Start Motors without Props?

[Farkyard]

G'day Brains Trust,
I'm wondering if there is a way to start and idle the motors on the H520 without the props attached? I tried this yesterday and received a load of errors very quickly with the aircraft recognising they weren't on. I want to to be able to listen/watch for any shaft/motor play etc. as part of scheduled maintenance. Cheers in advance for your thoughts.
Farkyard

 

[Steve Carr]

The motors are inspected rotating by hand to feel for smooth rotation, shaft end-play, tight spots and side movement. Also check for motor movement at the mount and check for any play where the motor pod is attached to the arm. Inspect the inside of the motors with a flashlight for discoloration or dirt.
Then mount the props and do a low hover where you can observe any vibration in the motors or arms. Do a slow yaw to different angles for a better view of each motor. Watch the landing gear for transmitted vibration which may be caused by the props. Run the aircraft through several maneuvers for another 10 min. Land and check the temp of each motor with an infrared thermometer. Rotate by hand again while the motors are still warm. Beware, the motors may be hot.

 

[Farkyard]

The motors are inspected rotating by hand to feel for smooth rotation, shaft end-play, tight spots and side movement. Also check for motor movement at the mount and check for any play where the motor pod is attached to the arm. Inspect the inside of the motors with a flashlight for discoloration or dirt.
Then mount the props and do a low hover where you can observe any vibration in the motors or arms. Do a slow yaw to different angles for a better view of each motor. Watch the landing gear for transmitted vibration which may be caused by the props. Run the aircraft through several maneuvers for another 10 min. Land and check the temp of each motor with an infrared thermometer. Rotate by hand again while the motors are still warm. Beware, the motors may be hot.

Cheers Steve. The reason I have asked is that taking them off and having a listen at idle is part of the maintenance schedule for other non-Yuneec aircraft in my fleet. If it cant be done it cant be done. I'm trying to standardise the maintenance schedules of them all without of course being less onerous than the manufacturers guides. Your suggestion is already part of of the standard flight testing for all of them. I do however like to be able to tell if there are any noise, vibrations, issues etc that are not apparent or obvious above the noise of the props. Thanks again. Farkyard

 

[HokieDrone]

Cheers Steve. The reason I have asked is that taking them off and having a listen at idle is part of the maintenance schedule for other non-Yuneec aircraft in my fleet. If it cant be done it cant be done. I'm trying to standardise the maintenance schedules of them all without of course being less onerous than the manufacturers guides. Your suggestion is already part of of the standard flight testing for all of them. I do however like to be able to tell if there are any noise, vibrations, issues etc that are not apparent or obvious above the noise of the props. Thanks again. Farkyard

Have you hooked the drone up to the GUI? For the H480 you can run the motors independently without the props on to test each of the motors. Have they released a GUI for the H520?

 

[claudius62]

It's an H520, there is no graphical interface.
Engines without their propellers result in an error message and systematically shut down.
The Escapes detect an anomaly and stop the engines as for the m = switch to 5 propeller mode.

 

[vr-pilot]

It's an H520, there is no graphical interface.
Engines without their propellers result in an error message and systematically shut down.
The Escapes detect an anomaly and stop the engines as for the m = switch to 5 propeller mode.

IIRC my H520 once did allow the motors to run in idle while on ground w/o props. I was surprised that there was no motor error.
Have to check it once again if it is still behaving like this.