So I got my plus late friday and put everything together, charged everything up and was looking forward to flying all day today. Removed the gimbal clamp, calibrated the compass, set her down and got the sat lock. Throttled up and was flying at about 70 feet and one of the props flew off! She came down through a tree and now the camera and gimbal are trashed. The props only go on one way so it couldn't be that. They are self tightening so it couldn't be that. The only thing I can think of is that that one motor locked up and centrifical force caused the prop to continue to spin and unscrew itself. Removed camera and gimbal, cleaned it up and installed other set of props and it seems to fly good although it needs a light touch on the sticks, but I think that is cause of the reduced weight. Any Thoughts? Could there have been a metal shaving in the motor from manufacturing? I'm going to call DJI on monday and wait on hold for a couple of hours and see what they have to say and if they will replace the camera assembly.
My plus crashed on first flight!
- Thread starter cbjr1960
- Start date
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2014
- Messages
- 594
- Reaction score
- 98
I cannot possibly figure out how that could have happened. When motors seieze, they stay seized. So it can't be that. You said that it flew again. Hmm. Some factory worker built the threads the wrong way on one of your engines.
See if you have two propellers that screw on counterclockwise, and another to that screw on clockwise. If you don't have an even amount and have three of one kind and one of the other then don't fly;that's what's wrong
See if you have two propellers that screw on counterclockwise, and another to that screw on clockwise. If you don't have an even amount and have three of one kind and one of the other then don't fly;that's what's wrong
No, the motors are all good, this is my second Phantom.Like I said the only thing I can think of is that a metal chip or something stopped the motor and when in crashed it knocked it loose or something. The prop was spinning the right direction cause when it came loose it went straight up. I flew it for about 20 mins after I put a new set of props on and removed what was left of the camera. (Sweating bullets the whole time) and all seemed right except I really needed to go light on the sticks. Really ticks me off, the camera came of the gimbal motor, the cable is broke, and the gimbal arm is bent. Well I'll see what DJI has to say on monday.
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2014
- Messages
- 594
- Reaction score
- 98
Keep us up to date on this. I'd love to hear the final explanation. If one motor seized, than un-seized, I wouldn't trust that motor anymore. Box it up, get a RMA from DJI, AFTER you talk to the guy who sold it to you. Because that is what they are going to tell you to do. But your story sounds impossible without your explanation, and they may not believe a prop unscrewed. Maybe an electrical fault? They're going to want to see it and examine what happened since they are not in the habit of repairing newly crashed multirotors for free. (goodluck, I was #32 on hold when I called DJI... it took an hour).
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2014
- Messages
- 594
- Reaction score
- 98
Did you change your gains in the Assistant software? Maybe going from full power climb to immediate decent had the props carry enough inertia to spin off. Maybe you the default gains are enough to change speed rapidly enough to do that and we are all in danger of having your experience. Did you tighten your props, or just spin them down lightly?
I have flown mine several times and I can't imagine how this could have happened. I am not saying that it did not but It is really unusual for self tightening props to fly off. I have been flying them since the first P2 and have converted all my craft to them. Do you have any video of what happened?
DrJoe said:
I'm betting OP hand tightened props. On my 450 I had one come off, luckily fairly low altitude. So mandatory to tighten props w/little prop wrench. That's going to be an expensive mistake.
- Joined
- Apr 2, 2014
- Messages
- 171
- Reaction score
- 6
Did you find the prop that flew off? Maybe it wasn't threaded or it stripped out. I'm leaning toward faulty prop.
EMCSQUAR said:
DJI disagrees here... Their instructional videos specifically state to spin the props on by hand and the wrench is only included in the packaging to loosen a prop that is over tightened. (maybe from contact with something in a crash)... I don't think it's a mistake when you are following specific instructions from the manufacturer.
Doubt it was a motor, if it had locked up the prop would have just stopped as it tightens to the motor anyway and they weigh sod all. Sounds more like a defective prop to me, maybe the thread not right because if it self tightened as it would, then if the thread was defective the prop "could" just carry on self tightening until it flew off shredding the thread. Some people have also found that when they do pre flight checks after a number of flights that there has been hairline cracks in the prop hub which could result in prop failure. Ideal situation would have been to find the prop, and that will tell you what happened ! Certainly a defective prop would be covered by DJI.
Bad luck m8 maybe lessons to be learned before we all fly to fully check everything before flying, especially the condition of the props for cracks, threads etc !
:?
Bad luck m8 maybe lessons to be learned before we all fly to fully check everything before flying, especially the condition of the props for cracks, threads etc !
:?
pyrophantom said:
You got that backwards... The prop self tightens from start up forces and wind resistance on the prop in it's proper rotational direction... If you spin the motor up to idle speed and hard stop the motor , then the opposite forces occur and that would in effect loosen the prop... If the prop had enough inertia, it would spin right off the threads....
This would have to be done by stopping the motor and not the prop... If the prop contacts something then it would just get tighter... so his logic is correct in thinking that way... but it would be nearly impossible to determine what caused that unless he can replicate it or find a bad motor bearing that caused the motor to just lock up that way.
DBS said:
With prior dealings w/DJI, mistake or not - they'll use that as an "out" re: warranty. OP will have better luck dealing w/ his selling dealer, DJI takes anything and all back from their dealer network.
Never touched any settings, props were on correct (this is my second Phantom and I've been into heli's for years). Like I said the only thing I can think of is a chip of some sort left over from manufacturing becoming lodged in the motor and then dislodging when it crashed. A sudden stop is the only thing that would have the force necessary to snap the prop loose. One min my son in law and I are watching the bird and then the prop launched straight up off the bird. I'll keep you guys posted.
EMCSQUAR said:
Exactly why I ordered from B&H Photo and not DJI direct. I'm willing to wait another week for peace of mind 30 days after I receive it.
Its highly unlikely to have a motor stop for no reason then just suddenly work again when he puts a different set of props on ! The prop is the most likely defect here, either incorrect pitch on the thread or a cracked prop hub causing it to fail at full torque.
Just my two penneth ! :roll:
Just my two penneth ! :roll:
cbjr1960 said:
Surely if the prop suddenly launched straight up off the phantom then it was spinning in the correct direction and still creating lift?
It's also possible the prop was cross threaded onto the motor and therefore the prop came off at higher RPM.
The prop "flew upwards" so it must have been spinning in the correct direction and therefore attached to the correct motor. These props get pretty tight and you generally need the wrench to remove them. Had the motor seized, it would still be seized. It isn't going to completely seize and then function perfectly normal, and now the aircraft flies fine, albeit minus one destroyed camera/gimbal assembly. All I can say is I hope you have recovered the prop and have video because I can't see DJI or a dealer replacing this at no charge unless they are extremely forgiving or you make an awful lot of purchases from them. Just my humble opinion. :?
If he recovered the prop and it was found defective when he bought the P2V+ then he is of course covered. Wont happen very often you get a defective prop but its by no means impossible given the speed these things rotate at which will show up any floor in them
pyrophantom said:
I agree if he has the prop and the plastic somehow sheered off the hub, or the hub split or cracked, he would likely be covered. If the plastic sheered off the hub would still be on the shaft. If the hub was split open or cracked, that will be evident too, if he can recover the prop. Since he attached a new prop to the motor and flew again (I assume it was a new one and not the one that flew off), it can't be an issue with the motor shaft failing. This is a strange case.
