Take off and landing on truck topper

[PLPhoto]

Howdy Braintrust,

I've recently put a topper on my pick em up truck, (welcome to Texas). I shoot mostly in and around the Dallas Metro mess. There have been a few occasions where I've been surrounded by concrete and no grassy area to take off from.

Do you guys think it is safe to launch from and land on the topper of the truck? It is a fiberglass shell, no metal. I am pretty paranoid when flying, just want to keep things safe.

Paul

 

[BigAl07]

If it's easy to reach and convenient I'd say give it a try. I know several people who have converted their pickup bedcover into a landing pad. So long as you can do it without compass issues I say go for it.

 

[N017RW]

Unless you get a compass error it would be fine. Just cause concrete has rebar it varies and may not be an issue st all. Let the a/c tell you if it senses interference. If not, than any non-ferrous place will work.

 

[msinger]

There's an easy way to check whether or not this would cause a problem. Power your Phantom on and sit it down (or hold it in a location) where you know there are no nearby metallic objects. Observe the aircraft symbol on the radar in DJI GO to ensure it's pointing in the proper direction. Then, place your Phantom on the topper and watch the aircraft symbol on the radar to ensure its heading does not change. If you see no change, then it's a safe place to launch/land.

FWIW, the lack of a compass error in DJI GO does not mean all is fine.

 

[N017RW]

Experiences vary.
For me, no error has = no issues.

 

[msinger]

For me, no error has = no issues.

No error often means no issues. However, if you've been around here looking at flight logs long enough (like I have), you'll know no error doesn't always mean no error.

 

[Richard R]

Fire it up on the topper, then carefully climb. If the truck/topper combination is an issue, you'll get a compass error when you climb high enough for the magnetic field to change significantly. It's that changing field that can give you an error, not nessecarily the presence of ferrous metal at the takeoff point.

 

[PLPhoto]

Thanks for all the replies guys, I'll git it a go in a few weeks.
Many thanks,

 

[tcope]

Not sure why you'd want to take off and land on grass as opposed to concrete. Perhaps in case the Phantom falls over. But if that is the case, not sure how a bed cover is going to be any better.

I'd simply land and take off from the ground. If you loose signal for any reason and your home point if the bed cover, it may be off slightly and hit the truck in some way.

 

[BudWalker]

Unless you get a compass error it would be fine. Just cause concrete has rebar it varies and may not be an issue st all. Let the a/c tell you if it senses interference. If not, than any non-ferrous place will work.

There have been many fly away type incidents caused by a compass problem, yet there was no indication prior to launch. Here are a few examples

Compass error

And, this one seems to be popular
Looking for Trouble ??

The single most effective way to prevent this is to confirm the Go App red triangle heading indicator is pointed correctly prior to launch.

 

[N017RW]

Thanks Bud.
I post based on my experiences.

 

[Meta4]

Not sure why you'd want to take off and land on grass as opposed to concrete.

It's because (reinforced) concrete is half steel and launching or landing on steel messes with your compass which can have consequences you'd rather avoid.

 

[N017RW]

It's really a case-by-case issue though as codes vary and some have more rebar than others while others still use non-metallic reinforcement. It's not correct to infer all concrete surfaces will be problematic. Be cautious if not familiar but I've only experienced a problem in very, very, few instances.

 

[Raptorman0909]

When I have the opportunity I will takeoff/land on the side of the road. Of course, if there's anything more than near zero traffic you'd better not risk it. If a nice smooth rock of sufficient size is available then I'll use the rock. Close cropped grass is OK to, but anything longer and I'd worry about the props hitting the grass and causing the bird to tip with the props spinning. Most time I just pull out a piece of doormat that is about 2' x 2' and use it though if it's windy it can be a little tough hitting a 2 foot target. Boy do I hate using dusty dirt roads...


Brian

 

[phill45]

I'll be looking forward to this and what else should be done to avoid the compass error. Recently installed a 1-pc hard tonneau cover for full protect of stuffs on the bed and got the idea of landing there as well.

 

[anotherlab]

I have launched and landed mine from my daughter's boyfriend's truck a few times without incident. His bed was covered and the compass was fine. His truck is mainly rust, so that probably cuts down on the magnetic interference.

 

[phill45]

I have launched and landed mine from my daughter's boyfriend's truck a few times without incident. His bed was covered and the compass was fine. His truck is mainly rust, so that probably cuts down on the magnetic interference.

Interesting advantage of rusted truck.

 

[anotherlab]

Interesting advantage of rusted truck.

Rust never sleeps.

 

[NM_Quad]

Dirt and sand gets into my motors when ground launching from the NM desert (most of my flights). So I regularly launch my P3S from the engine hood on my 4WD Suzuki Sidekick. No problems, never got a compass error, and keeps my motors clean. I hand catch on landing. I think trying to land on the hood would be pushing my skill set! I don't think you'll have a problem unless you do get a compass error.

 

[ldcfla]

I have a soft cover for my f150 and I take off and land without any problems. No interference and yes, it keeps the sand out of the drone.
You shouldn't have any problems.