How durable is P4P?

[Frylikeabird]

My first flight around pine trees. OV and VS sensors all on. Flew up and was great but one of the propellers touched a tiny pine branch and it stopped and fell from about 5ft and violently drifted sideway and hit a big rock/boulder. Amazingly no scratch! It probably hit on the landing legs.

Why did the drone stop midflight? Is there some sort of sensors on the propellers to detect say a tree branch? What I'm worry about is the camera gimbal. Thankyou

 

[Fly Dawg]

Why did the drone stop midflight? Is there some sort of sensors on the propellers to detect say a tree branch?

No. Most likely the fron't OA detected the branch ( Or the tree itself ). If you care to share the flight log we can most likely tell you.

 

[Frylikeabird]

No. Most likely the fron't OA detected the branch ( Or the tree itself ). If you care to share the flight log we can most likely tell you.

Thankyou for your reply. But I don't think the sensor detected the tiny branch because it's not Yuneec Realsense sensor. The propeller touched the branch and it stopped the propellers from further spinning and damaging and then violently drifted down hitting the rock. Let's hope no internal or gimbal damage. 5 ft is quite pretty high.

 

[Fly Dawg]

The propeller touched the branch and it stopped the propellers from further spinning

So you are saying that touching the branch shut down the aircraft? That should not happen. This sounds a bit more like a jarred battery from the impact. Anything is speculation without data to go by.

 

[Frylikeabird]

So you are saying that touching the branch shut down the aircraft? That should not happen. This sounds a bit more like a jarred battery from the impact. Anything is speculation without data to go by.

How do I even share data? I'm new to dji. Anyway I just tried hovering the drone about 5 ft in my office (has carpet and bubble bags) and touched the propeller with a stuff animal. It stopped all propellers and went down on the floor. So the propeller motor is designed to stop at a certain drag force whatever the term is.

 

[Fly Dawg]

So the propeller motor is designed to stop at a certain drag force whatever the term is.

That's a new one I have not seen. If you care to share the device log, we can take a look. It may or may not provide enough information but it is easier than the aircraft log file ( which has much more detailed data ). See this link and upload your device log to there ( Instructions are on the link ). If this does not provide enough information then we would need the aircraft data file. If you upload the file, share a link back here to the upload.

Log Viewer

 

[Frylikeabird]

That's a new one I have not seen. If you care to share the device log, we can take a look. It may or may not provide enough information but it is easier than the aircraft log file ( which has much more detailed data ). See this link and upload your device log to there ( Instructions are on the link ). If this does not provide enough information then we would need the aircraft data file. If you upload the file, share a link back here to the upload.

Log Viewer

But then there's a trick of hand catching the p4p, if I catch it and flip it vertically it automatically stops the motors. I don't think DJI would design the motor to just keep on spinning when it gets caught

 

[Fly Dawg]

But then there's a trick of hand catching the p4p, if I catch it and flip it vertically it automatically stops the motors. I don't think DJI would design the motor to just keep on spinning when it gets caught

People have been hand catching for years prior to the P4. The motors never stop automatically. It is possible that it is a design change, but never seen nor heard of it here. It could also be detrimental , and cause a crash if that is the case, as you just found out.

 

[MapMaker53]

Doesn't seem like any mystery to me. The prop hit a tiny branch, causing it to momentarily stop, causing the aircraft to go off-kilter, and causing it to fly into a boulder before it could regain stability -- according to what you are describing. It was only 5 ft off the ground when it hit the branch and had no time or open sky to recover.

 

[Frylikeabird]

Doesn't seem like any mystery to me. The prop hit a tiny branch, causing it to momentarily stop, causing the aircraft to go off-kilter, and causing it to fly into a boulder before it could regain stability -- according to what you are describing. It was only 5 ft off the ground when it hit the branch and had no time or open sky to recover.

Correct me if Im wrong. The p4p is designed to stop its motors if it hit the ground? For sure I double checked to make sure all sensors were on unless I forgot or mistakened to "able" the sensors.

 

[Fly Dawg]

The p4p is designed to stop its motors if it hit the ground?

I don't think so.

For sure I double checked to make sure all sensors were on unless I forgot or mistakened to "able" the sensors.

And if you are hand catching, turn off the VPS as mentioned before. Personally, I never use them. With the P4 there have been a few instances where the VPS was working erractically, either by a blockage ..aka possibly a gimble guard and would fail to land. In fact it would climb, and no RC inputs could stop it. This is very rare I grant you, but something to bear in mind.

 

[Fly Dawg]

OV and VS sensors all on.

If you can supply the data asked for in post#6 you can stop guessing and start looking for a real cause to the incident ( The 5 ft drop in particular ). As mentioned before, this may not provide enough information, but if you really want to know, that is the only way.

 

[Frylikeabird]

If you can supply the data asked for in post#6 you can stop guessing and start looking for a real cause to the incident ( The 5 ft drop in particular ). As mentioned before, this may not provide enough information, but if you really want to know, that is the only way.

Is it safe? I'm being a nob

 

[MapMaker53]

For sure I double checked to make sure all sensors were on unless I forgot or mistakened to "able" the sensors.

There is no guarantee that the sensors will prevent you from hitting a thin tree branch. The P4P has no upward facing sensors, so it is possible it will hit something while ascending.

 

[Frylikeabird]

There is no guarantee that the sensors will prevent you from hitting a thin tree branch. The P4P has no upward facing sensors, so it is possible it will hit something while ascending.

Thanks. So the motor is designed to stop when it gets caught for sure.

 

[Ansia]

In my experience on P4Ps they do. On the P3s they don't.

 

[Fly Dawg]

Is it safe? I'm being a nob

Absolutely. Why would we ask for data to assist you if it were not. There are literally thousands who have done this without issue at all. As far as the P4's stopping the motors, that is something I have no experience with. As far as the data goes I do. There is more to reviewing the data than you may think, but it does help pilots who have issues that cannot otherwise be determined from pure verbiage only, especially so should there be a claim filed with DJI. We can give you a "heads up" as to what you could expect. Not always does it help, but it is better to have the foresight in to what the analysts might see regarding a particular claim. Keep that in mind should you experience another issue that you feel is not your fault ( Obviously this was ) as far as clipping a tree goes. Also, pilots use this as part of a regular maintenance plan or flight review, especially with the batteries. They can be finicky and must be maintained for long term use.

 

[clarkent]

People have been hand catching for years prior to the P4. The motors never stop automatically. It is possible that it is a design change, but never seen nor heard of it here. It could also be detrimental , and cause a crash if that is the case, as you just found out.

I have also heard that it stops automatically when you flip it 90 degrees.

 

[Julius13]

Of all my drones, P4P is the most fickle. It has taken off horizontally when hovering and crashed into a tree. It flipped over during take off due to gust of wind. Kinda like an unpredictable puppy. I have gotten it up to 54 mph which was impressive to me.

 

[roosta]

Surprised with a lot of joy flights, test flights or jobs that take place in, around or amongst trees, more people don't use prop guards. Yes, theya ren't always going to be fullproof and the extra weight may affect the battery life, but well worth using when I hear and read a large amount of stories of people clipping branches and either damaging or destroying their quad.

RoOSTA