Hey everyone,
I was wondering if we could create some type of post-crash checklist for non-catastrophic crashes. Last week I was about to do some beach flying and, due to user error, I took off the wrong way and ended up in a palm tree. The palm tree eventually spit the P3 out and I killed the engines with a CSC, which LUCKILY landed the P3 top down in the sand. The only damage appeared to be a broken prop and another warped prop. With that being said, I wanted to make sure the entire craft was in flight ready condition to make sure it wasn't going to die on me during a future flight. This is what I did after the crash but I'd welcome any more steps.
Sorry if that's a bit long but I wanted to make it thorough. I can't imagine something worse than exiting a survivable crash, only to have something that I could have fixed go on to cause a non-survivable crash. I wish I could also open the drone to check for all the connections being in place but that would likely void my warranty!
Feel free to chime in with any edits/additions. Thanks!
I was wondering if we could create some type of post-crash checklist for non-catastrophic crashes. Last week I was about to do some beach flying and, due to user error, I took off the wrong way and ended up in a palm tree. The palm tree eventually spit the P3 out and I killed the engines with a CSC, which LUCKILY landed the P3 top down in the sand. The only damage appeared to be a broken prop and another warped prop. With that being said, I wanted to make sure the entire craft was in flight ready condition to make sure it wasn't going to die on me during a future flight. This is what I did after the crash but I'd welcome any more steps.
- Shut off the UAV/controller and remove the battery and props
- Clean all dirt/sand/debris off of the UAV using alcohol pads
- Manually turn the rotors while the UAV is upside down to dislodge any sand/dirt and then blow in each of them (or use compressed air) to remove anything remaining
- Check for gimbal range of motion, bent parts, or cracks
- Check camera for cracks or loose wires
- Check battery for structural damage
- Remove all props and check for any cracks or deformities. Replace any props that show ANY sign of damage
- Check all gimbal pads and drop protectors to make sure they are securely seated and in-tact
- Checked the entire frame for cracks including the landing gear
- Checked every motor to make sure it was seated properly and not loose (including all the screws)
- Blew sand/debris/dust out of every moving part (again)
- (Once calm after the crash) Re-insert battery into the drone
- Boot the drone on a flat surface and let it go through start-up
- Calibrate the compass and then the IMU
- Check gimbal for full range of motion using gimbal control and then by moving the UAV around
- Start motors without props and check for any wobble
- Shutdown motors, attach props, start motors again, and re-check for wobble
- Bring UAV to a hover slightly above eye-level and check for and strange movement/shaking
- While recording video, do basic maneuvers (forward, backward, left, right, yaw left, yaw right, up, down).
- Review video to make sure no additional shakiness existed.
- Do one longer distance flight low and slow (and not over water) to ensure everything continued to work
Sorry if that's a bit long but I wanted to make it thorough. I can't imagine something worse than exiting a survivable crash, only to have something that I could have fixed go on to cause a non-survivable crash. I wish I could also open the drone to check for all the connections being in place but that would likely void my warranty!
Feel free to chime in with any edits/additions. Thanks!
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