Just crashed my Phantom 3Pro. I was banking hard and one of the props spun off. It tumbled down about 60 feet and hit the turf hard. I have a couple questions. I was flying on a brand new battery, literally just charged it this morning for the first time. It looks like its still in good shape. Do I toss it just in case? Second, I just started flying for the day and I have 5 other batteries that are fully charged. I obviously cant discharge them since I dont have the quad. Will they be fine until my new one arrives?
Thanks in advance.

http://healthydrones.com/main?share=MjcxNw

I now believe one of my props cracked in the air because of the added pressure I put on them by flying it way too hard. Prop also could have had a crack in it from a previous incident. Either way, let my loss be your gain. Remember the preflight check!!!!

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Batteries are supposed to have an auto discharge so it should not be a problem, as for the one that was tossed, you could wait till you get your bird back and check it out then. If it landed on soft ground it could be o.k, hard ground i would definitely recycle it..
Sorry about the prop-off, that sucks...Was it the braking set up do you think or?

   I agree with Northofthe 49th . Also make sure you crank down your props next time, Get a checklist and make that part of your rountine ( with 23 other checks)   I am sorry for your loss.  You can keep the old one for parts or put them on e-bay for some  extra funds.  The discharge is programmed to discharge every 10 days.  The memory restarts EVERY-TIME you push the power button.  Before I would use the one that crashed i would check the cell on the go app carefully, if any physical damage I would toss it.  Sorry for the crash.

-donnie

WOW sorry for your loss! Two things come to mind.

Thing #1. Banking too hard. I know these quads are well built, but they are not racers. They are built to fly a camera for still captures and videography. Over  stressing the airframe brings about stress cracks on the skin and motor supports.

Thing #2. Make sure you check the props each time you install them on the aircraft, they also crack due to stress. Be sure that all 4 are tight when you twist them on. They will spin off if not fully tight.

Northofthe49th Posted at 2016-3-5 15:18
Batteries are supposed to have an auto discharge so it should not be a problem, as for the one that  ...

Thanks! I'm sick about it but I guess its the price to play. Not sure what you mean by "Was it the braking set up". Is that some sort of feature of the propeller or motor? Sorry, I'm new to quads.

mjlstudios@yaho Posted at 2016-3-5 15:29
WOW sorry for your loss! Two things come to mind.

Thing #1. Banking too hard. I know these quads ar ...

Thanks. I'm pretty sure I tightened the props like I always do but something obviously happened so who knows. I had been flying for a while so even if they weren't tight I would think the self tightening feature should have helped. Is what it is though. I'm more concerned about using the battery again. I'll follow the advice above and check it when the new bird arrives.

Now that I'm looking at the post crash pics I have one prop that broke and one that came off. I assumed the broken one happened after the crash but now I'm thinking the prop may have cracked first then the crash then the other prop may have come off when I hit the ground. Although I'm 99% sure I tightened them what I didn't do is check my props for cracks.

Jptsrone Posted at 2016-3-6 08:19
Now that I'm looking at the post crash pics I have one prop that broke and one that came off. I assu ...

Props are quite cheap, best to throw away the lot of them and fit new ones.

Geebax Posted at 2016-3-5 17:13
Props are quite cheap, best to throw away the lot of them and fit new ones.

Those are already in the garbage. I wish that was all the damage though.

Weird? Whats with all the ATTI mode? I switched from P to F one time and back when i was trying POI

http://healthydrones.com/main?share=MjcxNw

Anyone get a chance to look at my flight log and see anything? I'm not exactly sure how to read it but one thing that stuck out is I didn't switch back and fourth between flight modes like it seems to say I did.

The link you provided does not work.  Try going to the HealthyDrone site and clicking the Share link .  I think it is near the top right.  It's green.  ( I think, )  that will take you to another page ,  At the bottom of that page is the link you can copy and paste.



