okay so ive probably been doing this wrong for a while and just want to sanity check. whenever i crash hard i basically just look the frame over, wiggle the arms, check if anything is cracked or obviously bent and then fly again if it looks okay. but ive had two frames now where something was clearly wrong after the fact that i couldnt see just looking at it.

one of them i noticed a hairline crack in the main plate like two flights later when i landed wrong again and it basically split at that point. so now im wondering if theres a better way to actually check carbon fiber for hidden damage. i know you can sometimes feel delamination if you press on it but im not sure thats reliable either.

is there like an actual methodical thing people do or is everyone just kind of eyeballing it and hoping for the best

honestly most people are eyeballing it, lets be real. but the thing that actually works way better than just looking is flexing the arms individually with both hands and feeling for any creaking or weird give. carbon doesnt flex much so if somethings cracked youll often hear or feel a tiny pop or creak before you can see anything. also running your fingernail across the surface of the arm at different angles can reveal cracks that are basically invisible to the eye because your nail will catch on the edge of the crack even if you cant see it.

the delamination tap test is real too, tap along the plate with a coin or just your knuckle and listen for any change in tone, dead spots sound noticeably duller. its the same thing they use on aircraft composite panels. not perfect but way better than just looking

i started shining a flashlight at a really low angle across the arms after a bad crash, like almost parallel to the surface. cracks and stress marks that you cant see in normal light show up pretty clearly that way because of the shadow they cast. found a crack in an arm once that would have been totally invisible otherwise. still not foolproof but its a quick extra step that doesnt cost anything