I wonder if one replaces the folding props on Mavic with regular propellers, could it cut down on the vibrations during take-off and improves performance?   

Perhaps 3rd party or DJI might offer such props in the future.  Who knows?
Frankly... The added convenience of folding props oughtweighs any performance difference for me.

Yea but if you did that, you'd ruin it's portability. Isn't that why you would get it. Also taking the propellers off and then putting them on is time consuming.

Jake Phantom 3  Posted at 2016-10-11 14:46
Yea but if you did that, you'd ruin it's portability. Isn't that why you would get it. Also taking t ...

Agreed.  One of the main advantages of the Mavic is size and ease of deployment.

Otherwise just get a P4.

skyrider420@out Posted at 2016-10-11 14:52
Why Would you ...........Some of these question are ridicules if you ask me............

Well...  To be fair to the OP... If those non-folding props gave me an extra 5 min of flight time I might consider them for a specific shot I needed to get.  But I would reserve them for a specific task.  I would still prefer folding props for most shoots due to the extra convenience.

skyrider420@out Posted at 2016-10-11 17:52
Why Would you ...........Some of these question are ridicules if you ask me............

If no one asks ridicules questions then we wouldn't be where we are today.

What sort of vibrations are you talking about?  How would you expect it to improve performance and on what scale?

Lepus Posted at 2016-10-11 18:25
What sort of vibrations are you talking about?  How would you expect it to improve performance and o ...

The vibrations the copter experience when the propellers unfold by centrifugal force upon start up. The folding props may not bite into the air as wells as the fixed props.

Maxi3D Posted at 2016-10-12 06:32
The vibrations the copter experience when the propellers unfold by centrifugal force upon start up ...

Not going to be that much vibration after the blades reach speed for lift off one would think.

Good question. Non folding props are stronger and safer. The hinge on the folding prop is a weak point. I have had folding props break routinely. Luckily this was on a motor glider and I can glide to a landing.

Personally...  I have faith the engineers at DJI have the design experience and materials engineering knowledge to craft a folding prop that does not fail prematurely.  I also have faith that they would TEST the prop design thoroughly before releasing it.  Why do I think this?  Because it will potentially cost MILLIONS of dollars in warranty repairs if these props fail prematurely.  (It will hit the bottom line quickly if they got it wrong.)  And I just believe that DJI's engineers and business analysts have thought through the ramifications of a folding prop and how it might affect the bottom line.  (I sure hope so!)

Of course design & engineering accidents STILL happen.  Just look at Samsung for an example...  But I am thinking that DJI has put a lot of thought into the prop design.  (At least I hope so...)  And time will tell.  

Potentially the pivoting / folding design could prove far MORE durable in a blade strike situation because the blade can pivot and deflect the force instead of breaking off.

I agree with Fulgerite, a folding prop has a lot more chance of surviving a strike, and will relay less force to the motor mount and airframe. Also, I think the folding prop on a glider would be under far greater strain than a drone – larger diameter along with (probably) coarser pitch -– so I would think are more likely to fail.

Nothing at all wrong with the Mavic's folding prop design. Conventional r/c helicopters have used that for decades. A tiny bit of shake during spool up is nothing to be concerned about although dji could probably program a motor soft-start feature to minimise the shake.  If the Mavic's blades can be easily removed from the hub then balancing would be very easy so you could consider that an advantage.

The folding blades look well made and the Mavic is tuned to run with them. Swapping them risks messing up the performance/flight time, would make it less convenient to transport and I would think it would void the warrenty.

You can eliminate the shudder and vibrations by simply unfolding the props into a straight line before take-off.

Speaking of props. What makes the dji aspire so quiet in flight compared to the phantom 4 which was like a swarm of angry bees? The motors on the dji 4 are so quiet when the props are removed so it can't be the motors. Can you get a prop that will make it quieter? I have since sold my dji4 and ordered the mavic for all the obvious reasons. SIZE!!!

jmoya03-sp Posted at 2016-10-12 13:04
Speaking of props. What makes the dji aspire so quiet in flight compared to the phantom 4 which was  ...

Bigger prop/slower RPM I'm guessing.

helidan Posted at 2016-10-12 05:51
Bigger prop/slower RPM I'm guessing.

I am guessing you are right.  I saw some law enforcement drones a few years back that were almost silent in flight from only a few meters away.  

See:  http://www.draganfly.com/products/x6/overview

The motors run at lower RPM's and the blades are much wider.  

Fulgerite Posted at 2016-10-13 00:06
I am guessing you are right.  I saw some law enforcement drones a few years back that were almost  ...

The Mavic is pretty quiet, much quieter than the P4, at least to me.

FlyLight Posted at 2016-10-12 01:15
I agree with Fulgerite, a folding prop has a lot more chance of surviving a strike, and will relay l ...

Agreed. I expect that the folding nature of the pops and arms will provide some addition crumple effect to help cushion or absorb crash energy. It should look all bend out of shape after a crash and easily snap back into position to fly again right away.

skyrider420@out Posted at 2016-10-11 16:52
Why Would you ...........Some of these question are ridicules if you ask me............

Hilarious to me that you misspelled "ridiculous" as "ridicules"...an appropriate slip, because frankly, I'm sick of people like you on this forum ridiculing people for questions that you somehow deem unimportant or stupid.

LOVE THE MAVIC!  HOWEVER, MY CONCERN IS WITH THE MAVIC PROPS, AND THEIR QUALITY OF MATERIAL.

