I have found bits of tiny-gravle/sand in a motor doing this. I look for a grinding feeling, because they are usually stiff after you charge the caps on the ESCs.I also spin the blades by hand to hear if it sounds bad, and also if an engine is a little bit stiff, and by that reducing the risk of eninge cutoff during flight
Hahaha great list. I have a bad habit of forgetting batteries, cables, and antennas hahaha. Haha, I ALWAYS do that, I'll have a broken prop and find I only have CW when I need CCW xD.Syma X5C-1 - Pre-flight check [aprox. 4 minutes] with blade check after each battery if required:
I perform this routine every time I go out. It really is quick and thorough and heads off problems like getting to the site and finding a cracked CW blade... and finding out I only have a CCW with me [aaargh!].
- Blades - no cracks, sharp edges or burrs; rotate freely with no binding;
- Chassis - no cracks, battery door secure;
- Motors - fire up ok, no binding, gears clear and free of dirt and lint;
- Motor housing and gears - gears rotate freely, no stickyness, cracks or binding;
- Gears - no worn or broken teeth, rotate each prop checking the interaction of gears for issues;
- Bumpers - no cracks, enough clearance, no distortion;
- Camera - powers up for both video and photo modes;
- Batteries - charged, no swelling, plug installed;
- Controller - fully charged batteries, no issues with sticks; and
- Operator - Shirt tucked in, shoes velcroed, gone pee and has house keys.