My experience with DJI Propguards:
(And 1 ziptie two turns around each arm. Little box in picture is a tracker 30grams. Also had a CF Gimbal Guard attached.)
Got too close to a tree, guards caught a small branch and fell down after trimming the branches as I did a CSC.
My fault as I'm an inexperienced pilot, and I flew in poor lightning conditions.
My bird fell sideways 10ft down into the grass. 1 guard snapped right off, second one was also damaged (blue). Battery popped out, two broken props. Most severe however was the right rear arm that had a dent (arrow), but only in the upper shell. Pushed it back in. Tried to take the P3 apart, and though I'm quite skilled with opening up things held together with plastic tabs the P3 would not undress for me. I did manage to open up all four arms and inspected for cracks. None. (Got the "old" shell).
So my experience is that the guards caught me in the tree but also absorbed some of the energy at impact. However, a 10ft crash can't represent the typical height for a crash. A couple of feet higher and guards wouldn't have made any difference at all. Guards give a false safety IMHO.
After this I've decided: to not use guards anymore, and to not fly in close quarters with my P3. That's what Hubsans with prop guards are for.
(And 1 ziptie two turns around each arm. Little box in picture is a tracker 30grams. Also had a CF Gimbal Guard attached.)
Got too close to a tree, guards caught a small branch and fell down after trimming the branches as I did a CSC.
My fault as I'm an inexperienced pilot, and I flew in poor lightning conditions.
My bird fell sideways 10ft down into the grass. 1 guard snapped right off, second one was also damaged (blue). Battery popped out, two broken props. Most severe however was the right rear arm that had a dent (arrow), but only in the upper shell. Pushed it back in. Tried to take the P3 apart, and though I'm quite skilled with opening up things held together with plastic tabs the P3 would not undress for me. I did manage to open up all four arms and inspected for cracks. None. (Got the "old" shell).
So my experience is that the guards caught me in the tree but also absorbed some of the energy at impact. However, a 10ft crash can't represent the typical height for a crash. A couple of feet higher and guards wouldn't have made any difference at all. Guards give a false safety IMHO.
After this I've decided: to not use guards anymore, and to not fly in close quarters with my P3. That's what Hubsans with prop guards are for.
