Hi there,

I just got my Mavic Air a couple days ago, and unfortunately, when I went to fly it this most recent time, I forgot to take my gimbal protector off before turning the drone on! My phone wasn't connected yet, so I'm not sure if there were any errors as a result of this happening. I turned off the drone, removed the gimbal protector, turned it back on, and then connected my phone and controller. I proceeded to recalibrate the gimbal and everything seems to be fine with it.

I've read a lot of posts online from people forgetting their gimbal protectors on their drones, and the general consensus seems to be that forgetting to take your protector off once or twice probably won't break it (at most, it'll trigger a "gimbal overload" warning), but that repeatedly doing it can break the gimbal. However, almost all of the posts I can find are talking about the Mavic Pro. While I'm sure the Air would be no different, I just figured I'd check: does this also apply to the Mavic Air? That is to say, if the protector is left on by accident once or twice during startup, is the drone likely to be fine?

I obviously don't intend to leave the protector on, but accidents do happen! I should probably attach a ribbon so it doesn't happen again haha.

Sorry if there's a post already regarding this, I personally wasn't able to find anything specifically about the Mavic Air's gimbal. I might just be bad at searching though haha.

Thanks in advance!

Should not have problem a few times. I did it a few time before to calibrate the gimbal.

Forgotten a couple times at first on my MPZ so far no issues.

Hi Stormageddons, thank you for bringing this query to us. A gimbal error may occur if the gimbal's motion is obstructed. Just to make it sure, we strongly suggest removing the gimbal cover from the camera before turning ON. Have a safe flight always.

I've never heard of anyone damaging the gimbal by leaving the gimbal protector attached. However, it's something you certainly want to always remove before powering on your Mavic. Attaching a ribbon to the gimbal protector sounds like a good option for you if you don't think you're always going to be able to remember to remove it.

The gimbal uses brushless motors for the 3 axis. There are no gears or anything to strip like one might think. However when you hold a brushless motor from moving when electrical power is applied to it you create heat. Do it long enough and create enough heat and you will burn out the wire windings inside the tiny motors. Once or twice wont hurt it, but if you leave the protector on for long periods with power turned on I could see that causing enough heat to do some damage.

I've flown my MA having forgotten to take the gimbal protector off before.  Didn't realize it until I took off and the video was terrible.  I landed, removed it and took off again.  No damage done.

Happened to me once but now I really make a point of pre-flight checking.

dont slow down Posted at 2018-12-5 06:59
The gimbal uses brushless motors for the 3 axis. There are no gears or anything to strip like one might think. However when you hold a brushless motor from moving when electrical power is applied to it you create heat. Do it long enough and create enough heat and you will burn out the wire windings inside the tiny motors. Once or twice wont hurt it, but if you leave the protector on for long periods with power turned on I could see that causing enough heat to do some damage.

Thank you so much for the peace of mind Lol Appreciate your knowledge!