I was out flying my drone the other day when suddenly one of the propellers just came flying off. I tried putting it back on and flying again but it just came straight off so I did some research and here is what I found.
There are a few reasons why this may happen. The propellers may come off because you’ve had a crash earlier and they came loose. Another reason why the propeller may come off is that you haven’t put it back on properly at some stage. This happens more with smaller hobby drones.
There are a few ways that you can fix this minor issue with your drone propellers. Keep reading and you can find out how.
How To Fix Your Drone Propellers
Now that you know what may be causing your drone propellers to come off, you need to know what you can do so that your drone propellers can stay on your drone.
Here are a few steps to follow to make sure that you stay ahead of the problem and make sure that your drone propellers stay in peak condition so they never malfunction out of nowhere:
- Always secure the propellers properly. You may be in a rush to get your drone in the sky and you are in such a rush to put it together that you forget to make sure that you put the propellers on the right way or you did not tighten them enough and left them loose. You can usually confirm that the drones propellers were not secured on properly if you find the propeller fully intact after it has separated from the drone. Not making sure that your propellers are on properly and secured to the drone itself can cause big problems for you as you might have experienced already. If the propellers of the drone are not secured it could fly off mid-flight causing the drone to crash and you could completely destroy your drone which could have been avoided if you just took a bit more time to make sure the propellers are on properly.
- Pre-check drone propellers. Another way that a drone may lose its propeller mid-flight is if the propeller has been damaged and it fails during the flight. This is visible if the propeller is cracked or damaged in any way. Again, this shows how important it is to do a pre-check of your drone before you take off. If you pre-check the drone you will notice the broken propeller and be able to change it before you actually fly the drone.
- Replacing damaged propellers. If you notice that one of your propellers has been damaged in anyway, shape or form, it is best to replace the propeller before trying to fly it. A lot of drone pilots will ignore the fact that the propeller is broken and rush to try and fly their drone instead of taking the correct steps to replace the propeller before the flight, this ends up costing them more to replace the whole drone, that has now crash-landed than it would have cost them to wait and replace the propeller.
What Might Be Causing Loose Drone Propellers
Drones might be fun to fly but they are still sensitive pieces of machinery.
- Damage. Your drone propeller or the shaft that connects the propeller and the motor could be damaged and this can cause the propeller to fly off unexpectedly.
- Loose propeller. Having a loose propeller while flying your drone can cause it to fly off. As the rotor spins the propeller is forced to spin and because the propeller is loose it will slowly slide off the shaft and fly straight off.
- Low flying. This is one of the most common mistakes drone pilots make. Flying too close to the ground might seem appealing and safer because you think that you are reducing the risk of a big crash, especially if you are still new to flying. This is actually the opposite when it comes to the safety of your propellers. It all comes down to the physics involved in flying a drone. A drone flies by the propellers of the drone move air downward which in turn helps the craft to launch itself off the ground into the sky. When you fly too close to the ground it is possible for the air that the propellers push down is now pushed back up and can push the propellers of the drone off if they are loose and not secured to the drone.
- Excessive tricks. The best thing to do once you have become a bit more experienced with flying your drone is trying to do a few flips and tumbles with it. This, even though it can be fun, can cause your propellers to fly off even they have been secured on to the drone properly. This should not happen normally but the excessive jostling of the drone in the air when attempting these flips could cause the propellers of the drone to eventually become loose.
So now that you know what could be causing the propeller to come off, you’re probably wondering what to do if this actually happens while flying your drone. Keep reading to find out!
How To Prevent Drone Propellers From Coming Off Again
Drones come in many shapes and sizes as well as being different in price as well. Even though you do get cheap drones, droning is not the cheapest hobby to be a part of.
This is why it is very important for any drone pilot to want to avoid anything that might damage the drone in any way. One thing that can cause the most damage to a drone is a crash landing. A crash landing could completely destroy a drone and the propellers are vital in keeping the drone in the air.
Here is a list of things you should avoid while flying to make sure your drone stays in the sky with its propellers on:
- Tall Objects. When flying your drone be careful and mindful that you might be flying in a place with tall trees etc. Even though you shouldn’t be flying near them but you should look out for any towers of any kind as well.
- Flips and tricks. I fully recommend learning to do a few tricks with your drone once you are skilled enough to pull them off but excessive flips and tricks could loosen the propellers or fling off an already loose propeller, so its best to take my advice from above and do your pre-flight check before taking off.
- Too much throttle. In the video above, the pilot tries to get his drone back quickly after it has a collision. This was a bad idea because the drone’s propeller had been damaged and by doing that the drone goes haywire and almost comes crashing to the ground. So this is important to remember if you do have some sort of crash.
What Happens If Your Propeller Comes Off Mid-Flight?
Depending on the type of drone you have you could either have a horrible, costly crash landing into the ground from hundreds of feet in the air, or your drone could have a very wobbly flight back to you.
- Quadcopters. If you have a quadcopter and lose a propeller mid-flight then you are definitely going to be picking up the pieces of your broken drone afterward. Quadcopters are not meant to fly with just three propellers when they lose one as they will immediately lose their balance and come crashing down to the ground.
- Hexacopters and Octocopters. Because these drones have more propellers, to begin with, if they lose a propeller while still in flight it won’t affect their ability to stay in the air as there are more propellers to keep it airborne. Granted that the flight won’t be the smoothest and the footage will not be the greatest, at least the drone will make it back to the pilot in one piece.
But all of this can be avoided if you maintain your drone properly as well as avoid things that can cause your drone propellers to become loose.
