Hi there ... I am newbie with my P3 ...

The very first idea just after purchasing my P3 was to buy prop guards too.

It seemed to me as a clever idea, but few good friends of mine, who are well expirienced pilots with Inspire and P1 P2 and P3, persuaded me not to do that!

Their main arguments were that by mounting props guards I will ruin aerodynamic characteristic of P3 and that is much better not to do that ...

Okay - I didn't buy prop guards but at least ten times in last month I was in coma by watching my P3 approaching walls, trees, cars ...

Fortunatelly, everytime somehow I managed to avoid dron crash, but If I had prop guards nothing would happen even in cases dron touched mentioned objects  ...

What is your opinion?

Should I go for prop guards or not ?

Why yes? Why no?

Thanks
Niksa

I have prop guards on mine. P2 prop guards, OGMWTFBBQ?!?! Yep! I had a couple tip over landings, no prop damage! It adds 4 extra handles to pick it up or carry it, win win win win. :-)

I always try to engage the sheeple when I am flying if they show any interest and I believe it 'looks' safer with the guards on it. If I angle the camera down a bit they do not show up in video, but I am not making high budget, well any budget, movies so I could care less. DisirrunreGUARDless(pun intended) you should do whatever you feel most comfortable. I feel 87% safer with mine on.

(-:

I have prop Guards and when warranted I use them. Many Poo Poo them, Many Use them. Mine are quick release and easy to use. If I fly indoors or potentially around people, I use them. I am not concerned about performance and in fact when I use them don't notice any performance issues. It all depends on how you fly. If you are indoors or maybe near people, you may want to use the guards to minimize any issues. Purchasing the quick release type is the best option as you won't have to permanently mount anything. some consist of a bracket mounted to the bird and others just clip on like mine.

I bought a nice set of detachable prop guards, they now sit in a drawer.  For me the quad is for video / photography and I found the prop guards to get in my shot too many times.

On another note I am concerned that you think the prop guards would save you from a crash if you came in contact with something.  Coming in contact with a wall, car or tree even with guards can still very easily lead to a crash as the unit is knocked off balance.

P3PO Posted at 2015-8-28 01:36
I have prop Guards and when warranted I use them. Many Poo Poo them, Many Use them. Mine are quick r ...

Can you send me link where you've purchased your prop Guards pls. Tnx

No never too much stress on the arms.  

Yep, lots of "poo poo" for guards from some people.  However, I bought a set of the removable ones and don't regret it a bit.  I have not "needed" them yet, and I usually don't use them, because I don't fly near other objects.  However, I carry them, and if I am anywhere near trees or other objects, I'll slip them on.  I've flown them and have not noticed any aero disadvantage.  If you accelerate too much you will get them in the image, but I don't like a lot of sky anyway, so I keep the camera down a little more than some people I suppose.  The added advantage appears to be having the plate mounted on the bottom of the arms, which should give added beefing up to help prevent stress cracks.  

A side note, I was at the local dealer a couple of days ago and he had a wrecked P3P that someone had run into a power line.  While I was looking at it, I looked for cracks and indeed found at least one glaring example.  I showed it to him, and he didn't know anything about people having that sort of trouble.  To be fair, he doesn't follow the forums.  I told him about them and mentioned the clip on guards.  The wrecked P3P had a separated camera and damaged ribbon cable.

By the way, I wouldn't recommend carrying the P3 by the guards, especially the clip on type.  It could be an expensive mistake.

Joe Blow Posted at 2015-8-28 07:47
No never too much stress on the arms.

specially when one uses the prop guard to carry the p3, as stated above!!

If you do get them, I would get the snap on guards. Useful for a beginner to prevent tip overs and in case you want to fly near things you could potentially hit

I have the snap on guards and like others I will use them in tight quarters...but  they do get in your video there is just no way around it...and.. for me at least they decrease flight time.

