Drone refurbishment

I’m new to drone flying this year and have logged about 24 hours on my Mavic Air 2.
It occurred to me that it might be wise to get it checked out during those short, wet and windy winter days when flying wouldn’t be possible.
Is there any data on how long drones should be flown without being checked over?
Also, should propellers be changed regularly, or is it fine to keep using the same set as long they have no visible damage?

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It’s sounds like you mean maintenance, rather than refurbishment - which is what the title of the thread is called. I just check mine visually before put in and take out the back, that’s it. Is the gimbal, are props damages, is the sd card in, etc. I make sure I update the drone, batteries and controller on the bench, never in the field. Other than that, no, I let it do it’s thing.

I have yet to change a prop in either of my drones, despite having spares. As they are not visably damaged.

There is a thread here that might help

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The guides Wayne @Sparkyws has linked to will give you everything you need @beachcomber

However, as you’re still relatively new to GADC they’re not available to you at the moment.

Sit tight, you’ll be made up to a Full Member very soon and will then gain access to a whole raft of extra goodies :slight_smile:

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The few moving parts you have on your drone are virtually frictionless (your prop motors and your gimbal motors. So unless they’ve been impacted in a crash they won’t need looking at. The same goes for the props. They have very little mass and their rotational speed is not overly fast, so again I’d only replace them if they are showing any impact damage on the leading edges or signs of weakening around the screw mounts.

“Servicing” of a small consumer drone would be done if it’s exhibiting some abhorrent behaviour. This could be due to a fault with the internals or corruption of the firmware.

More often than not when a dealer lists an item as recently serviced or refurbished they usually mean they’ve replaced some grubby parts and checked it still works within the manufacturers specifications. They certainly wouldn’t go to the lengths of replacing parts just because it’s reached a certain age.

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Thanks, that’s good news.

Thanks, I’m a very risk averse flyer, so that’s very reassuring.

Thanks.

I always do a full check of the drone before take off, and check the controls before flying away, so it looks as if I’m doing the right thing. Thanks for your help.

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I check mine over before and after each flight. I bought a can of pressurised air for blowing sand/dirt from my propeller motors and vents.

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Good tip.

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Thank you

Save money on buying air. cans…buy one of these rubber ball ear syringes on Ebay…£2 odd…good for blowing dust off camera ens as well. :sunglasses:
30/60/90ml Ear Washing Ball Rubber Ear Syringe Bulb Ear Suction Ball Ear Clean !

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Good tip.