**** Sorry,  I didn't see the second link.*******


It looks like because you were maneuvering so radically,  the drone tilted enough to lose satellite lock or confuse the compass.  There was even a warning about minimum turn radius,  which I have never seen before.  Anyway,  when you lose gps,  it will go into atti until it see's gps again.

Man,  looks like you were really zipping that thing around.

Yeah I hammered it every time I flew it. I just really didn't know that was an issue. Searching through past post now I see I had the wrong tool for the job.

Thanks for checking it out by the way.

You were also pretty hard on the batteries.  If they were new, it wasn't good on them.  There are instructions to use them down to only 50% if I remember correctly, for the first 10 (or was it 20) times to break them in.  I'm pretty sure you should do similar with the heavy current drain while they are new.  Go easy before you make it a life or death flight situation.  It's a tool, not a toy.

I don't think the battery had anything to do with the crash. If I'm reading the flight log correctly the battery preformed fine.

Jptsrone Posted at 2016-3-5 15:39
Thanks. I'm pretty sure I tightened the props like I always do but something obviously happened so ...

Hang on to the battery and check it through the DJI Go app when you get a new quad.

Looking at http://healthydrones.com/main?share=MjcxNw&page_id=SENSORSCompass it seems like the last 3 seconds or so shows it rapidly corkscrewing into the ground.  Losing a blade from a prop is going to imbalance the aircraft severely, but these speeds and numbers suggest you threw the entire prop from one of the motors in the air, due to tight banking and aerobatics, and the other prop broke in half on impact (it seems to be on the heavily-impacted arm).  Digging a full prop into the ground isn't going to unscrew it, it would in fact self-tighten, so there is no other explanation for it being missing after a crash other than it came off in flight.  You would need to examine the missing prop for dirt and other impact damage.

Thanks. Still don't think that lines up with the physical evidence though. The spot where I lost control of the coptor was pretty far from where it eventually slammed into the ground yet the intact prop was only a couple feet away. The piece that broke off was nowhere to be found. I would think whatever force or lack of diligence that could cause the prop to come off in mid air could have also done the same at impact. Not sure what the flying characteristics of a quad are with 1/2 a propeller are but would have major problems staying up and an inverted corkscrew might not be out of the question.

mjlstudios@yaho Posted at 2016-3-6 04:13
Hang on to the battery and check it through the DJI Go app when you get a new quad.

Decided to toss it. Not worth the risk. I think if I had done the same with the compromised prop I might still have my phantom. Not 100% sure my next quad will be a phantom anyway. I'll get another one eventually because I want to take photos but I think my very next one will be a more capable flyer.

Jptsrone Posted at 2016-3-6 23:21
Thanks. Still don't think that lines up with the physical evidence though. The spot where I lost con ...

You could be right, it is hard to figure out what actually happened when you're not there and saw everything that happened.   The records show it was out of control over 10m/30ft which isn't beyond the possibility that it threw the prop at altitude and it coincidentally ended up in the vicinity of the crash.  Was the missing prop dirty at all/lightly scuffed/chipped and damaged with clumps of dirt on it?  That would help greatly to determine whether the blades just spun off and dropped to the ground or hit it under power.  I'd suspect the broken prop probably stabbed into the ground and broke off there, which is why you can't find it.

My understanding of the concept of braking is how fast the motor will go from flat out to stopped -- it can be sudden or a gradual slowdown.   I think there is a setting to adjust the rate in the app.    Generally when the motor is going flat out it will tend to screw in to the self-tightening prop as it overcomes the inertia of the prop and the air resistance.  If you change direction suddenly and the motor needs to brake, it can come to an immediate stop but the prop still has rotational intertia.  This results in the prop unwinding from the motor.  Not much, but repeated hard banking can loosen it enough so it flies off.  The design of the prop is supposed to prevent this if they are attached properly and bottomed out and locked in place.  Unfortunately sometimes it feels tight, but it might not be properly fastened.  In any case it is only held by friction, and despite good design and engineering, sustained aerobatics can defeat the "locking" mechanism.

endotherm Posted at 2016-3-6 09:10
You could be right, it is hard to figure out what actually happened when you're not there and saw  ...