I was disappointed the props were not made from a material which could survive coming into contact with ANYTHING unlike bull nosed, tri-blade DAL PROPS (or other preferred brand), which can be easily bent back into shape after a horrific-looking crash [on a racing drone at much higher speeds]. If my Mavic had come into contact with a tree branch larger than a USB cord, I hate to think what would happen to the rest of the drone when it falls to the ground. SEEMS SILLY TO HAVE TO USE MY DJI CARE WHEN $5 PROPS COULD EASILY SAVE THE DAY --But maybe that's the idea.

Folding props are a great idea, BUT they are easy to install IN SECONDS --thanks to the no wrench needed, locking design and white color-coded circles. Because the Mavic props can easily chip and crack, I think I spend a comparable amount of time carefully folding the props and placing the drone back in a bag like a newborn infant (even babies need airholes for breathing).

HOPE STRONGER AFTERMARKET PROPS ARE AVAILABLE, EVEN IF THEY DON'T FOLD!

This is kind of off topic but I've really wanted to see if these are any lighter. http://www.ebay.com/itm/8330-Car ... ic-Pro-Drone-Quad-/

Pretty sure they are hard plastic stock.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-10-12 02:29
You can eliminate the shudder and vibrations by simply unfolding the props into a straight line before take-off.

I've seen a couple of online videos that suggest this is a good idea and may prevent the props damaging themselves as they auto unfold

Fixed props should preform better than folding. Plenty on tests on this and the science supports it. I think the safety of folding props is more beneficial than performance gained by fixed.

That being said, I would buy a set of fixed if they were available.

Chaser720 Posted at 2017-2-1 09:49
Fixed props should preform better than folding. Plenty on tests on this and the science supports it. I think the safety of folding props is more beneficial than performance gained by fixed.

That being said, I would buy a set of fixed if they were available.

My limited non-voluntary testing has concluded that - with a combination of the high RPMs and the plastic formulation used for the props - the props simply shatter on impact vs. folding back  {:4_177:}

I love the portability of the folding design and have no issues with performance, but would love to see what further improvements could be made to noise or flight time with fixed props.  Based on results I may consider them for certain situations.

I do believe that dji has a patent that says the hinge reduces vibrations!

I am with the consensus here that the folding props for the Mavic have more pros than cons.

Pro's:
- more compact for storage of props
- folding props allow for drone storage with props attached
- Less likely to damage a motor or the aircraft when prop contacts an object
- Inexpensive replacement props from DJI

Con's:
- more moving parts = more likely to have a week point or shorter service life
- Less efficient than fixed prop (assumption that has yet to be proven)
- Very minimal vibration on initial startup (can be remedied by unfolding props first)

Mine cut through a tree branch and haven't a mark on them.

I've always unfolded the props to roughly the correct position.  I thought that was what you were supposed to do anyway.  Spinning them up gets them to exactly the right position.  If you spin them up folded you're going to put unnecessary strain on the motors.

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-10-12 02:29
You can eliminate the shudder and vibrations by simply unfolding the props into a straight line before take-off.

This is correct.

OP,  if you read the paperwork that came with the Mavic it suggests you unfold the props before starting the motors

As an aeronautical engineer I can assure you that every choice made in designing an aircraft is a trade-off of one thing in favor of another.  If you use folding props to save space you do compromise performance.  I think having fixed props would be a desirable accessory.  Attaching fixed props using quick connectors would add maybe 10 seconds to assembly but would enhance performance probably in the range of 2% - 5% in flight time and would add noticeable responsiveness to control input.  Nothing is perfect but the Mavic Pro is close but improvements can always be made.

Does anyone know if carbon props are available? I would love a set!

SigF Posted at 2017-3-10 16:17
As an aeronautical engineer I can assure you that every choice made in designing an aircraft is a trade-off of one thing in favor of another.  If you use folding props to save space you do compromise performance.  I think having fixed props would be a desirable accessory.  Attaching fixed props using quick connectors would add maybe 10 seconds to assembly but would enhance performance probably in the range of 2% - 5% in flight time and would add noticeable responsiveness to control input.  Nothing is perfect but the Mavic Pro is close but improvements can always be made.

" Attaching fixed props using quick connectors would add maybe 10 seconds to assembly but would enhance performance probably in the range of 2% - 5% in flight time..."

The necessity to detach and attach non foldable fixed props via quick connectors every flight adds wear and tear. So a negative trade-off to consider too. With existing folding props users have reported the quick connector tabs as failure points. For this reason I rarely detach mine and they are still going strong on the original set after 500+ flights.

I agree there is likley a performance benefit to fixed props. Not something I would be interseted in though.

Great question! I was wondering the same thing. One of my Mavic Pro props cracked at the hinge and my Mavic dropped during flight. I saw a piece of the propeller fly off before it dropped.

Zino Posted at 2017-3-28 13:28
Great question! I was wondering the same thing. One of my Mavic Pro props cracked at the hinge and my Mavic dropped during flight. I saw a piece of the propeller fly off before it dropped. https://youtu.be/1pa1oBhQ4bM

That’s nonsense when someone states that non-folding props doesn’t make it portable. Just remove them during storage then put the props on when you’re ready to fly. C’mon now! I would opt for non-folding props any day.

Non foldable props would have there advantages. We haven't tried yet so we can't say.
But I think it will act like Mavic air.
Very responsive and speed will increase
Also it will be noisy as well.  I was looking for same.
It will make Mavic speed devil lol