Hit a powerline or telephone line with my Phantom 3 Pro today.  Saw it a fraction of a second before I hit it on my iPad.  Copter dropped to the ground, three broken props and one arm on the shell is bent.  Lucky for me I had a spare shell in the basement.  A few hours later and the internals were transfered.  Boy there are a lot of screws with a wide assortment of head types.  All systems are GO after reassembly and power-up.  (shell cost about 59 bucks)

Wow, them screws are small

You just had a shell lying around in the basement .....

Great job on the quick repair!    Saved yourself some $$      How did you happen to have an extra shell in your inventory?

ahhh looks like when i fixed my Inspire... used like 8 different bits (torx, allen, phillips, and flats all diff sized)

and those asking why he had a shell.... id guess he bought it to have on hand for stress cracks that seem to happen to the bodys

wntmldrs_belgiu Posted at 2017-5-18 02:30
You just had a shell lying around in the basement .....

Now that's being proactive...

wntmldrs_belgiu Posted at 2017-5-18 02:30
You just had a shell lying around in the basement .....

Bought the shell over a year ago along with a HDMI module and props.  I add extra things to orders to get the value over the "Free Shipping" threshold.  ($150 to Canada)

I really like that photo, if I was a photographer I would talk about composition and stuff, just works for me as a nice image.

First entry into the caption competition -  "The guy on the forum told me to do it"

Good luck that doesn't look fun to put back together.

ezDrew Posted at 2017-5-18 11:08
Good luck that doesn't look fun to put back together.

that actually looks rather easy.
the Inspire much worse, I know...

ezDrew Posted at 2017-5-18 11:08
Good luck that doesn't look fun to put back together.

It was a bit tricky, only made one mistake having the leg with the compass on the wrong side.  Had to pull all the antennas out again to flip the  legs.  No screws left over at completion which is always a good sign.  Flew it today, good as new.

How did you not see the wires?

Cabansail Posted at 2017-5-18 13:48
How did you not see the wires?

The power poles were hidden by trees that were on both sides of the screen and they were dark, the visible sky in the middle of the screen was very bright which washed out the single wire.  Fifteen cm higher or lower and I would have missed it.

Good for you. If I get  P4p can I count on you for repair in case I need it lol. You seem a lot faster than DJI repair. I am reading horror stories on this forum..

Cabansail Posted at 2017-5-18 13:48
How did you not see the wires?

It is VERY hard to see the wires when looking at the screen, brightness, angles, lighting.. it's a known risk to airplane and helicopter pilots, that that power lines are very challenging to see.. Often you have to extrapolate from position of poles and such...  I know where they are when I fly LOS, and still, have to strain my eyes to see them from a distance at many angles..

Great job! Would be nice if u had pics at various stages of the rebuild! How did u keep track of what screws go back where? Since as u mentioned the screws do differ? And why the red sharpie?

Phantomski Posted at 2017-5-18 19:52
Great job! Would be nice if u had pics at various stages of the rebuild! How did u keep track of what screws go back where? Since as u mentioned the screws do differ? And why the red sharpie?

I kept the screws in groups based on type.  The machine uses a mix of machine screws and wood type screws of various diameters.  For the internal parts with screws I kept them with the part they were holding.  I used the red sharpie to label the antenna # on the inside of the old shell in case I couldn't remember where they go.  Each antenna has a molded # on it.  There are four, one in each leg.
You also need new locks for the gimbal silicon suspenders.  They have to be cut to take the camera off.
Had a bag of these in the basement too.
The hardest part was getting the shell halves to separate after all the screws were out.  There are twelve plastic snaps all around the parting line.

Hummingbird.UAV Posted at 2017-5-18 20:33
I kept the screws in groups based on type.  The machine uses a mix of machine screws and wood type screws of various diameters.  For the internal parts with screws I kept them with the part they were holding.  I used the red sharpie to label the antenna # on the inside of the old shell in case I couldn't remember where they go.  Each antenna has a molded # on it.  There are four, one in each leg.
You also need new locks for the gimbal silicon suspenders.  They have to be cut to take the camera off.
Had a bag of these in the basement too.