It also seems to affect stability somewhat on occasion but nothing the gimbals cannot handle... I have never had a problem I couldn't adjust to when descending even close to the ground where some claim there can be problems with guards attached.

Butch

I, too, have the snap on/snap off prop guards.  Why do I like them?:
1) Piece of mind
2) Have also tipped a couple times on landing and this not only saved the props, but back pressure on the spinning motor and potential flipping of the copter on the ground with moving props
3) I have Orange on the front and black on the rear - this makes it much easier when using viewing the phantom with the naked eye to see which way it is pointing
4) Your copter is 'larger' in the sky and you can see it from much further distances
5) The drone looks pretty bada$$ when it is high above the ground flying (my neighbor's words)

Flight Raptor Posted at 2015-8-28 12:25
I, too, have the snap on/snap off prop guards.  Why do I like them?:
1) Piece of mind
2) Have also t ...

I too have the snap on guards. For all the above stated reasons... safety, accidental tip overs etc.
BUT... I just flat out like the looks of them on.
Without them I think it is like having a car without the fenders. Just looks incomplete.
As far as how it handles... I  have tried  with and without the guards and don't really notice any difference.

I have prop guards so that when I'm flying low altitude over children playing, outdoor concerts, following ambulances and police cars.... I don't want any hair tangled up in my props. It was taking me days to untangle my props. Now I can fly through fast... Bump off a few people. Even sometimes patients on the stretchers still, but no more getting hair in the rotors. I don't get Boeing paint on the rotors anymore as well. ... Best of all, it keeps the bald eagle feathers out of the frame when I bump and roll them next to their nesting chicks.

brycerichert Posted at 2015-8-28 09:05
I have prop guards so that when I'm flying low altitude over children playing, outdoor concerts, fol ...

Does prop Guards really help in preventing seagulls and bald eagles attacks ?

nsvilici Posted at 2015-8-28 02:40
Does prop Guards really help in preventing seagulls and bald eagles attacks ?

He's joking.

CrashTest Dummy Posted at 2015-8-28 02:06
I too have the snap on guards. For all the above stated reasons... safety, accidental tip overs et ...

Completely agree....I like the look and haven't noticed a real difference with or without them in handling.

The ONLY negative (and this is being picky) is that because they stick out further than your props, you may have to tilt your camera downward a bit more not to get them in your shots....this is ONLY an issue if you are flying very fast in a forward direction, making the copter tilt forward.

I use to use prop guards but today it depends on were and whats around if I use them

When I first got the P3a I put on prop guards because of all the tip over problems people were talking about, I also put on polar pro Landing Gear Stabilizers . I have never had a tip over, but the prop guards saved me a couple time when I first started the flying the phantom a few months ago when got to close to a couple trees  while learning to judge distance with it. Now I have the snap on prop guards by Bestem Aerial and only use them when the grandkids are around or when I let my son fly it. It does handle better without prop guards (mainly on a windy day) . Even though I don't use them much anymore I am glad I had them on when learning the Phantom.

Been flying RC .61 nitro powered Helos and planes for about 44 years.    All 3 of my drones have prop guards.
Someone said the Phantom looks like a car without fenders without them.......funny....but I agree

I'm a bit older so it definitely makes it easier to see.
Different color in the front vs back helps with orientation in the sky.

Safety (last but not least), for myself and for others because there is NEVER a guarantee that you will remain in control of these things and if the prop guards offer even a small chance of avoiding injury it's worth it.   Never really noticed any performance "hit", but then I don't fly out of visual range.   Seems coincidental that most people who fly far beyond LOS are usually the same ones who dislike prop guards?

I say no because they get into the shot, and that basically ruins the whole point of flying video

tpallai Posted at 2016-4-25 08:13
I say no because they get into the shot, and that basically ruins the whole point of flying video

^ I agree, the Phantom is mainly designed as a flying camera, so what is the point of fitting guards which appear in every shot?

never used em & I never will