Carbon fiber or plastic props? Which one better?

I still fly with the set of props that came with my P3P. They work great, don't feel the need to change.....well, unless I can get better gas mileage from the black fancy ones!

They both fly the same (same pitch, chord, etc)

I sorta prefer the CF ones for the "bling" factor...

I flew for the first time the other day with carbon props. It seemed to fly very different from previous flights.
It was just after the latest update and without prop gaurds on.
Maybe it had more to do with no prop guards.

Hawks100 Posted at 2016-4-26 17:30
I flew for the first time the other day with carbon props. It seemed to fly very different from prev ...

Do you notice any major reduction in flight time with the prop guards?  I have a set of quick disconnects coming today from amazon...and some of those copper range extenders.

I only noticed my P3A was louder with the carbon fiber props.  

Agree with mjlstudios. Presently I am at about 170 flights on the same DJI plastic props (changed all four after a tree encounter in early September). The craft is stable and flies well.

I have the quick release prop guards that I have used from day one.
I don't time my flights. I just enjoy the flying experience,film what I set out to film and when I hear the first battery low warning, I head back. I set it at 25% an critical warning at 15%, I have always landed before the second alarm.
I'm sure that the prop guards do reduce flight time slightly.
The carbon props do seem more responsive tho

Just stick with the OE DJI props and dye or paint them if you want color. I've used the CF props for 6 months and really do not see or hear any advantage.
If you hit something, you should really replace either one (IMO).

I have been really tempted lately to buy the Carbon Fiber white with gold tips, mainly because of the "Bling" factor as someone put it ^^ But I also read that they are supposed to make the bird more stable.

I will keep the plastic ones, if you bump into something they will break instead of messing up a motor. Carbon fiber props have no give to them.  But that is only my thoughts.

evsjas Posted at 2016-4-28 07:39
I will keep the plastic ones, if you bump into something they will break instead of messing up a mot ...

Interesting. This makes sense.

The carbon props will break if you clip something with the.props.
The plastic props have more flex in them than the carbon.

Although some owners that there may be some vague improvements in performance using the DJI  CF reinforced props, proper testing hasn't shown any measurable improvement

I have debated this myself for a while.

I'm sticking with the plastic props.

Carbon Fiber props are more expensive. That's a bit of a deciding factor. But the main one is its also more brittle. If it hits a branch or scrapes something, or even if forces from generating thrust becomes too large, or from fatigue over extended use with cyclcical forces, there could be cracks formed in the propeller. And once a crack is initiated in the props made of a brittle material, it is a matter of time before the crack propagates and failure becomes imminent.

I think the black props will look way better though. Unfortunately I don't want to risk losing a prop in the sky all of a sudden. So I will probably stick with flexible plastic props made with plastics with a lot larger elastic limit.

I bought some carbon fibre props a while back.  I've been using them regularly & see absolutely no benefit to having them.  I wish I'd saved my money for something useful, like beer.

You will notice a difference to your flying then...{:3_48:}

I have used both. I broke one of my carbon fiber props today and put on the set of factory plastic props. I liked the way it flew with the plastic props over the carbon fiber.

It also depends on what grade of CF props you use. There various brands out there and many of them are cheap which, to me, tells me that they don't balance them well enough. I purchased T-motor CF props for my Inspire Pro and they arrived perfectly balanced. The advantage of CF props vary though. If you're using really good CF props like the T-motor props (they taper off like a knife and are a little sharp) and a bird flies into your props, usually the bird would go (chop, chop). But if you crash or hit something hard with your CF props, you may blow a motor or two.

I used to fly with carbon fiber props with the old Phantoms, with the P3 and P4, Inspire and the great quality of the props I see no reason to not use anything but stock props.

Has been debated quite a bit here.
http://forum.dji.com/thread-44423-1-1.html

http://forum.dji.com/thread-41913-1-1.html

I bought the CF props and never noticed any difference.

As Ken said, maybe we can see difference only with older Phantoms.

I got them too, did not try them yet, but I also have a feeling it was a waste of perfectly good $34.... oh well....