Be aware !!! Very aware!!!

[Bonesamy]

I recently bought new props from the internet.... not Yuneec parts I found out later ... Out on a shoot to day at a popular out door museum in Nevada, just about finished and bringing the Typhoon drone in to land I hear an odd noise and the drone shoots off and crashes. It turns out that one of the propellers just disintegrated, part of it hit the ground close to a visitor, the drone I managed to retrieve and luckily for me not too damaged. There was no practical reason for this to happen , no trauma to the props, pretty much the first flight. Fortunately I always keep a back up (this one with the original props) . I can't recommend this product at all .
Moral of this story check what your buying, if as in this case the props are under $30.00 us pass it by , clearly these inferior products are a danger and end up costing more for repairs and damage ! You have been warned!!

 

[Steve Carr]

I recently bought new props from the internet.... not Yuneec parts I found out later ... Out on a shoot to day at a popular out door museum in Nevada, just about finished and bringing the Typhoon drone in to land I hear an odd noise and the drone shoots off and crashes. It turns out that one of the propellers just disintegrated, part of it hit the ground close to a visitor, the drone I managed to retrieve and luckily for me not too damaged. There was no practical reason for this to happen , no trauma to the props, pretty much the first flight. Fortunately I always keep a back up (this one with the original props) . I can't recommend this product at all .
Moral of this story check what your buying, if as in this case the props are under $30.00 us pass it by , clearly these inferior products are a danger and end up costing more for repairs and damage ! You have been warned!!

Others have posted the same regarding aftermarket props. They are cheap, fragile and tend to break in flight.

 

[rdonson]

When you buy “from the internet” and not a reputable outfit with an internet presence you’ve got to know you’re taking a risk.

 

[jmbsmt63]

Is there any way that you can link to which specific ones you purchased that gave you the trouble?

 

[WaterMainMan]

Bonesamy, I am really sorry to hear that. I threw a rotor on a quad about six years ago, and I definitely changed my attitude on rotors at that point. I only buy the Yuneec brand rotors for my H. Yes they are kind of pricey, but compared to the level of disaster that could occur when they come off, it's cheap insurance. Besides immediately losing a power plant, the damage done by the projectile that was a rotor can be devastating.

Jim

 

[CraigCam]

Why did it not go into 5 motor mode? Did more then one prop break? Or was something struck that stopped the other motors as well? Check your telemetry maybe?

 

[Ty Pilot]

Is there any way that you can link to which specific ones you purchased that gave you the trouble?

Any props that are not Yuneec could do this. These cheap propellers are made in China and marketed under various sellers on sites like Ebay and Amazon and can come and go. The chances are; they are sold under multiple names, so limiting it down to the exact seller he purchased from would likely not be the only seller that has them. For just a few dollars more, piece of mind is nice to have.

 

[Cornfield]

Now I'm glad that I ordered my new blades direct rather than the cheapies on Amazon

 

[Steve Carr]

You can generally identify the OEM props by the distinct "Yuneec" embedded in the blade. If the seller doesn't show a closeup of the blade, don't buy it. In the examples below you can clearly see the name on the OEM props and not on the others. I have not seen any fake props with the Yuneec name on them.

OEM: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01EIKB7Y...9f79-b06712ab2461&ie=UTF8&qid=1520356964&sr=2
Fake: https://www.amazon.com/Fenleo-Relea...0356161&sr=8-10&keywords=typhoon+h+propellers

 

[Cornfield]

These are genuine for the Q500 https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01B1XERUI/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They can also be ordered right from Yuneec site.

 

[VETTE198620002000]

Why did it not go into 5 motor mode? Did more then one prop break? Or was something struck that stopped the other motors as well? Check your telemetry maybe?

i would like to know that also...

 

[jmbsmt63]

Any props that are not Yuneec could do this. These cheap propellers are made in China and marketed under various sellers on sites like Ebay and Amazon and can come and go. The chances are; they are sold under multiple names, so limiting it down to the exact seller he purchased from would likely not be the only seller that has them. For just a few dollars more, piece of mind is nice to have.

I understand the fact that the aftermarket props for the Q500 CAN be inferior to the OEM.
I think ALL of the props, OEM, and the aftermarket are made in China?
I was asking what specific props he had the failure with. Because I did purchase some from Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GDXL1VY/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are Red and I did compare them to the Yuneec OEM's before risking my Quad. Yes, they "seemed" to be a little more "flexible" than OEM but the construction and their "pliability" ...meaning the amount of bending before breakage... was the same. I did proceed to fly...at 3-4 feet altitude at first..with 4 red ones on the quad and they made it through 12 batteries ( approx 20 mins each) at various altitudes/winds up to and including 400 feet and all was, and is, well.
No flight differences even with back to back flights swapping with the OEM's when changing batteries.
I think there might be a bit more discernable noise (slap)? But not a big deal and I really have to record and compare.
I also used those on the front and 2 black OEM's on the rear and that combo also worked well. Nice contrast to help with orientation!
I even went as far as breaking one of these at the hub (holding the hub in a vice) and comparing the break force against a broken ( one side was broken off at the hub ) OEM...If anything, the Amazon replacement (cheapy) was slightly more pliable and required more angle to actually snap. They both broke at the same point at the hub. and looking at the break, it looks like the same material
Now, before I get "flamed" here... all this is absolutely un-scientific and could vary between samples and I am nowhere near a "materials/stress testing" expert. I just want to be as sure as I can before risking a faulty prop in flight. But, if somebody can indicate which ones they had trouble with, I would like to steer clear of those, for sure.
Bottom line I guess.. if you have ANY reservations about the props on your expensive quad, stick with the OEM's. I will keep using the red ones I linked to above. I just ordered another set to replace the one I snapped...LoL

 

[Ty Pilot]

Bottom line I guess.. if you have ANY reservations about the props on your expensive quad, stick with the OEM's.

