Cracks in hull (P4P)

Kristina Fowler · Apr 1, 2023

I recently began a multi day mission in a remote location with moderate to high winds. I hand catch 100% of the time. Yesterday, I discovered for the first time that I have cracks in each of the four arms of my Phantom 4 Pro, near the motors. Not sure how long they’ve been there. More severe than hairline but not critical, IMHO. I don’t have the flexibility to send it into DJI for repair. I tightly taped the affected areas with gaffer tape and will fly it that way for the first time today. Am I asking for calamity? Anyone else have issues with cracks? TIA.

ETA: just finished my 1st flight of the day. Seems like it flew better with the tape! But I do eventually plan to send it to DJI for a refurbishing….

GFields · Apr 1, 2023

I haven't had any cracks on the hull but did on the landing gear. I did as you did and taped the crack and have been flying with no problems for over a year

John Githens · Apr 2, 2023

GFields said:
I haven't had any cracks on the hull but did on the landing gear. I did as you did and taped the crack and have been flying with no problems for over a year

As a side note, I found that it can be very difficult to see a crack in the landing structure of a P4P.

Veuwr Aerials · Apr 10, 2023

This is a known problem with the P4P and P4 that may be caused by the screws that hold the motors in.

If you don't want to send the drone to DJI you always have the option of replacing the top or bottom shell on your own.

Kristina Fowler · Apr 12, 2023

Has anyone tried Heat Shrink Tape? What could go wrong? Too tight? Warp existing plastic arm? This seems like a good alternative to my existing gaffer tape - which bunches up at the ends of the repair - due to tapering of drone arm near motor.

Gagey52 · Apr 12, 2023

G’day Kristina, just out of curiosity, is that one of those boxes where you leave the props on?
Regards

Kristina Fowler · Apr 12, 2023

Gagey52 said:
G’day Kristina, just out of curiosity, is that one of those boxes where you leave the props on?
Regards

It's simply a wrap-around tape that is heated so it will shrink and act as a tight "sleeve" to reinforce the area where it's cracked on the drone arm - near the motor mount. I'm not familiar with the "box' that you're referring to.

Gagey52 · Apr 12, 2023

Kristina Fowler said:
It's simply a wrap-around tape that is heated so it will shrink and act as a tight "sleeve" to reinforce the area where it's cracked on the drone arm - near the motor mount. I'm not familiar with the "box' that you're referring to.

Sorry, I meant the drone carry box.

jmichael · Apr 12, 2023

Kristina Fowler said:
Has anyone tried Heat Shrink Tape? What could go wrong? Too tight? Warp existing plastic arm? This seems like a good alternative to my existing gaffer tape - which bunches up at the ends of the repair - due to tapering of drone arm near motor.

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The arms are carbon fiber? You might stop drill the crack to prevent it from spreading and then patch it with carbon fiber and epoxy. That should not have much effect on the W&B of the aircraft, but if the arms are a weak part of the airframe it might not be a bad idea to perform the same operation on each arm.

Veuwr Aerials · Apr 22, 2023

The arms definitely aren’t a weak spot - I’ve never heard of a phantom falling out of the sky because of cracked arms.

As a matter of fact I’ve flown a crashed Phantom that had an arm half hanging off and it still flew almost like normal!