Wait that’s my DT750 flying away.

by andre | June 9, 2014 | (0) Posted in Tips

Over the weekend I suffered a rather big crash with the tricopter.

One second I’m flying around having fun and then the next thing I know my fpv goggles are filled with spinning ground and sky. All I could hear was the buzzing motors followed by a thud.

The left side hexTronik DT750 motor had come clean off in flight.

The onboard video from the GoPro was even more impressive.
Excitement starts at the 90 second mark.

The cause of this epic in flight divorce?
A lose grub screw.

André's latest top tip.

Blue locktite and check them before every flight.

After a few weeks of multi rotor flying I can say they are a lot more involved then fixed wing flying.

Those extra checks and steps are the difference between a good flight and a costly one.

Damage appears to be limited to the wood frame which is easily repaired or replaced.

The all the motors detached from their 3.5mm connectors to the esc's saving from further stress.

The GoPro was tossed clear from the copter as well. At least it was in the grass.

The right side prop did get bent but that seems to be about all for damage. The zip ties slide up the boom when the boom caught the ground.


Everything spun up and I did not see any issues with the shafts. I got lucky!

Summary 

- Preflight checks

- Be aware of your surroundings. If there had been people or harder objects we'd be picking more bits.

In the mean time enjoy a better flight. This one was my first time in an open field flying fpv.

Join the discussion.

COMMENTS

1morehobby on June 28, 2014
Another reason to not fly over people or property.
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andre on June 30, 2014
Completely agree.
Really like my field we fly out of for that reason.
We are all very aware of the public and if anyone comes onto the field everyone alters the pattern and keeps away.

I've even landed the tricopter because their people who kept getting closer because they wanted to see it.
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Anand on July 9, 2014
I also had that with a few DT750's since the stock silver screws are very weak and short i replace them now before the first flight with black grub screws from linkage stoppers, the stock are sometimes hard to remove with low/medium lock-tite.
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rcflyer729 on June 27, 2014
Thanks for the tip! You did a really good job on this article.
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andre on June 30, 2014
:) Thank you. I think this one wrote itself but has a lot of value.
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stay-fun on June 27, 2014
And what Josh said in one of the podcasts, you can make a flat spot on the part where the grub screw holds the motor!
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andre on June 27, 2014
Another great tip besides the locktite is to also use a small zip tie to hold the screw in place.
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flight monkey on June 30, 2014
Hey andre, guess we both learned our lesson on bolts vibrating off. This past weekend i lost my motor on my AXN. Due to loose screws, no loctite. I knew better , but i was procrastinating for a while. Now need to buy new motor, couldnt find it at the field. 😎
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andre on June 30, 2014
See reply above ;) That is harsh you lost a motor.

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enivid on June 30, 2014
Yeah this is another reason why I've steered away from these motor designs. Just can't trust these set screws.
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andre on June 30, 2014
OH MAN!

I still need to get the Tricopter back up and flying but this past weekend I was busy with the big planes. I'd not flown in 3-4 weeks ;)
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Wait that’s my DT750 flying away.