P3 blends into the sky

[ondesko]

Hi everyone.

This is my first post to the site so if I do anything wrong.. well.. point me in the right direction. I have had my P3P for two months now and really love it. But I don’t understand why DJI used WHITE on these things. At first I thought maybe the white is easier to see at night. Nope can’t see anything but the lights on the bird. During the day it just blends into the sky. Line of site means nothing if you can’t see the dang thing. So I decide to try my had at changing the color. It took 2 weeks working on her but I changed her from WHITE to BLACK., oh yea. No problem seeing her now during the day, and at night..well.. only lights like before.

I was very nervous taking my baby apart. I did my research on how to open the P3’s up and really that saved my life. Like I said I took my time. NO RUSH.. and it came out very nice. Photos included in post…

Next week I will work on changing the color on the battery packs. The hardest part of this job was covering the lights. took 2 nights to detail mask off the lights for painting.


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[BigAl07]

The new paint looks great. Just be mindful how quickly she'll heat up in direct sunlight if just sitting around and not flying. Of course flying that air will keep her cool but sitting around she'll get really hot in a hurry.

 

[ondesko]

The new paint looks great. Just be mindful how quickly she'll heat up in direct sunlight if just sitting around and not flying. Of course flying that air will keep her cool but sitting around she'll get really hot in a hurry.

You are very correct. I noticed that when I was chatting with a person that was watching me fly her the other day.. I landed and just chatted for a while and yes, she did get warm just sitting there.. just like a black car on a hot summer day. But after getting her in the air and then landing I checked her temp... cool.. Hope I never forget her in the sun... she might melt..

 

[BigAl07]

I'd possibly not paint the batteries black because you really want to reduce as much heat from them as possible. If they could be left in the sun they could potentially overheat once painted black. Just my 2 cents but the aircraft looks really sharp.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Looks great. Nice work!
I had to change color too. Much happier now
Where did you get the black gimbal dampener's?
Are those the ones off amazon? If so, do you notice any jello effect?
I wanted the black ones as well and ordered them off Amazon. They are much stiffer though. I was worried they would cause Jello so I didn't even try them. I guess I should throw them on and take it for a flight tonight.

 

[kenjancef]

Looks awesome... great work... and you didn't forget the McDonald's run... lol...

 

[ondesko]

I'd possibly not paint the batteries black because you really want to reduce as much heat from them as possible. If they could be left in the sun they could potentially overheat once painted black. Just my 2 cents but the aircraft looks really sharp.

I was thinking of just painting the back plate. Not sure if this would cause it to heat up or not. Might try one battery first. Like a test run. If it does ok then I will do the other 4. Yea.. the last thing I want to happen is for the battery to have a problem in midflight. Not good. Will let you know what I find out.

 

[Wolfiesden]

Might be a good idea to paint the top shell a lighter color to reduce solar heat absorption. After all, how often are you looking down on the bird in flight? The black bottom shell will stand out on a day sky.

But, what about night? The LEDs spray light on the white shell making it easier to see at night. Your black bird is seriously a night stealth flier!

You did a great job on it.

 

[ondesko]

Looks great. Nice work!
I had to change color too. Much happier now
Where did you get the black gimbal dampener's?
Are those the ones off amazon? If so, do you notice any jello effect?
I wanted the black ones as well and ordered them off Amazon. They are much stiffer though. I was worried they would cause Jello so I didn't even try them. I guess I should throw them on and take it for a flight tonight.

I live in China and got these on Taobao.com no Jello effect. Same as the white. they were very hard to find. they had 2 types. number 40 or 50 black.. I got the 40... worked perfect..

 

[MasterBlaster]

I painted the face of my batteries black. No issues and they look great. Just look on YouTube to see how to take the face off the battery to make it easier to paint. I I had trouble getting the faceoff my first battery, but after doing one the other three were no problem.

 

[ondesko]

I painted the face of my batteries black. No issues and they look great. Just look on YouTube to see how to take the face off the battery to make it easier to paint. I I had trouble getting the faceoff my first battery, but after doing one the other three were no problem.

Yea I am not sure how to get it apart.. good idea about youtube..

 

[MasterBlaster]

Also if you're like me, I went with the carbon fiber props because I wanted black. Then I read a post about dyeing my original white props black. Turned out great, it's very easy to do with your old white props and they look black just like the carbon fiber. If you're interested Just do a search here for prop dyeing

 

[ondesko]

Also if you're like me, I went with the carbon fiber props because I wanted black. Then I read a post about dyeing my original white props black. Turned out great, it's very easy to do with your old white props and they look black just like the carbon fiber. If you're interested Just do a search here for prop dyeing

I didnt know you could do that.. yea i have 2 sets of white props.. hate to throw them away...I will look into this.. great info.. thanks

 

[Wolfiesden]

I didnt know you could do that.. yea i have 2 sets of white props.. hate to throw them away...I will look into this.. great info.. thanks

Here:
Prop dyeing question

 

[mrcrane2u]

Stealth black

 

[sonof40]

Great job!
For the purpose of visibility, which I think was your goal, I would leave the top white. Easier to find in the weeds and cooler for the bird.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Ondesk- thanks for helping me!! I've been looking for black gimbal dampers for a couple months. Now if I can just get that website to let me order

 

[MasterBlaster]

Mrcrane- if I can get the site to let me order I'll hook you up. I'm gonna order a bunch

 

[BVC]

Looks good.

 

[mrcrane2u]

I did it for the added strength and it just looks better