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Ever have a bug hit your props?
2388 20 2017-6-4
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Ron in Utah
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10902 ft
United States
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It's bug season where I live. My second flight with the Mavic, something flew into the props at some point. There were some tan streaks on the prop and the airframe from some unfortunate insect.

Have any of you shredded a bug while flying? I've seen videos of hornet and bee swarms attacking drones in flight. Just wondering if other Mavic operators have experienced this? Tell us your story if you have.
2017-6-4
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Soarmax
lvl.1
Flight distance : 7536 ft
United States
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One of the Joys of Summer Flying. A little "Pam" non-stick cooking spray on the blades before you fly with make it easyer to remove the "bug guts."  
2017-6-4
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Soarmax
lvl.1
Flight distance : 7536 ft
United States
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BTW, where in Utah are you located?
2017-6-4
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AG0N-Gary
Captain
Flight distance : 700846 ft
United States
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A single bug?  Not sure I can speak for a single bug.  But I can sure say I've flown back in with bloody props plenty of times.  It is the beginning of bug season anywhere there are crops and I'm sure most places have flying insects of some kind.
2017-6-4
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seeker_ktf_
Captain
Flight distance : 218474 ft
United States
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It happens to me all the time.  I have this weird feeling that the Mavic even attracts bugs.  Once when I was just hovering there for a minute or so while setting some of my camera settings, something like a bumble bee flew towards it in was looked like a very deliberate manner and got ground into a spray of guts when it made contact.  Another time, whiles I was descending to land and several mud daubers flew right into the thing.  It wasn't by accident.  You could see them swarming all around it.  You could hear the pings off the props.  It was a giant mess.

I've been wondering if it looks (or sounds) like a threat to insects.
2017-6-4
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cristianc
Second Officer
Flight distance : 1008143 ft
Australia
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seeker_ktf_ Posted at 2017-6-4 18:43
It happens to me all the time.  I have this weird feeling that the Mavic even attracts bugs.  Once when I was just hovering there for a minute or so while setting some of my camera settings, something like a bumble bee flew towards it in was looked like a very deliberate manner and got ground into a spray of guts when it made contact.  Another time, whiles I was descending to land and several mud daubers flew right into the thing.  It wasn't by accident.  You could see them swarming all around it.  You could hear the pings off the props.  It was a giant mess.

I've been wondering if it looks (or sounds) like a threat to insects.

Bugs are generally attracted to heat so I am not surprised if insects love our mavic's. I get a lot of flies on my camera when shooting near river/lake.
2017-6-4
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Xman1
Second Officer

United States
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Bees hate this thing.  I noticed hummingbirds don't like it much either.

2017-6-4
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AACY
Second Officer
Flight distance : 518012 ft
United States
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This is very normal, that's why is always good to check your props after each flight, you might had sustained some damage on the leading edges of the blades. This can cause the props to become unbalanced and generate non-desired vibrations not to mention that it will also lose some of it's lifting capacity meaning that the motor will have to spin faster to achieve the same amount of lift. Normally I use as a rule, that if an indentation is bigger than 1mm either on width or depth, change the prop.

Cheers!
2017-6-4
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Mcflying
Second Officer
Flight distance : 243753 ft
Netherlands
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Whenever i take my darling to the sky there are always a few bugs getting slaughtered.
My nickname is the mosquito slasher.
2017-6-5
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Yogi123
Second Officer
Flight distance : 3194669 ft
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United Kingdom
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All the time . . . .
2017-6-5
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Ron in Utah
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10902 ft
United States
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Soarmax Posted at 2017-6-4 15:41
BTW, where in Utah are you located?

Eastern Utah (Castle Valley area by Price/Wellington).
2017-6-5
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Ron in Utah
lvl.1
Flight distance : 10902 ft
United States
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Xman1 Posted at 2017-6-4 21:10
Bees hate this thing.  I noticed hummingbirds don't like it much either.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLZEWvFcaWg

I've never had trouble with larger drones and hummingbirds, but I did have a small Nano CP get chased by one on a couple of occasions.
2017-6-5
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Clare_G101
lvl.3
Flight distance : 39236 ft
United States
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I've had a small gnat come in contact, but nothing a wet napkin won't fix
2017-6-6
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PM160Mavic
lvl.3
Flight distance : 303219 ft
United States
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I slice and dice bumble bees like it's no body's  business. It seems they are attracted or aggravated by the buzzing of my bird. I shred them all day long in the sky. Painting the sunset with their guts. {:4_181:}
2017-6-6
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Howard Hughes
lvl.4
Flight distance : 2153209 ft
United States
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Living in Florida during the summer, you can't help but chew up a bunch of bugs. The bugs are thicker in the evenings
2017-6-6
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spoonlamp_
lvl.1
Flight distance : 301506 ft
Romania
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Definitely shredded a few wasps and flies. I reckon the frequency of the Mavic is attracting them. I don't buy the heat thing - plenty of other things hotter around for them to be interested in...
2017-6-6
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Wowotoe
New
United States
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We just solved the mysterious dying bee secret!! It was all DJI's fault to make the drone so bee-tractive. The more drones they sell, the more bees will hear their heaven calls.
2017-6-21
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Carnage808
lvl.1
Flight distance : 21893 ft
United States
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I have a theory that the mavic props sounds just like bees.  Mine gets swarmed by bees all the time.  
2017-6-21
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cluc
lvl.4
Flight distance : 85682 ft
Australia
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Bug juice on the aircraft
2017-6-21
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I am the E
Second Officer
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Canada
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I use DUST OFF on the motor too to make sure none got stucked in there...
2017-6-21
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fans9610d5a7
New
United States
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Well I was wondering if this would come up but the Mavic does sound like a swarm of bees. a couple of things to consider: 1- the sound the props make  could make it seem like a threat to another bee hive or birds that uses / listens to vibrations . and 2- the downlook sensors emit a high frequency radar, about 40k, kind of like a dog whistle where humans can't hear it but other creatures can. When I fly my drone in  my neighborhood I can always tell where it is by the dogs barking.
2017-6-24
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