Landing Issues

[DarkPhantom015]

First off, sorry if I post this in the wrong section; I do not see a how to page.

Today was my first flight on the DJI Phantom and I loved it. Flying was easy and smooth.

Now the only issue I have is landing [ in GPS mode ] but without the Go Home feature. According to the video on the website you let it hover, bring throttle down until it starts to descend then just let go and it's supposed to land. When I tried this it hovered, then got to the grass and hovered again. I put less throttle again and it touched down but then it just tipped over. I cannot find any video with watching people land so any help or suggestions would be great.

By the way, the go home feature works perfectly find. Until I get some insight on landing I am using the go home feature.

 

[miskatonic]

First off, sorry if I post this in the wrong section; I do not see a how to page.

Today was my first flight on the DJI Phantom and I loved it. Flying was easy and smooth.

Now the only issue I have is landing [ in GPS mode ] but without the Go Home feature. According to the video on the website you let it hover, bring throttle down until it starts to descend then just let go and it's supposed to land. When I tried this it hovered, then got to the grass and hovered again. I put less throttle again and it touched down but then it just tipped over. I cannot find any video with watching people land so any help or suggestions would be great.

By the way, the go home feature works perfectly find. Until I get some insight on landing I am using the go home feature.

Buy prop guards. They will save you time and money. Landing is always a bit tricky because of the ground effect that the props cause. Just a little bit of wind will push the phantom so you have to make a fairy quick landing. Keep at it, it gets easier.

 

[Driffill]

Yeah, I found landing it was tricky . . . . There is plenty of instructions on how to get it in e air, not alot about bringing it down safely. As mentioned as the props gets close to the ground the air they are pumping down it hitting the ground and causing turbulence. At this point it will be alot easier for a gentle breeze to throw the craft around, and in GPS mode it will try to auto correct each time it happens.

I'd suggest when coming in to land, hover 1m above the ground, find the spot you want, let it come down and once you see it start to drift in a horizontal direction correct gently with the right stick, and at the same time, bring the throttle down to zero! If the phantom tilts over to one side, you can still use the right stick to level (if it tips forward, pulling down slightly on the right stick will help bring it level)

I've had plenty of successful flight, with not so successful landings! I was actually thinking of making a compilation of all my crash landings for a laugh. I once flew in rather gusty conditions as a test to see if I was going to be able use the phantom to record on the day. In GPS mode the craft just kept correcting for the winds, managed to land in GPS and decided to try ATTI and see how that coped . . .

Footage was much better, but I was working double time keeping it where I wanted it to be, deciding that I wasn't going to be able to use it (this was the whole reason I bought the phantom, to use on this day) I went to land, and after a few attempts, I concluded that I wasn't going to have a successful landing so I actually put it into a fence! Hard to explain exactly why, but this was most "controlled" landing I could do!

I also got caught out when I first flew after I spring loaded the throttle, came in to land, had it at zero throttle and let the stick go, motors fired up and it tipped and flipped! Entirely my fault

 

[martcerv]

Landing is a little tricky, I prefer to land in atti mode as I can control it better without dealing with the gos auto corrections if a little breezy. You want to be pretty comfortable flying in atti mode to have better control then what you get in gps mode. The last few centimeters are the trickiest in a littke breeze as it gains a bit of lift just before hitting the ground so good throttle control is important and I aim to land it as softly as possible.

If its real windy I will get it into a gps hover and grab the landing gear to avoid a crash landing.

The end of this video shows how I try and land in atti mode with just a light breeze.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdmxtTJh374[/youtube]

 

[martcerv]

Landing is a little tricky, I prefer to land in atti mode as I can control it better without dealing with the gos auto corrections if a little breezy. You want to be pretty comfortable flying in atti mode to have better control then what you get in gps mode. The last few centimeters are the trickiest in a littke breeze as it gains a bit of lift just before hitting the ground so good throttle control is important and I aim to land it as softly as possible.

If its real windy I will get it into a gps hover and grab the landing gear to avoid a crash landing.

The end of this video shows how I try and land in atti mode with just a light breeze.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdmxtTJh374[/youtube]

 

[Roadkilt]

Catch in in your hands. Let it hover, walk up, hold gently and shut the motors off with the spare hand on both controls. Takes a tiny bit of practice but you won't go back to regular landings again, especially if you mount a gimbal. Keep your fingers out if the props!

 

[MrMediaGuy]

@DarkPhantom -- One comment to the good advice here. Not sure which video you were watching, but if it's the "first flight" video on the DJI Web site, you should be aware that video was made with the "old style" throttle that was not spring centered. (You mention just getting your Phantom so I will assume your left stick centers automatically with a spring, yes?) On the old-style throttle, the instruction to lower the throttle until the Phantom starts to descend and than "taking your hands off and letting it land itself" will work because the old throttle will just hold that same position.

The "new style" throttle is spring centered, so once the craft is airborne, taking your hands off will always result in a stable hover if everything is working properly. That means when you start to land, you can't take your hands off because the throttle will pop back to center and the craft will stop descending and just resume a hover. I suspect that's why you're having a bit of trouble.

To land easily, get a stable hover about 5-6 feet above ground. Move horizontally as needed until you are confident you're over a good spot. Very slowly and gently pull the left stick down until you are descending about half a foot per second or a bit more. Hold the stick exactly there until you're just about to touch down, then immediately pull it down to zero and hold it there. Motors will shut off automatically in 3 seconds, or you can execute the CSC command (same as motor start) to stop them sooner.

Hand catching is probably easier once you are confident with controlling the craft at a hover. Always make sure you are upwind of the Phantom so a gust doesn't blow it into you.

 

[porl_hopkins]

I nearly always hand catch my Phantom.....find it much easier

 

[oldengineer]

I nearly always hand catch my Phantom.....find it much easier

Which it do you grab though?

...The landing gear, or the main body?

I tried the landing gear, which was great until I switched off the motors then it falls over (one handed), making it a bit awkward.

 

[bumper]

I nearly always hand catch my Phantom.....find it much easier

Which it do you grab though?

...The landing gear, or the main body?

I tried the landing gear, which was great until I switched off the motors then it falls over (one handed), making it a bit awkward.

Grab the *vertical* part of the leg, not the horizontal bottom. If that doesn't work, it's time for hand strength training. I would not suggest trying to grab the body . . . too much risk of contacting a prop. Grabbing a gear leg is the only safe way to land when the wind is strong and/or gusty.

bumper

 

[porl_hopkins]

I nearly always hand catch my Phantom.....find it much easier

Which it do you grab though?

...The landing gear, or the main body?

I tried the landing gear, which was great until I switched off the motors then it falls over (one handed), making it a bit awkward.

Catch it by one of the main legs.....tightly

 

[kobelarry]

this is so easy to land or to catch just hold in a hover at just above eye level walk over and crab the landing gear hold tight and reduce throttle with you other hand or you chin it will take a moment for the props to stop so hold on. I know this is easy to fly but you should spend more time landing just take off and land util you can do it with ease.you will only get better if you do more landing time then flying time

 

[DarkPhantom015]

This is all helpful information. Glad I found this forum.

So prop protectors could be a good investment. I will look into that.

And yes MrMediaGuy... That is the exact video I was looking at and my TX is the new style. So I was a little confused at first because i saw it kept hovering after letting it go. After trying to land and it tipping over I decided to just catch it in my hands and shut it down.

I'll keep trying at it. Thanks for the information everyone.