Could be. I'm only guessing at what happend based on what I saw. To be honest I was so distraught when I lost control that I've "remembered" it 10 different ways in less than 24 hours. Any option that involves hard hard hard breaking is entierly possible and extremely likely. That is most of what I did. I loved the noise it made and the way it looked coming to a hard stop. I did it over and over every time I flew. Again, looking back on it the perils are obvious but I didn't even think about it then.

endotherm Posted at 2016-3-6 14:10
You could be right, it is hard to figure out what actually happened when you're not there and saw  ...

Precisely why I've always had my 'Dynamic Braking' setting set to the minimum. See here: Dynamic Braking.

Donnie Posted at 2016-3-5 20:26
I agree with Northofthe 49th . Also make sure you crank down your props next time, Get a checklis ...

Donnie, I check my props, battery and failsafe settings preflight. You mention 23 things to be checked? Out of curiosity, what are these? I don't really see a need for anything else. Thanks.

If anyone else manages to crash your Phantom and has an issue with a battery, I'd pay some cash and pay shipping for the battery provided the plates inside aren't split open (highly unlikely).

gregg1r Posted at 2016-3-6 10:36
If anyone else manages to crash your Phantom and has an issue with a battery, I'd pay some cash and  ...

Awww Man!!! Wish you would have said that before I tossed it. I would have gladly given it to you. It didn't look like there was any damage but I was paranoid.

Tintin Posted at 2016-3-6 09:34
Donnie, I check my props, battery and failsafe settings preflight. You mention 23 things to be che ...

  I was just exaggerating,  Do make a Check list,:  Props tight, batteries charged, Sd card installed, frame inspection  channel clear, etc.


Cheers, donnie

Flyin'Bryan Posted at 2016-3-6 10:53
should never toss the bird just because of a crash.  spare parts aren't cheap.

The battery not the quad.

Flyin'Bryan Posted at 2016-3-6 11:21
Copy.  It takes a pretty hard impact to damage the cells in a lithium battery, tough suckers they  ...

The problem is the solder that they use for the connections makes for a rather cold solder joint. A moderate crash is enough to break thing lose.

The battery shows good on Healthydrones, but once placed under load, it won't carry current.

I need the prismatic cells for a light I use.

The dealers on Allbaba want a minimum purchase of 50 plates.

"I now believe one of my props cracked in the air because of the added pressure I put on them by flying it way too hard. Prop also could have had a crack in it from a previous incident."
DJI props are plenty strong enough to withstand all the stresses in flight and dynamic braking.
Previous damage is usually a good reason to replace a prop but if the props were in good condition they aren't going to break in the air because you fly hard.
The idea that there's any reason to turn dynamic braking back to zero is a myth.
DJI has clever propulsion engineers that know their stuff.

Well, new bird on the way. Lesson cost be $700 bucks. I need cheaper hobbies.

Jptsrone Posted at 2016-3-8 02:59
Well, new bird on the way. Lesson cost be $700 bucks. I need cheaper hobbies.

Did you fix the old one?  From the photos it just looks like the body needs replacing with a new set of props.  $100 and a bit of labour.

endotherm Posted at 2016-3-7 22:20
Did you fix the old one?  From the photos it just looks like the body needs replacing with a new s ...

I may, and keep it for a backup or just spare parts. I've been doing surprisingly well with local realtors taking photos of houses. Being that I'm already technically flying places I'm not supposed to I wouldn't risk it with a damaged/repaired coptor. Last thing I need is to crash into someones house or yard. 4 houses will more than pay for the replacement.  If nothing my crashed one can be a beater that I can still fly hard and I'll use the new one for "work".