The drop pins don't have to be cut off to remove them.  If you push the washers further down the pin it pushes the clips apart. If you then pull the pin backwards quickly it will often pop out before the clips return to their normal position.  Of course if you have a bag full of new ones, you can use those instead.

endotherm Posted at 2017-5-18 21:19
The drop pins don't have to be cut off to remove them.  If you push the washers further down the pin it pushes the clips apart. If you then push the pin backwards quickly it will often pop out before the clips return to their normal position.  Of course if you have a bag full of new ones, you can use those instead.

Too late this time but thanks for the tip.

Matt-and-Riley Posted at 2017-5-18 10:12
I really like that photo, if I was a photographer I would talk about composition and stuff, just works for me as a nice image.

First entry into the caption competition -  "The guy on the forum told me to do it"

Gives a whole new meaning to "overhead drone shot".

FlyingSmasher Posted at 2017-5-18 17:10
Good for you. If I get  P4p can I count on you for repair in case I need it lol. You seem a lot faster than DJI repair. I am reading horror stories on this forum..

Have you seen the inside of the P4P? This one looks simple in comparison.

Well, thx for sharing. Good info. I guess with the clips on the shell, I would not want to open it up only to check something and not replace? Or u think it's managable to open the shell without breaking the tabs, so it can be put back again?

Phantomski Posted at 2017-5-19 12:47
Well, thx for sharing. Good info. I guess with the clips on the shell, I would not want to open it up only to check something and not replace? Or u think it's managable to open the shell without breaking the tabs, so it can be put back again?

I managed to open mine without breaking any of the tabs.  The new shell came snapped shut so I had to open it too.  The snaps are by the vent holes in the arms.  I pride the upper shell out which also pushed the lower shell in and it opened the one snap.  Then you need to put a spacer in to keep it from snapping closed again while working your way around the edge opening the next snap exc.
The guts of my P4 look more complicated however with the metal bottom it looks like the camera does not have to come off when switching shells.

Capo Posted at 2017-5-19 07:33
Have you seen the inside of the P4P? This one looks simple in comparison.

I have looked inside the battery compartment hole of my P4 and every side has a circuit board but maybe they all stay together when pulling out the electronics.  Hopefully the circuit board interconnects are not done with ribbon cables.  These are easily broken.

Wow, I wouldn't even know where to start...

Good for you getting back in the air so quickly. Bad power lines....bad...

Hummingbird.UAV Posted at 2017-5-18 20:33
I kept the screws in groups based on type.  The machine uses a mix of machine screws and wood type screws of various diameters.  For the internal parts with screws I kept them with the part they were holding.  I used the red sharpie to label the antenna # on the inside of the old shell in case I couldn't remember where they go.  Each antenna has a molded # on it.  There are four, one in each leg.
You also need new locks for the gimbal silicon suspenders.  They have to be cut to take the camera off.
Had a bag of these in the basement too.

I have a P3P also..  it took a hard landing and to save some $.. I got my hobby screwdrivers out and figured out how to remove the top shell.. I ordered a cable set and replaced them myself. I have the skills but not looking forward to next time..

Phantomski Posted at 2017-5-19 12:47
Well, thx for sharing. Good info. I guess with the clips on the shell, I would not want to open it up only to check something and not replace? Or u think it's managable to open the shell without breaking the tabs, so it can be put back again?

I know your not asking me.. but yes.. very possible. Just be smart about adding too much pressure. I didn't, but taking some pix along the way would be helpful.

Hummingbird.UAV Posted at 2017-5-19 14:40
I have looked inside the battery compartment hole of my P4 and every side has a circuit board but maybe they all stay together when pulling out the electronics.  Hopefully the circuit board interconnects are not done with ribbon cables.  These are easily broken.

The P4 is a little more difficult because you have to unsolder the motor wires from the mainboard (or cut them which is easier), Unlike the P3A or the P3P. Yeah a ton of screws on all of them, but if you take your time it all makes sense. I agree though that DJI could have put a little more thought into this and not made so many different types of screws for these things. It is easy if you don't keep them straight , to get them in the wrong places. Nice job though!