front of you as a defensive measure if it is about to hit you, and the counter-rotating blades will draw your arm further in between the blades where they can make a greater mess of your arm. The string is designed to stop that. Surely tying a suitable knot is going to diminish the risk of it breaking and getting wound into the motor, and if you hit something hard enough to break the string that came with my guards, then whether it is going to get caught in your motor might be the least of your concerns at that point.
 
If I was to produce a snap in plastic piece that went between the string holes as an alternative would any of you consider purchasing it?

I've contemplated producing one that works with my clip on prop guards;

 
Yes, I'd consider buying your four plastic clip in ones if you design them MortarArt
 
I can say that the strings and the prop guards work real for ensuring that if you ever hit some trees it can keep it from hitting the ground. :) But you might need to carry a chain saw or a 60 foot ladder your flight case to get it down if it gets stuck up in a tree.
 
If you feel the need to have a string, use dental floss.
 
My neighbor has been using rubber bands and paper clips between his prop Gaurds and says they not only work fine they are easily taken off by hand if necessary. In other words a paper clip on both ends of a correct lenght rubber band. I have no idea if this is a good idea or not, just know he has been flying successfully for years with rc planes, copters and quads.
 

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