With or without prop guards?

[kpspecial]

What are people's thoughts on using prop guards on P3?

Any disadvantages?

 

[Peter Hartmann]

There are a number of disadvantages to putting blade guards on drones

The big disadvantage of prop guards on ANY drone, any series Phantom, is that it takes all the fun out of those potentially gory injuries that can be found discussed elsewhere on this and other forums related to drone safety.

There are other disadvantages . For example, if you have a need to give money to the parts manufacturers, having blade guards substantially interferes with your ability to damage your drone, and thus interferes with their income.

They are also a impediment to those who want legislation banning drones, their sale, or at least dramatically restricting their operation.

For example, there was the other day an incident reported in which a Phantom like mine somehow either malfunctioned and/or got away from the drone operator. It went some distance away on its on, then fell upon and carved up a woman's face and arms. Had that drone been equipped with blade guards, she probably wouldn't have been injured at all - leaving the legislators who want to screw up our hobby with nothing to whine about.

If you have a need to fly your drone next to trees, and/or like to run your drone into trees - no question - the guards can make it harder or in some cases even impossible to recover a drone stuck up in a tree.

Finally, blade guards dramatically reduce the performance of our drones. Before I installed blade guards on my drone, it " flew thru the air with the greatest of ease...". Now that it is equipped with blade guards, it wont fly any more...I just carry it around as costume jewelery.

Say - would you be interested in a used bridge in Brooklyn that I have for sale...?

 

[drm]

If you use prop guards, you could gently ram into the side of a building without causing any damage. They may protect people against injury some of the time. They will not help much against tree branches. They add some weight and thereby reduce flight time. They can catch the wind and affect maneuverability. If you're flying in open areas, you don't need them. I have some snap on prop guards but haven't used them for a long time.

 

[Peter Hartmann]

.......... If you're flying in open areas, you don't need them. I have some snap on prop guards but haven't used them for a long time.

. . . . .

I agree - completely - no question that YOU don't need them if you are operating your drone in an "open" area. The drone operator whose Phantom got away from him, and chewed up a old lady's face & arms well over half a mile away, didn't need one either.

 

[kpspecial]

There are a number of disadvantages to putting blade guards on drones

The big disadvantage of prop guards on ANY drone, any series Phantom, is that it takes all the fun out of those potentially gory injuries that can be found discussed elsewhere on this and other forums related to drone safety.

There are other disadvantages . For example, if you have a need to give money to the parts manufacturers, having blade guards substantially interferes with your ability to damage your drone, and thus interferes with their income.

They are also a impediment to those who want legislation banning drones, their sale, or at least dramatically restricting their operation.

For example, there was the other day an incident reported in which a Phantom like mine somehow either malfunctioned and/or got away from the drone operator. It went some distance away on its on, then fell upon and carved up a woman's face and arms. Had that drone been equipped with blade guards, she probably wouldn't have been injured at all - leaving the legislators who want to screw up our hobby with nothing to whine about.

If you have a need to fly your drone next to trees, and/or like to run your drone into trees - no question - the guards can make it harder or in some cases even impossible to recover a drone stuck up in a tree.

Finally, blade guards dramatically reduce the performance of our drones. Before I installed blade guards on my drone, it " flew thru the air with the greatest of ease...". Now that it is equipped with blade guards, it wont fly any more...I just carry it around as costume jewelery.

Say - would you be interested in a used bridge in Brooklyn that I have for sale...?

Ok Mr Sarcastic, I was looking for advice around disadvantages such as those discussed by drm above.

 

[kpspecial]

If you use prop guards, you could gently ram into the side of a building without causing any damage. They may protect people against injury some of the time. They will not help much against tree branches. They add some weight and thereby reduce flight time. They can catch the wind and affect maneuverability. If you're flying in open areas, you don't need them. I have some snap on prop guards but haven't used them for a long time.

Thanks v much drm, this the sort of advice I was looking for.

 

[Peter Hartmann]

Ok Mr Sarcastic, I was looking for advice around disadvantages such as those discussed by drm above.

. . .

I don't think you are being fair. I was not being "sarcastic". I was simply trying to help. Elsewhere in this forum you will find numerous folks who agree with me - numerous comments that they don't like drone blade guards, don't want drone blade guards, wont use drone blade guards, blade guards ruin their drone's performance, "nobody wants drone guards - let it go" wont protect, etc. etc.

Pay attention to them - they are far more experienced that I am in personal injury liability issues...!

 

[quaddamage]

The big disadvantage of prop guards on ANY drone, any series Phantom, is that it takes all the fun out of those potentially gory injuries that can be found discussed elsewhere on this and other forums related to drone safety.

