So l was bored.
l painted the underside of the rear arms black. l may do all four but l'll see how this holds up first. It's still drying and looks pretty good actually. l used Krylon for plastic, we'll see how it holds up. Won't be able to put it in the air until at least next week, so l won't know if it actually helps with visibility, but that was the motivation for painting.
Thoughts?

I think you would have better visual if you painted the white part either day-glo orange or yellow inside where the black is. Those colors would really stand out with the black.

thumb Posted at 2016-3-30 16:11
I think you would have better visual if you painted the white part either day-glo orange or yellow i ...

Hmmmm, yellow would be nice.
l couldn't resist doing the front too. One arm left to do...

Would help with a brighter color in case you want to know the direction of your bird while within your LOS.

Being white P3 may look to birds like a small white cloud in the sky, I hope. I would be interested to learn if painting visible starts attract more unwanted attention from birds. I fly from time to time in mountains where there are birds which seem to be sometimes almost as big as pterodactyls.

I just designed a 3D printed strobe mount that carries a Strobon & 1S Lipo. Slots and connects between rear landing gear legs and projects slightly outward to keep clear of VPS and flight battery. Whole set up weighs less than prop guards. Being delivered later this week; I'll post pics when it arrives.

Boredom prompted me to paint also. But I had to open the shell to straighten things after a crash. I too used the Krylon for plastic. (Highly recommended) I painted the whole P3, but it was way too much work unless you are replacing the shell anyway.
Black really stands out in the sky better than white. But for orientation use the Go app heading display at the bottom and your FPV view. Once you are at any distance it won't matter what color scheme you have.Edit: I guess I used Rustoleum, but it said it was ok for plastic.

I did all four arms. I hadn't considered a different colour and maybe should have. The reason l chose black was because l was flying with someone who has an Inspire and it was amazing how easily it could be seen in the sky compared to a Phantom. lt's done now - there's no going back
l'm happy with the way it looks. Once it gets nicer weather and l can get it in the air l'll post pics of it beside a friend's Phantom in the air.

Rnfaust Posted at 2016-3-30 17:08
Boredom prompted me to paint also. But I had to open the shell to straighten things after a crash. I ...

You also can look up Phantom 3 wrap and get some cool stuff without the need of painting.

Or you can also use the DJI tool to make your own and see what it looks like
http://miy.dji.com/home/

Rnfaust Posted at 2016-3-30 17:08
Boredom prompted me to paint also. But I had to open the shell to straighten things after a crash. I ...

That looks fantastic Rnfaust!
lt would have been nice to do the whole thing but l didn't want to take anything apart. l even blocked the screw ports so they'd stay white and l wouldn't have to remove them.
Do you find it gets any warmer during flight with the topside being black?

CapitAn Posted at 2016-3-30 16:13
That looks fantastic Rnfaust!
lt would have been nice to do the whole thing but l didn't want to t ...

     Well Done CapitAn, I think the Black looks brilliant, funny I just painted my props on my Inspire with Yellow Krylon, to see the balance on the props better, I guess great minds think alike.

Cheers- donnie

Donnie Posted at 2016-3-30 18:08
Well Done CapitAn, I think the Black looks brilliant, funny I just painted my props on my Ins ...

Thanks Donnie

Yellow props would look sharp on an Inspire!

CapitAn Posted at 2016-3-31 05:13
That looks fantastic Rnfaust!
lt would have been nice to do the whole thing but l didn't want to t ...

I'm wondering what you used to block those screw holes, it looks really great!
Did you use masking tape or masking fluid on the LEDs and the vent holes?
  It looks like a very professional job.   Artist?

raveneapoe Posted at 2016-3-30 18:21
I'm wondering what you used to block those screw holes, it looks really great!
Did you use masking ...

Thank you raveneapoe

l taped the straight parts including around the lights.
l'm embarrassed to say that l blocked the screw holes with ...


rolled up bits of toilet paper. LOL!

Art? Maybe

l have no stress cracks yet but wanted to leave those ports clear so l can keep an eye on them, otherwise l would have just sprayed right over them

CapitAn Posted at 2016-3-31 06:25
Thank you raveneapoe

l taped the straight parts including around the lights.

Thanks for the info!   I'm thinking of painting my Phantoms, and the way you masked the screw holes gives a very professional look.  
And yes, I would definitely classify that job as art!

