Phantom average lifespan

[KingDad1985]

I'm curious the average lifespan of a phantom. How many hours\flights do they typically last? What usually fails or breaks first? Assuming no crashes involved. I know this topic might be beaten to death but things and opinions change and I would like to discuss this since it's been on my mind. I've researched the topic a lot and found some older threads on this and other forums. So if you have time to comment and let me know your opinion or experience it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks you!

Sent from my SM-T713 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[Cobs]

I sold my Phantom 1 last week, it was beaten badly when i bought it over 2 years ago, i gave it some more crashes and a new shell, had years of fun with it, it was attacked recently by a Rottweiler when the guy i sold it to flew it too long and the battery got low and his dog grabbed it, its here now for me to have a look at lol, plenty of life in it yet

Ive had my P2 for over a year, just starting to have the gimbal twitch with the H3-3D ugh!

All in all theyre easy to repair and should last years, safe flying will make it last longer of course.

Edit: Wow was he lucky, his dog seems to have just unplugged the compass lead without actually piercing it, plugged back in, recal and flying fine again

 

[BigAl07]

I've got a P3P with hundreds of flights and over a 100 hours on it. Still flying on the factory props and everything. Nothing has been changed other than adding Polar Pro lenses for certain shots now and again.

 

[Pluto88888]

Three Phantom 3 advanced here still going strong
Aircraft one 8 months old with over 4 million ft in distance. 32 hrs flight time
Aircraft two 5 months old 3.5 million ft in distance. 26 hrs flight time
Aircraft three 18 days old with 1.4million ft in distance. 9 hours flight time.

 

[KingDad1985]

Wow! So these guys last for a long time! That's great news!

 

[KingDad1985]

This is me so far hahaha

 

[Mark The Droner]

OTOH you got these guys...

phantom crash new - YouTube

...and this classic noob move

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...so it's hard to gauge the average life I think

 

[BigAl07]

For you guys with 100s of flights, does the battery degrade significantly so the you get noticeably less flight time?

Sent from my SM-N910F using PhantomPilots mobile app

It depends on how you care for the battery. I've been VERY lucky and all of my batteries (I've got 6) are all very strong and I've noticed no reduction in flight time or "punch". But with the same number of flights but only using a battery or two is a whole other ballgame. Mine are spread out over many batteries and I'm generally very easy on my batteries.

 

[kennedye]

I think pretty much any Phantom you buy these days will outlive your desire to keep using it rather than upgrade/sidegrade to a new/different UAV.

 

[mikej]

This is me so far hahaha

How do you get that info from the drone? Do you use a app other than dji go? Thank you

Sent from my SM-N920R7 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[KingDad1985]

How do you get that info from the drone? Do you use a app other than dji go? Thank you

Sent from my SM-N920R7 using PhantomPilots mobile app

No I'm using dji go on android galaxy s7 edge in these screen shots

 

[mikej]

Ok. Thank you.

Sent from my SM-N920R7 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[ladykate]

The FAA in their justification for the hobby drone ruling said that the expected life of any of the hobby rc drones or fixed wings is one year. I suspect there is a lot in play with that statistic but it does reveal a large turnover. I have two P2s that I bought when they first came out and they are still in use and being used (more than 2 1/2 years). I crashed one in mid-2014 but rebuilt it and it is doing fine.

 

[ussvertigo]

Like a plane, the most vulnerable part of the craft to keep it in the air is the engine(motor). Based on experience and testing an engine maintenance/replacement is established with a safety factor built in to insure its reliability and keep their planes in the air, now if we only had that kind of data for the P4 motors, we could just replace them after so many hours(with safety factor considered). So what is the magic number?


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[DocL]

I was wondering the same thing a while back. I have have a few P3's and a Matrice 100. The Phantom 3 is my workhorse. I have flown through heavy rain on several occasions and had some serious crashes. I have replaced 3 P3 bodies completely due to crashes but never had to replace a motor. I am pretty convinced these things will run forever.

My stats are Level 34 / 1,804,838 (growth of value), whatever that means. 71hrs of flight time, 4,252,202 feet traveled (805 miles), 344 flights and top speed 58mph!

 

[DRay355]

I was wondering the same thing a while back. I have have a few P3's and a Matrice 100. The Phantom 3 is my workhorse. I have flown through heavy rain on several occasions and had some serious crashes. I have replaced 3 P3 bodies completely due to crashes but never had to replace a motor. I am pretty convinced these things will run forever.

My stats are Level 34 / 1,804,838 (growth of value), whatever that means. 71hrs of flight time, 4,252,202 feet traveled (805 miles), 344 flights and top speed 58mph!

DocL, I'm new to the game, where do get the aircrsft stats from? would be interested keeping track of my info.

 

[Bill Bishop]

I'm curious the average lifespan of a phantom. How many hours\flights do they typically last? What usually fails or breaks first? Assuming no crashes involved. I know this topic might be beaten to death but things and opinions change and I would like to discuss this since it's been on my mind. I've researched the topic a lot and found some older threads on this and other forums. So if you have time to comment and let me know your opinion or experience it would be greatly appreciated! Thanks you!

Sent from my SM-T713 using PhantomPilots mobile app

A long time probably. The only thing I would worry about is the gimbal. No issues yet on P3P. 160 hours, 700+ flights and last I checked on #1 battery 200 charges and still max operationally.

 

[DocL]

DocL, I'm new to the game, where do get the aircrsft stats from? would be interested keeping track of my info.

I just discovered a few weeks ago when you launch the DJI Go app look in the top left corner, there is a compass looking thing. Tap on that and login if necessary, it tracks your flights. I have it on 4 or 5 different devices and sync them all up.

I am missing some data because I used the Litchi app for a month but most of my flight data is there. You can even replay the flights from the past.

 

[DRay355]

I just discovered a few weeks ago when you launch the DJI Go app look in the top left corner, there is a compass looking thing. Tap on that and login if necessary, it tracks your flights. I have it on 4 or 5 different devices and sync them all up.

I am missing some data because I used the Litchi app for a month but most of my flight data is there. You can even replay the flights from the past.

Ahh, I had a feeling it was easy to do, I need to explore the app a little more closely. Thank you for such a quick respone. headed to work now, but will check it out in the morning.

 

[kennedye]

Does DJI publish any of that kind of info for its super-pro products like the Matrice or Spreading Wings stuff?