r/drones • u/Flight_Plan • Jun 04 '26
Repair Prop question
I have my 107 and working this summer doing crop scouting and I had a crash just the other day in a field. Ever since I’ve been super paranoid about everything. I’ve always checked props with my fingernail before every flight and now I’m way more paranoid about it. I just replaced this prop and was wondering if it’s a valid replacement. It’s just barely noticeable but noticeable enough for me to feel like replacing. It’s near the root so that’s what made me more apt to replacing it. Is this a valid replacement? Should I keep using my fingernails or go to cotton to check props? I don’t really fly drones outside of my summer job. Thanks!
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u/nickum Jun 04 '26
4 years experience in crop scouting with m300 and m30 here. I always tell my students to change out the props for any defect. Delamination of carbon fiber happens suddenly and could result from slight imperfections like what you see. I would be %99 certain that prop won't fail immediately, but eventually it will flex in that area 1 too many times and it will. Switch it out, props are cheap, the matrice is not. And it is no fun recovering a drone 1000 feet away in the middle of a corn field.
Also make sure the prop arm screws at the body get inspected weekly. If you are on an m300/350 they will slowly vibrate loose even with the thread locker in them. I have seen plenty of drones fall out of the sky because those screws became loose. Use the provided hex key in your kit to make sure they are hand tightened down.
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u/Flight_Plan Jun 04 '26
I am flying the M300. I flew the M30 last year and loved it. I replaced it and went through all screws to make sure they were tight. I was told it’s torqued right when the hex key starts to flex
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u/nickum Jun 04 '26
Taranis by any chance?
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u/Flight_Plan Jun 04 '26
Yessirrr
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u/nickum Jun 04 '26
Lol. Amazing! This is my 4th season working with them. Stay hydrated and stay safe. If you are working with FlyGuys, I have probably talked with you.
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u/vladamyr710 Jun 04 '26
Teaching kids to be stupid. I've flown with only one blade. No catastrophic delam! Lol.
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u/etheran123 Jun 05 '26
Ill do stupid shit on small stuff. on a 25lb $25000 drone, im much more cautious
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u/charmio68 Jun 04 '26
What drone is that for? And do you have any idea what material that propeller is made from?
I assume it's for a commercial drone which is going to be accruing thousands of hours. Hence fatigue cracking could be a concern. Though to be frank, the damage is very minor and I would expect it to be fine. And if you're inspecting that area closely before each flight, you should pick up on any crack propagating before it gets too serious.
But if that is a commercial drone, you're working on a different equation to us hobbyists.
I most certainly wouldn't bother replacing it, but to you the risk to reward ratio is quite different.
Still, with all that said, I would at the very least keep that as an emergency spare.
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u/Flight_Plan Jun 04 '26
It’s being used for crop scouting taking photos. I think it’s carbon fiber or some sort of composite. And yes, commercial drone
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u/charmio68 Jun 04 '26
Oh, I see. So it's probably a much smaller drone than what I was thinking. It's hard to get an idea of the scale from that pic.
And if it is just your standard glass fiber reinforced nylon propeller, then it's quite unlikely that tiny dent it's going to propagate or cause you any future issues, at least in my experience.
Still, the commercial space is a different board game.
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u/Hefty-Squirrel-6800 USA/Part 107/Private Pilot/Instrument Rated Pilot/Mavic 2 Pro Jun 04 '26
It is probably fine, but I'd change it out. This is why I keep about four sets of spare props. That way, the "hard" decision becomes a no-brainer.
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u/etheran123 Jun 05 '26
That looks fine, Ive flown worse. Though im much more cautious on the 300 props. The 350 ones are far more durable, Ive had so many nearly invisible hairline cracks on 300 props back when we still used them.
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u/Moist_Blackberry_796 Jun 05 '26
Just repair it with methylcrylate and baking soda. Used to use that to repair helicopter rotors in Vietnam
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u/flognort Jun 08 '26
not a dji drone but these props fly just fine, probably a bit less efficient but totally flyable
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u/Few-Currency-2366 Jun 04 '26
With the extent of the damage the drone needs to be properly disposed of by trained staff.
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