I recently bought a slightly damaged P3 adv for cheap. One side of the case was covered with dark red spots. If the propeller would stop on my bone, I'm pretty sure I would also sell the drone for cheap, only to not see it during the long weeks of recovery.

 

[Peter Hartmann]

I recently bought a slightly damaged P3 adv for cheap. One side of the case was covered with dark red spots. If the propeller would stop on my bone, I'm pretty sure I would also sell the drone for cheap, only to not see it during the long weeks of recovery.

............................................................
party pooper...!

 

[kpspecial]

. . .

I don't think you are being fair. I was not being "sarcastic". I was simply trying to help. Elsewhere in this forum you will find numerous folks who agree with me - numerous comments that they don't like drone blade guards, don't want drone blade guards, wont use drone blade guards, blade guards ruin their drone's performance, "nobody wants drone guards - let it go" wont protect, etc. etc.

Pay attention to them - they are far more experienced that I am in personal injury liability issues...!

You continue being sarcastic. I started this thread to get people's opinions on disadvantages (if any) of using prop guards, that's all, if your opinion is that one should use them particularly for safety reasons that all I needed to hear, not long sarcastic essay.

 

[quaddamage]

The guards have some effect on the done manoeuvrability and on how well the drone handles high wind.

In other words - if you're planning to fly far above trees, where there are no physical obstacles and wind is high - do not use them. If you are flying low enough to run into obstacles, it is best to use them; wind on low altitudes is way weaker than above 100m. And if you're flying indoors (and you can't understand that phantom series is a poor choice for that), you should definitely have guards on, the chance you will need them is very high.

 

[Peter Hartmann]

.......... if you're planning to fly far above trees, where there are no physical obstacles and wind is high - do not use them..........

....................................................................................................

I agree - well... just be sure you have a drone that does not ever fail to respond to commands, so that you are confident it will never ever get away, cut up some nice innocent person ( who may then subject you to a catastrophic personal injury law-suit.)

Or maybe, if that fairly rare circumstance occurs, and your drone does get away, has no blade guards, and does cut up some innocent person, and they do sue you, be sure to pick a jury that will decide you were right not to bother with blade guards - and the injured person should have just gotten out of your way......their fault for not getting out of the way of your wayward drone fast enough.....

By the way..can you help me out..? .I live on an isolated airstrip where there are no trees at all, and because of the area, we are frequently subject to high winds.

I did operate my drone for several days in high winds....until the drone guards arrived. Even after following the instructions on the blade-guards and installing them EXACTLY according to the directions, those blade guards don't seem to have any effect on our high winds.

Just operated my drone a few minutes ago - very disappointed. Can you tell me where I can get better blade guards that will stop this durn wind ?

 

[kpspecial]

The guards have some effect on the done manoeuvrability and on how well the drone handles high wind.

In other words - if you're planning to fly far above trees, where there are no physical obstacles and wind is high - do not use them. If you are flying low enough to run into obstacles, it is best to use them; wind on low altitudes is way weaker than above 100m. And if you're flying indoors (and you can't understand that phantom series is a poor choice for that), you should definitely have guards on, the chance you will need them is very high.

Thank you for info. I was mostly concerned about the manoeuvrability, so these are useful tips. [emoji1360]

 

[kpspecial]

....................................................................................................

I agree - well... just be sure you have a drone that does not ever fail to respond to commands, so that you are confident it will never ever get away, cut up some nice innocent person ( who may then subject you to a catastrophic personal injury law-suit.)

Or maybe, if that fairly rare circumstance occurs, and your drone does get away, has no blade guards, and does cut up some innocent person, and they do sue you, be sure to pick a jury that will decide you were right not to bother with blade guards - and the injured person should have just gotten out of your way......their fault for not getting out of the way of your wayward drone fast enough.....

By the way..can you help me out..? .I live on an isolated airstrip where there are no trees at all, and because of the area, we are frequently subject to high winds.

I did operate my drone for several days in high winds....until the drone guards arrived. Even after following the instructions on the blade-guards and installing them EXACTLY according to the directions, those blade guards don't seem to have any effect on our high winds.

Just operated my drone a few minutes ago - very disappointed. Can you tell me where I can get better blade guards that will stop this durn wind ?

You are a total bore mate. Please find another thread to moan on.

 

[With The Birds]

Reduced flight time and performance, they act like sails in windy conditions.

 

[Meta4]

What are people's thoughts on using prop guards on P3?
Any disadvantages?

