These are cheap knock offs, not Yuneec at all and look pretty heavy.
Also in the event of say 'touching' a tree branches can enter the gaps between the guards and trap the drone so you have a wreck anyway caused by the guard!
I wouldn't call them cheap knockoffs because they are a totally different design than Yuneec's so they're not a knock off; they are another design from an after market manufacturer. However they are slightly cheaper in cost but I think that you were referring to quality. That is what I am trying to find out by anyone with hands on experience either/any H prop guards available (2 I know of but there may be more).
I think the weight is insignificant for the after-market ones because they simply don't weigh that much and don't seem to have a negative affect on my H when I used them. Whether their weight limits the speed of the H doesn't matter to me because I don't race drones - though I may get into drone racing. However I would definitely buy a different drone for racing.
If you look you can see that the Yuneec prop guards are way more likely to snag in tree branches because they leave a lot more enclosed open area for branches to fit and snag especially with the cable totally encircling the H props. The design of the Yuneec
appears to be flimsier however I think they are made of carbon fiber so they should be a lot stronger than they look.
The Yuneec guards do allow a lot more air flow from the props which would lessen any control issues that may be introduced by the bulkier alternative guards. So I guess I would add air flow restriction to the list of negatives of the after-market guards. Having said that I can still easily control my H with the after market guards but I don't do anything fancy.
I originally bought the prop guards because on several occasions both of my TH drones have had a power surge pulling my H off to the side causing it to basically crash and tip over while I was holding the red kill button and left stick down on landing. I see in the forums that a few others have had this same experience and being that my telemetry log shows that I had the sticks positioned as I thought it is an issue. This happened about 3-4 times over a total of about of 60 flights of both my Hs combined. However the first time this happened was because a motor failed right before landing and my H went into a snow bank rather than the landing pad. Yuneec repaired it under warranty but I was without that H for 2 months in the mean time.
I also will be using the prop guards for protection when practicing hand catching the H. While it is definitely not good practice to hand catch a multi-copter I may have to resort to a hand catch on occasion and I don't want to be learning how when possibly in that emergency situation. Prop guards of
some protection against spinning props tearing through my flesh . . .
What I am attempting to find out in the forums are the advantages and disadvantages of any prop guards available for the H. Other than my limited experience (6 flights) with the after market prop guards I have nothing else to go on and the forums are the best place to get that information.
I would love to see someone post a demonstration of the Yuneec prop guards 'in action' vs. only installation. I feel that Yuneec should be doing this -it's their product after all. I won't hold my breath waiting for Yuneec to make such a video. I am certainly not going to do it with my H LOL.
