motor misalignment after crash

vmaxmasonrya · Jan 11, 2019

My q500 dropped out of the sky from 50' up. I had to replace the clamshell of the body. Since then another flyer mentioned that the motor pods look crooked. I've attached some pictures and the only thing I noticed was that one of the props is a little crooked. In the pictures, I positioned all the propellers to be parallel to each other. My question is do the motor pods look crooked? Does anyone else have experience with a crooked body after replacing the clamshell? If so, any idea how to rectify this? Also, if it is crooked, does it make that much of a difference in flight performance?

Vince

Steve Carr · Jan 11, 2019

It's difficult to see anything that looks awry. The side views look normal. The front view is a little to close and the camera is higher than the props.
Even if a motor is off slightly it is unlikely to affect flight. The accelerometers and gyro detect an out of level condition or drift and the Flight Controller compensates for that.
Check the motor shafts by rotating each prop while looking at it from the side. It should spin straight with no wobble. Check side play and end play of the motor shafts. Gently apply pressure to the side of each motor to see if it appears loose.
If it passes all of that, go fly.

vmaxmasonrya · Jan 11, 2019

Steve Carr said:
It's difficult to see anything that looks awry. The side views look normal. The front view is a little to close and the camera is higher than the props.
Even if a motor is off slightly it is unlikely to affect flight. The accelerometers and gyro detect an out of level condition or drift and the Flight Controller compensates for that.
Check the motor shafts by rotating each prop while looking at it from the side. It should spin straight with no wobble. Check side play and end play of the motor shafts. Gently apply pressure to the side of each motor to see if it appears loose.
If it passes all of that, go fly.

Thanks, Steve. I've checked the rotation and the side view of the rotating props and I don't really detect any wobble. I just wanted to see if anyone else had the same experience after a post crash repair.

Vince

NorWiscPilot · Jan 11, 2019

Just a thought here...

In order to do a better comparison, we need before and after pictures. Perhaps a note to all of us to take pictures just out of the box, before we do anything to alter our aircraft. Makes it easier to see if something popped out of alignment, et al.

By the way, all three of my H-based hills do not have perfectly aligned pods/motors/props. Been that way since new. No issues I am aware of.

As @Steve Carr says, the electronics of things compensate quite nicely.

Happy flying!

Jeff