Question for those of you who hand catch:

[LSDMT]

do you have to turn off the collision avoidance sensors – especially on the legs – so that it doesn’t move away from you when you get close or when your hand covers up the little camera sensor on the leg?

how exactly do you do it? i’ve seen a video or two but nobody says anything about the sensors. I know when I land – the thing is beeping like crazy because it’s close to the ground/me.

also - it seems to me that most of the threads regarding stress cracks are from people who hand catch it. does it feel like it is fighting you when you’re trying to hold it or something?

 

[microlinux]

I grab it from the back by sort of three-fingering between one of the propeller arms and a leg. It doesn't really fight, you are far more powerful than the motors.

 

[HighTechPauper]

I do not turn off any sensors at all (I have everything enabled) and it has never moved away from me in any fashion, I usually bring the bird close and hover briefly to make sure all is acting stable and with the front pointing away from me, I reach up and as soon as I have a good grasp around the vertical to horizontal at the bottom of the leg I pull the left stick straight back. I am careful to grab on to the vertical part mostly with the base of my palm against the horizontal bottom leg portion to control AC orientation once it shutdown. In any GPS mode I think the AC will pull if you are changing the orientation of the bird (i.e. pulling/pushing/twisting/turning) and that can get dangerous as at tries to correct its position, and for that reason I just grab it gently and immediately pull back on the stick and it collapses with only a slight tug as the desire to stay in its location and orientation fades to power off . I have zero stress cracks in the body of my p4p but the very thin section at the top of the inside legs, the area right above the screw access covers is cracking with vertical lines in places directly above the screw access cover. I assume one day the legs will need to be replaced, but I think that will be about 500 hours down the road. in my opinion, hand catching is least fatiguing on the AC, and any unforeseeable wind during actual motor on and liftoff as well as that near ground/touch ground moment and motor power off is pretty dangerous. That's my 2 cents and experience, and I can only hope it helps in some way.

Happy Flying/FPV'ing

 

[LSDMT]

thank you for the responses thus far

 

[KykPhantom]

Do not consider changing anything with sensors. No problem with hand catching.

 

[schlepprock]

I'm flying a P4, not the p4p. But when I hand catch, which I always do,i always bring the uav down to just above head level so I have to reach up to catch it. I then rotate the uav so it's facing away from me and catch it from the rear. That way once I grasp it I can immediately use my thumb and turn it off.
Well I mean turn off the battery once I kill the motors.

 

[mikesher]

I always hand catch my P4P (grabbing by the rear left leg - vertical portion, while it is faced away from me), and never turn off the sensors. My Mavic Pro fights me a lot more than the P4P because I have to grab it by the body.

 

[Hshen]

same here, hand catch from the rear and slightly above head level.

Just be aware of your surroundings and look out for people who are curious what are you doing.

I had once while i was lowering down my P4P, some random guy decides to come forward and catch my drone from the front. I had to stop and tell him off to clear the way so i can land the craft safely.

 

[tcope]

When you face the P4 away from you, the orientation is correct so a left stick movement is left and a right stick movement is to the right. This makes things less confusing if you need to make some quick movements.

 

[Willene]

I live in the Kalahari desert and with the sand that blows up so much I'm forced to hand catch sometimes when I didn't lay out some sort of landing pad first. Just make sure to get a good grip preferably more towards the body than only gripping the landing gear as mentioned above already and no need to alter any settings just grab it haha. I've run after springhares before and hand catched some of those and even they kick harder and pull stronger than the Phantom haha definitely not the scariest thing to catch here. Jokes, but true.

 

[gingerbloke]

On my P2V+ and P3A I always switch to ATTI just before hand-catching - to me the most likely cause of a sudden movement would be GPS 'crap-out' aka "I need to be somewhere else right NOW!!"

I leave it hovering just above head height and walk up to it and grab the rear leg.

 

[John Locke]

On my P2V+ and P3A I always switch to ATTI just before hand-catching.

Nobody should ever follow @gingerbloke's advice IMO. Never hand catch in ATTI, simply because it will drift uncontrollably 90% of the time, without stick intervention. P2V's are pre-LIGHTBRIDGE, using Wifi, unreliable, which is why @gingerbloke doesn't trust them. Lightbridge drones (which includes P3A) are way more reliable and trustworthy.

1. Hoover the craft in P mode with props above your head about 5' away. Sensors can be on, no problem.
2. Watch it a few seconds to insure it's stable, in a steady hover.
3. Take your fingers OFF the RC sticks till after you have a good grasp of the landing gear.
4. Walk over to the hovering craft and grab the landing gear with your RIGHT hand.
5. With a firm grip of the landing gear, HOLD IT IN PLACE while you pull left stick full down using left hand, then wait three seconds for motors turn off, while holding in place.
6. After motors turn off, lower the drone and turn off the battery.

Never try to catch a moving drone. That's a good way to end up in ER.

 

[Daskid]

I 100% hand-catch the P4P. Just make sure you have a good hand-eye coordination and you're good to go!

 

[gingerbloke]

Nobody should ever follow @gingerbloke's advice IMO. Never hand catch in ATTI, simply because it will drift uncontrollably 90% of the time, without stick intervention.

My experiences of the P2V+ might have caused my distrust of GPS, but how many times have you seen your Smartphone 'searching for GPS' or noticed that your car's Satnav thinks you're driving in a field a mile away?

I have more than 200 flights on my P2 and P3 and the only time they've done something odd is in GPS mode.

Also, I live in a very calm part of the world - I wouldn't actually fly my drone if it was uncontrollable in ATTI

YMMV

 

[John Locke]

Also, I live in a very calm part of the world - I wouldn't actually fly my drone if it was uncontrollable in ATTI

In ATTI the craft will ALWAYS drift uncontrollably without stick intervention. This means you have to catch a moving drone, which is NOT ADVISED for obvious reasons. It's advised to let DJI's VPS technology, not just GPS, do it's job, controlling the craft, holding the craft steady so you can safely walk over and calmly and confidently grasp the landing gear with little risk or adrenaline impairing your safety. Letting the technology hold it steady WITHOUT your hands on the sticks should be SOP before grabbing the landing gear to minimize risk. Any notion of landing or hand catching a DJI craft in ATTI is foolish and dangerous IMO, as this is undeniably higher risk.

 

[gingerbloke]

OK

 

[Lucky 777]

You guys who hand catch are playing with fire. It's just a matter of time before you get bit.

 

[John Locke]

You guys who hand catch are playing with fire. It's just a matter of time before you get bit.

It's like crossing a street. If you're careful you'll be ok and you can enjoy the other side. Or you can stay on one side of the street and limit yourself.

 

[HighTechPauper]

I would rather be careful than lucky

 

[KevMo Photog]

I think I have landed on the ground maybe once in two years flying. Always hand catch period. Eliminates a little wind coming up and tipping you over on the ground. Plus keeps any dust from being stirred up too. It's just the cool thing to do! LOL P4 Pro here btw. Had two P4's last year.