Love and dissapointment - RIP Anafi

[AaronB]

Well today is a sad day - we had visual line of sight when suddenly the pitch changed and the Anafi became unstable - unfortunately it went down behind a ridge so signal (position) was lost at about 30m altitude and it was flying erratically. The final location shown was into a patch of vegetation with heavy undergrowth. There was no beeping sound and no re-connection with the controller when we combed the crash location. RIP Anafi.

Now I've been flying RC aircraft for 30 years and I've never had a prop fail during flight on any other aircraft. We clocked 50 flights with the Anafi and I was pretty vigilant with physical inspection of the Anafi before and after each flight.
In terms of handling the Anafi was exceptional. We did max out all the piloting settings in sport mode so I'll admit the Anafi did get a reasonable work out. I was more than happy with the video capabilities (and this is the biggest disappointment of all - we had so many ideas lined up).

Parrot - I know those thin props are an engineering marvel in terms of lift and noise reduction - but it has left this pilot feeling very disappointed in the reliability of the Anafi.

 

[Dirk_ANAFI]

Sorry that happened to you!
If I read your description: why do you believe, that a prop causes your crash? Did you find the drone meanwhile?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

The one time I had snapped a prop it made a very load ratcheting sound, best I can describe it.

 

[pmh1nic]

The one time I had snapped a prop it made a very load ratcheting sound, best I can describe it.

Did it immediately drop or were you still able to fly it to the point where you could get it home?

 

[Chasbro]

I'm beginning to think maybe the props ought to be replaced after a certain period. They're cheap enough. I've just ordered a couple of sets.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Did it immediately drop or were you still able to fly it to the point where you could get it home?

The time it happened to me I was just taking off so it was very close to me. It was all over the place but landed with no damage other then the broken prop. When I first got my Anafi in the first few months I changed out 3 props for hair line cracks so checking them before flight in my opinion is a must do thing.

 

[Landbo]

Well today is a sad day - we had visual line of sight when suddenly the pitch changed and the Anafi became unstable - unfortunately it went down behind a ridge so signal (position) was lost at about 30m altitude and it was flying erratically. The final location shown was into a patch of vegetation with heavy undergrowth. There was no beeping sound and no re-connection with the controller when we combed the crash location. RIP Anafi.

Now I've been flying RC aircraft for 30 years and I've never had a prop fail during flight on any other aircraft. We clocked 50 flights with the Anafi and I was pretty vigilant with physical inspection of the Anafi before and after each flight.
In terms of handling the Anafi was exceptional. We did max out all the piloting settings in sport mode so I'll admit the Anafi did get a reasonable work out. I was more than happy with the video capabilities (and this is the biggest disappointment of all - we had so many ideas lined up).

Parrot - I know those thin props are an engineering marvel in terms of lift and noise reduction - but it has left this pilot feeling very disappointed in the reliability of the Anafi.

Sorry to hear your Anafi disappeared.

I have read in several reports that Anafi actually can fly very well with only one rotor blade on an engine. The missing rotor blade may also be due to the screw that holds the blade has come loose.

Hope you find Miss Anafi again.

Regards, Leif.

 

[AaronB]

The one time I had snapped a prop it made a very load ratcheting sound, best I can describe it.

Pretty much describes it.

Just before heading out for this particular flight I did hold each prop up to a light source for inspection - the translucency is a cool feature - i did not notice any abnormalities.
I must say that when I first laid eyes on the Anafi my first thought was - those props look delicate.

Sorry to hear your Anafi disappeared.
I have read in several reports that Anafi actually can fly very well with only one rotor blade on an engine. The missing rotor blade may also be due to the screw that holds the blade has come loose.

At first the Anafi did seem controllable - although the video was all over the place, quite scary when you are use to seeing a rock steady image. It was difficult to judge orientation so in a desperate attempt to get it closer I initiated a RTH - at which point the camera shake became even more violent and the horizontal distance began to **increase**. I'm guessing the Anafi threw the remaining prop - I had no control after that.