That is what I was trying to say also

My point was; that even if you bought from a different seller, it could be the same manufacturer.

The immediate feel or pliability of a prop doesn't really mean a lot. The stresses a prop encounters in a normal flight cannot be reproduced by hand and; how strong or weak they seem in a static condition is not the full story. As these props increase and decrease their speed through a normal flight, there is a critical load path that can become a lot like a bend in a piece of paper - keep bending back and fourth along a single path long enough and it can fail. I am not a expert on this but I've had a few conversations with some that are in regards to propellers and I take their word for it.

Long story short; a manufacturer of a complete UAV system (Yuneec) has a vested interest in designing a propeller that will not fail and thus result in the loss of a complete system while a supplier of a propeller does not necessarily have that as their primary focus but rather wishes to sell at a lower cost.

I've not yet heard of a Yuneec propeller failure in flight but have heard of numerous aftermarket prop failures and thats all I was getting at. Also for commercial operators, it is incumbent upon you to follow manufacturer's recommendations for maintenance and the manual clearly states on page 26:

From the manual

Yuneec Electric Aviation cannot be held liable for any damage, injury or for use of the product in violation with legal regulations, especially in the following
circumstances: Damage and/or injury caused by the use of replica parts (non-original parts).

 

[jmbsmt63]

That is what I was trying to say also

My point was; that even if you bought from a different seller, it could be the same manufacturer.

The immediate feel or pliability of a prop doesn't really mean a lot. The stresses a prop encounters in a normal flight cannot be reproduced by hand and; how strong or weak they seem in a static condition is not the full story. As these props increase and decrease their speed through a normal flight, there is a critical load path that can become a lot like a bend in a piece of paper - keep bending back and fourth along a single path long enough and it can fail. I am not a expert on this but I've had a few conversations with some that are in regards to propellers and I take their word for it.

Long story short; a manufacturer of a complete UAV system (Yuneec) has a vested interest in designing a propeller that will not fail and thus result in the loss of a complete system while a supplier of a propeller does not necessarily have that as their primary focus but rather wishes to sell at a lower cost.

I've not yet heard of a Yuneec propeller failure in flight but have heard of numerous aftermarket prop failures and thats all I was getting at. Also for commercial operators, it is incumbent upon you to follow manufacturer's recommendations for maintenance and the manual clearly states on page 26:

From the manual

Yuneec Electric Aviation cannot be held liable for any damage, injury or for use of the product in violation with legal regulations, especially in the following
circumstances: Damage and/or injury caused by the use of replica parts (non-original parts).

Of course, I do agree that they COULD be the same manufacturer. Actually, a fairly good bet that they are.
But, how do we know that they also didn't make the OEM ... just not with the "Yuneec" branding now?
Valid point regarding the manufacturer's interest in providing as failure proof part as possible. Mostly for liability reasons but talk of props flying off wouldn't help sales, that's for sure!

I also agree that nothing can duplicate the conditions/stress of actual use.

My original goal was to just get the exact part that was mentioned in the original post so I/we know to avoid that particular one and relating my personal experience so far with the ones I bought.
I do not endorse them or any other aftermarket prop at this point. Just gathering/sharing information. I do like having the red colored props up front though

I think that we're on the same page here about not taking a chance with anything but OEM. But, I like to have choices... so I am interested in all the options and getting the info on the exact part that was used and failed will definitely narrow the choices?

Your point that there have been no reports of the OEM props just breaking mid-flight like some of the aftermarket ones have is absolutely valid.
I can guarantee you that if one of these props fail under normal operating conditions, I will definitely relay that info. I have no vested interest in selling props...LoL

 

[webbster]

I recently bought new props from the internet.... not Yuneec parts I found out later ... Out on a shoot to day at a popular out door museum in Nevada, just about finished and bringing the Typhoon drone in to land I hear an odd noise and the drone shoots off and crashes. It turns out that one of the propellers just disintegrated, part of it hit the ground close to a visitor, the drone I managed to retrieve and luckily for me not too damaged. There was no practical reason for this to happen , no trauma to the props, pretty much the first flight. Fortunately I always keep a back up (this one with the original props) . I can't recommend this product at all .
Moral of this story check what your buying, if as in this case the props are under $30.00 us pass it by , clearly these inferior products are a danger and end up costing more for repairs and damage ! You have been warned!!

I made the mistake to I had to fix my motors and re thread the motor shafts. Now I have a tap the same size and when I get new blades I run the tap to make sure of a fit. Last props cost me a few hundred and time wasted not being in the air.