CapitAn Posted at 2016-3-31 05:13
That looks fantastic Rnfaust!
lt would have been nice to do the whole thing but l didn't want to t ...

I have seen no negative effects to painting it black. I've been flying my black P3 since summer and believe me there is plenty of cooling going on up there.
Yours looks great. You might try a wrap for the top (las shown by the poster above) while you are in the mood for mods.

Rnfaust Posted at 2016-3-30 17:08
Boredom prompted me to paint also. But I had to open the shell to straighten things after a crash. I ...

Are you using carbon fiber props are did you spray that?

I don't know about anyone else, but I find the bright colors just too hard to see in the sky.  They sky is bright.  I need some high contrast DARK color.  I think the black would be the best you could do.

Just for info, a group of biologists at Montpellier studying the reaction of water birds to drones (published last year) did note that some species (like flamingos in their study) react to black drones, whereas they showed much less reaction to white or a lighter shade (blue in their study).
Have fun!

Freddy4fingers Posted at 2016-3-31 00:36
Black is actually harder to see in ths sky than the white. Its all an optical illusion. None of th ...

LOL.

You and "thumb" will complete each other.

johnsr Posted at 2016-3-31 04:44
Just for info, a group of biologists at Montpellier studying the reaction of water birds to drones ( ...

Interesting. So l can look forward to bird attacks now. l've been left alone so far so l'm interested to see what happens.

lt's fully dry this morning so the final colour looks good now. lt's supposed to be gloss finish but it's not as shiny as l expected, l might go over it again.

Freddie, l thought about using a sharpie but back on the Dronehart forum there was a lady whose niece (or something) drew a gorgeous elaborate design on the topside of her phantom. She couldn't find anything clear that would seal it properly and it didn't go well with moisture/fog/rain etc.
That said, l've got a fine gold metallic sharpie that l might do a pinstripe with.

I am able to see this in the AZ blue sky....

johnsr Posted at 2016-3-31 10:44
Just for info, a group of biologists at Montpellier studying the reaction of water birds to drones ( ...

I searched the Internet but I did not find this study yet. Do you have an URL?

A bird could be a protected one, so in case of a bird attack or a collision, it may cause not only aircraft damage or loss, but also issues with the bird itself.

I train bird avoidance maneuvers - diving & fast emergency landing. And I read that it is also recommended to learn all available data on birds of the area.

does this cause any effect on the GPS antenna on the top?

Oleksiy Posted at 2016-3-31 13:03
I searched the Internet but I did not find this study yet. Do you have an URL?

A bird could be a  ...

Yes, here's the link to the paper Approaching birds with drones. There is also more information in a talk given in French Impact des vols d'un drone sur l'avifaune (if you can't read French have a look at the graphic on page 23, noir = black). Once you've got the author's names you can search the web.
Have fun & good flying!

CapitAn Posted at 2016-3-31 11:39
Interesting. So l can look forward to bird attacks now. l've been left alone so far so l'm interes ...

It's not just attacks; you may see them fleeing as you approach from above...
Have fun!

Freddy4fingers Posted at 2016-3-30 23:07
What time is it in Minny?

Was beer 30, now coffee time in MN

Looks great...

CapitAn Posted at 2016-3-31 17:44
lt's fully dry this morning so the final colour looks good now. lt's supposed to be gloss finish but ...

If you want it glossy, spray a clear coat on it. (you don't need to mask as much either)

quaddron3 Posted at 2016-3-31 12:28
Are you using carbon fiber props are did you spray that?

The props are painted in my picture. That works fine. I'm now running DJI CF props.
I see no need for CF props now. If I fly right, either type will probably outlast the drone itself.

kcmusa Posted at 2016-3-31 19:19
does this cause any effect on the GPS antenna on the top?

No difference. I would certainly avoid metallic paint however. I even wonder about the metallic looking wraps I've seen. We know that just putting your hand over it to pick it up will kill the GPS signal. But paint is definitely ok.

How about this?

Ive submitted a few designs to the MIY.DJI site...Hopefully they will pick one??!!

microcyb Posted at 2016-3-30 17:11
You also can look up Phantom 3 wrap and get some cool stuff without the need of painting.

Or you  ...

I have the black CF wrap on P3S. If you looked from the top of the Phantom, it looks great, but if you look from the side it looks a bad toupee. I wish the wrap would cover the whole thing instead of just on top.