Just a few ....
If you think you need propguards on your Phantom, you are flying too close to obstacles.
Trees and buildings are the number one killer of Phantoms.
Fly out in the open and you avoid the cause of most crashes.
Propguards have their place - if you are flying in a sensitive location indoors.
But otherwise they weigh your Phantom down, reduce speed and flight time, get in frame, catch the wind like a sail and won't fit in the case, while all the time giving flyers a false sense of security.
Here's an example of how they can affect your Phantom in a windy situation:

 

[kpspecial]

Just a few ....
If you think you need propguards on your Phantom, you are flying too close to obstacles.
Trees and buildings are the number one killer of Phantoms.
Fly out in the open and you avoid the cause of most crashes.
Propguards have their place - if you are flying in a sensitive location indoors.
But otherwise they weigh your Phantom down, reduce speed and flight time, get in frame, catch the wind like a sail and won't fit in the case, while all the time giving flyers a false sense of security.
Here's an example of how they can affect your Phantom in a windy situation:

Thanks for this, so you are saying the drone was actually resisting to RTH because of the props behaviour in the wind?

Where abouts was that?

 

[Meta4]

Thanks for this, so you are saying the drone was actually resisting to RTH because of the props behaviour in the wind?
Where abouts was that?

It was somewhere in Britain. The pilot was very inexperienced and didn't really know what he was doing.
The prop guards act like sails and catch the wind.
That can cause the Phantom to be blown away and makes it harder for the Phantom to fight the wind.
Prop guards are of limited use in specific situations but not something you would want on your Phantom all the time.

 

[Peter Hartmann]

c

. . . .If you think you need propguards on your Phantom, you are flying too close to obstacles.......Fly out in the open and you avoid the cause of most crashes. . . .

. . .
Thank you for that fantastic video,. I owe you guys an apology - I was totally ignorant of the phenomena you guys have .

I had no idea there is such a thing "sneaky stealth wind" that can sneak up on you and your drone like that, so that if you have drone prop guards, your drone cant fight against them.

The wind we have here where I live can be felt, even the effects of it can be seen if there is any vegetation. So unlike your "sneaky stealth wind", I can tell when my Phantom is having trouble, and get it back and down without a problem.

Obviously, you couldn't do that thru no fault of your own. No way to tell ...must be the fault of that durn "sneaky stealth wind" that I have no experience with..

I should not have judged what you guys are arguing, by my wind, and the special top-secret blade guards that I have, made expecially for me, which, now that they are attached, don't seem to affect my own Phantom 3 at all ( at least I cannot tell).

No question about it - if "sneaky stealth wind" gets hold of your drone, and you've taken off on that windy day with a lo battery, blade guards are what prevented you from seeing what is happening to it and getting in back before it is too far away. . I simply didn't know that about "sneaky stealth wind".

I realize now that my two weeks of experience in operating my drone in high winds that we have here where I live, are totally irrelevant to those of you who operate without drone prop guards.

I also did not know that...if your drone gets away, and it dosnt have drone blade guards, not to worry... the "sneaky stealth wind" will keep it away from any innocent person on the surface...so no reason to worry about getting sued for every dime you have, and/or being prosecuted for criminal mischief.

Since you guys have so much more experience than I do in the practice of law defending against liability claims, I have to bow to your superior knowledge.

Thanks for straightening me out !
- - -
added later

Forgot to mention another difference between you guys - that you may not know about - here's something I do to keep the wind from sneaking up on me. If it is blowing really hard, and I want to know if it is going to get to the point where even my drone, with its special top-secret made-just-for-me prop guards may not be able to keep up with it.

I google " WEATHER BUREAU". The National Weather Service may not be available where you are - could be a top-secret thingy that only I have access to...for example...forecast for northern Arizona...."SOUTH WEST WINDS 16 - 21 MPH...GUSTS TO 30+ MPH." ( I don't think even my Phantom, with its special magic wind-defying prop guards should be operated in that...what do you guys think...?

 

[Meta4]

I also did not know that...if your drone gets away, and it dosnt have drone blade guards, not to worry... the "sneaky stealth wind" will keep it away from any innocent person on the surface...so no reason to worry about getting sued for every dime you have, and/or being prosecuted for criminal mischief.

Since you guys have so much more experience than I do in the practice of law defending against liability claims, I have to bow to your superior knowledge.

Your fears of flying without prop guards are extremely over exaggerated.
You've made your point (?) and the constant repetition and snarkiness is becoming tiresome.
It's quite possible to fly safely and responsibly without prop guards.
How do you manage with power tools or highway driving?