I'm beginning to think maybe the props ought to be replaced after a certain period. They're cheap enough. I've just ordered a couple of sets.

I think this is a must.

I doubt we will ever find the drone - it went down on a steep slope - a large part of it being thorn covered Lantana.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Can I ask what the outside temp was at the time of the flight? Wonder if the props cannot handle the cold.

LOL never mind I just checked and see you are in Australia so I am guessing it is pretty warm there now.

 

[AaronB]

Can I ask what the outside temp was at the time of the flight? Wonder if the props cannot handle the cold.

LOL never mind I just checked and see you are in Australia so I am guessing it is pretty warm there now.

It was heading towards dusk so it had cooled down to about 28 degrees celsius with a light breeze
It had been a pretty warm day. I wonder if these translucent blades can be UV affected?

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Looking at the way these blades are mounted and being two blades I think it is important to have them positioned so that on start up they don't hit the the other side of the motor just before flight. They will whip around at high speed so after the Anafi is in the air we never know if the blade is damaged till its to late.

 

[Krusty Geeza]

Oh no! I hope by some miracle that you are able to find her, steep slope, Lantana & all.

 

[AaronB]

Looking at the way these blades are mounted and being two blades I think it is important to have them positioned so that on start up they don't hit the the other side of the motor just before flight. They will whip around at high speed so after the Anafi is in the air we never know if the blade is damaged till its to late.

I often did wonder about the start up stress on the blades - we need the slow-mo guys to give us an analysis

 

[Dirk_ANAFI]

Sorry that happened to you!
If I read your description: why do you believe, that a prop causes your crash? Did you find the drone meanwhile?

If I read this thread once more I still have no certain hint that a prop causes the crash. That's only a guess.
It could be the motor or other causes as well.

 

[AaronB]

If I read this thread once more I still have no certain hint that a prop causes the crash. That's only a guess.
It could be the motor or other causes as well.

The video display was moving around pretty violently - the gimbal was not coping. It looked just like this.

I concede that we will probably never know for certain - but the failure felt to be mechanical and not software related.

 

[AllenP]

Well today is a sad day - we had visual line of sight when suddenly the pitch changed and the Anafi became unstable - unfortunately it went down behind a ridge so signal (position) was lost at about 30m altitude and it was flying erratically. The final location shown was into a patch of vegetation with heavy undergrowth. There was no beeping sound and no re-connection with the controller when we combed the crash location. RIP Anafi.

Now I've been flying RC aircraft for 30 years and I've never had a prop fail during flight on any other aircraft. We clocked 50 flights with the Anafi and I was pretty vigilant with physical inspection of the Anafi before and after each flight.
In terms of handling the Anafi was exceptional. We did max out all the piloting settings in sport mode so I'll admit the Anafi did get a reasonable work out. I was more than happy with the video capabilities (and this is the biggest disappointment of all - we had so many ideas lined up).

Parrot - I know those thin props are an engineering marvel in terms of lift and noise reduction - but it has left this pilot feeling very disappointed in the reliability of the Anafi.

Sorry to hear that. I know how I would feel having lost a BB2P the first week after I got it last year. Reported it to Parrot as a software glitch, filled out their forms and they mailed me a new one back. Loving my Anafi now and hoping for no problems. Give it a shot, you never know. ?

 

[AaronB]

Sorry to hear that. I know how I would feel having lost a BB2P the first week after I got it last year. Reported it to Parrot as a software glitch, filled out their forms and they mailed me a new one back. Loving my Anafi now and hoping for no problems. Give it a shot, you never know. ?

Without the flight logs or video it would only be my word - but thanks maybe I'll give it a try.

 

[AaronB]

I was looking through the video we had taken with the Anafi and decided to put together a little tribute to all the fun we had.

Better to have loved and lost...

 

[Efliernz]

 

[Kdavis2269]

Great tribute to the fallen Anafi. What video settings did you use?