Phantom 4 hand catch problem

[dgd3]

With P4 prop guards also disable Object avoidance....

Gosh i didnt know. Why would DJI do that? I presumed all features would work even with prop guards. Well I'm sure glad I posted here because I'm learning a lot about the P4 that I didn't realize.

 

[KevMo Photog]

This is ridiculous.. Hand catching has issues with motors not shutting down and slicing flesh unless you hold it just right. And landing on the ground also is a problem even if you use the recommended method of holding down the throttle for 3+ seconds. If the landing surface is not very level or if a puff of wind hits the bird just before touchdown it will tip over and do damage. I just ordered a new shell for my P3P because a tip-over caused a cracked upper shell. This was not a crash, just a tip-over and apparently the torque of the prop hitting the ground was enough to crack the shell. At least it didn't burn up a motor.

Great flying camera platform but impossible to land.

Rediculous??? I dont get what's so hard about catching your P4 out of the sky to land? I have done it every since day one without an issue at all! I hate landing on ground and letting any dust or pebbles fly into motors. The only thing that's changed is how you shut the motors down. It used to be both sticks in and down. They changed that because people were doing that in the air while flying and killed motors which caused the bird to be killed as well by falling out of sky! So motors now shut down when left stick is held for 3 seconds when it's pretty still. So just walk under it and grab the landing gear and pull down left stick!!! Thats it!! Piece of cake!

 

[richardseguro]

I believe the CSC (two sticks down and in) may not work anymore for motor cut off while flying. I think you have to pull left stick down and in while you push the RTH button (correct me if I'm wrong) to stop the craft while flying. So if you're moving the craft around after you grab it, the craft may think it's flying and not shut off. The same may apply when using the traditional turn-off method, which is holding down the left stick for 3-4 seconds like ALOK... stated.

The other thing to be aware of, if you are using the rubber band stick stiffeners, those will hinder your ability to do a CSC to start and stop motors because full down and in is not restricted in the corners, it hits the plastic ring that holds the rubber bands. You have to grind the plastic a little to allow full stick deflection in the corner areas..

View attachment 67612

There is a specific hand catch process I use for safety that I'll share:
1. Fly the craft about 10ft away from me about 7ft high (so the blades are above my head, but legs easy to grab)
2. Let the craft hover for at least 5 seconds as I walk toward it with my fingers OFF the RC sticks.
3. I watch the craft carefully for movement as I slow walk toward the craft.
4. If the craft is relatively stable for several seconds I slowly approach it from underneath and grab one of the vertical legs firmly with my RIGHT hand.
5. I hold the craft in the exact spot I grabbed it while I pull the RC left stick full down with my LEFT hand for 3-4 seconds until motors turn off.
6. When motors power down, then I bring the craft down from 7' up.
7. I set the RC down and turn off the craft battery, then turn off the RC power. Done.

With a little practice the ONE HANDED left stick full down can be done without an RC harness around the neck. I prefer NOT to use a harness while flying, hence I rarely hand launch.

I see a lot of people do things that aren't safe when hand catching, they get too confident IMO. One of the worst is flying the craft to your hand because you're too lazy to walk over to a craft hovering, or just plain showing off to a crowd. Sooner or later that will catch up with you, no matter how good a pilot you are. I think grabbing a craft while your fingers on the stick is asking for trouble, but that's just me.

Agreed. I do exactly the same. Although I never have hand-launched and I would never try it (that's me though).

I do ground landings when soft short grass or lawn and besides, it contributes to hardwiring the process mentally and physically...but sand, pavement or any hard surfaces I'd rather hand catch.

Great suggestion you have brought to the group. Kudos 4 U.

Sent from my SM-N910W8 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[B-Droned]

Prop guards didn't stop damage on a flip over landing gone wrong.

I now hand catch most of the time

Removed prop guards because they obstruct footage too much at ANY speed. At least the props themselves on appear slightly, when flying faster

 

[BayouBill]

Rediculous??? I dont get what's so hard about catching your P4 out of the sky to land?

Yes ridiculous because landing is not a viable option & this thread documents the problems with hand catching. And because I also fly other drones that are engineered to land without issue (Parrot Bepop & Blade Chroma). Both of these have wide stance landing gears and if you still manage to tip over or crash the motors are instantly shut down. They also have dedicated emergency shut down buttons that kill the motors instantly. No smoking motors.

The Bebop is configured exactly like the Mavic - peg landing gears and camera in the nose. The Phantom is an old clunky design that will be replaced by Mavic-like designs.

 

[KevMo Photog]

Yes ridiculous because landing is not a viable option & this thread documents the problems with hand catching. And because I also fly other drones that are engineered to land without issue (Parrot Bepop & Blade Chroma). Both of these have wide stance landing gears and if you still manage to tip over or crash the motors are instantly shut down. They also have dedicated emergency shut down buttons that kill the motors instantly. No smoking motors.

The Bebop is configured exactly like the Mavic - peg landing gears and camera in the nose. The Phantom is an old clunky design that will be replaced by Mavic-like designs.

Oh ok.