As a regular pilot, I was taught to land into the wind. I have noticed that control is a bit better when approaching the landing spot into the wind. Also a little foreword speed keeps you out of some of the turbulence of ground effect.
Landing into the wind
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usaken said:
Interesting question. I can understand the reason a fixed-wing aircraft would land into the wind, but a quadcopter? I do try to have some forward movement as it approaches the ground as it does create a bit of turbulence, also choosing the most level spot to land
Makes me thing of something interesting. Can you picture a P2V with wheels and come in for a "landing" like a real plane? Not really as fast......
You're going to be more in control going into the wind rather than with it or across it as you approach the landing spot.
Happyflyer said:
That's not as silly as it seems, I've thought about it myself. Some helicopters have wheels!
Helos land into the wind whenever possible. You have to thing about what is actually happening during a landing In the case of landing into the wind, the autopilot is just trying to add enough power to overcome the force pushing it back. This back force is actually decreasing ground speed. In the case of an downwind landing the quad is actually adding double the power to slow down. In northerly approach with a 2 knot wind from the north, the quad only has to add 2 knots of speed to stop. In a southerly approach the quad has to add 4 knots to stop. I have noticed that upwind landings are always easier to control. I use a 3' wood dowell with a 12" piece of cassette tape on he top, located about 6 feet from my landing area. The tape gives you an indication of both the direction and speed of the wind. I sharpened the end if the dowel to stick it into the ground. Happy flying
If I think it's a little to windy to land, I try and go behind a house or a bush...it works.
I take off and hand-catch into the wind. As some have said here, better control of the craft when doing so is true. My R/C background is in slope and thermal sailplanes, so paying attention to wind direction is habit, especially when launching or landing. I think that technique serves well with the Phantom as well. Also, as previously discussed on Phantom Pilots, why land when you can hand-catch? I used to land my Phantom and would often break props and/or prop guards. Once I was comfortable with hand-catching, especially with the P3P, I'll never 'land' the Phantom again. No more broken props or prop guards.
Either way, it's best to 'land' (or hand-catch) or launch into the wind ...
Either way, it's best to 'land' (or hand-catch) or launch into the wind ...
These things are so easy to land I don't see the need to hand catch.
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Unlike a airplane, it is my opinion a quad will land and behave the same up or tail-wind. With headwind. You will put a bit of forward thrust. Tailwind- backward thrust.
But there really is no front or back in a quad. All side being equal
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But there really is no front or back in a quad. All side being equal
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Hi usaken, I am also a pilot (manned aircraft) and you should always land into the wind this is all aircraft and for quads etc it gives much better control.
The Phantom 3 P & A has the motors offset a couple of degrees outward this allows the down wash to disperse
away rather than straight down so the landings on the Phantom are much smoother.
A helipad raised off the ground with holes in it also helps to disperse the down wash for smoother landings.
Cheers, JV
The Phantom 3 P & A has the motors offset a couple of degrees outward this allows the down wash to disperse
away rather than straight down so the landings on the Phantom are much smoother.
A helipad raised off the ground with holes in it also helps to disperse the down wash for smoother landings.
Cheers, JV
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