There are other choicesMore robust ones, too!
Yes.. get someone to catch it for you! [emoji12]
Tired of hard landing with RTH
- Thread starter jsposito
- Start date
Yes.. get someone to catch it for you! [emoji12]
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2015
- Messages
- 535
- Reaction score
- 184
- Age
- 69
I would also make sure that whatever you choose for a landing pad, it cannot be blown around by the turbulence created by the props, and make sure it is rigid enough so when the bird does land, it won't tip over and catch a prop or slide around and tip off the edge.
A foam pad might be too soft and allow the bird to tip or not stiff enough to stay lying flat.
A rubber mat, if too thin, could also be lifted by the prop wash and get tangle in a prop.
A board might be slick enough while the props are providing some lift, to allow the bird to slide around and off the edge and tip over.
I used to use a 3/4" thick piece of ply that was 3' square, and even at that my bird once slid off the edge and almost tipped over. It was great to keep the grass flattened and reduce the dirt from being kicked up, but that tipping made me change what I use.
Just a few thoughts.
A foam pad might be too soft and allow the bird to tip or not stiff enough to stay lying flat.
A rubber mat, if too thin, could also be lifted by the prop wash and get tangle in a prop.
A board might be slick enough while the props are providing some lift, to allow the bird to slide around and off the edge and tip over.
I used to use a 3/4" thick piece of ply that was 3' square, and even at that my bird once slid off the edge and almost tipped over. It was great to keep the grass flattened and reduce the dirt from being kicked up, but that tipping made me change what I use.
Just a few thoughts.
- Joined
- Mar 6, 2017
- Messages
- 317
- Reaction score
- 28
- Age
- 64
See guys it's starting,There are other choices
It is all about choice and assumed risks, no question- whatever you are comfortable with. I'm not suggesting a circus style performance trying to pluck my phantom out of the sky blindfolded while it is comming in at full speed. Reaching above head height to firmly grab it in a hover is very low risk, the blades can't get you while you have hold of it no matter what happens and my landing gear have survived hundreds of hand catches. In my case I more often than not don't have the luxury of a nice area suitable for a traditional landing. In some instances I need to hand launch also, particularity when launching from reinforced concrete (compass issues).
I agree... And I hand catch as well... BUT... I hand catch, turn off, THEN walk away... Not at the same time.. GPS has a stubborn way of saying "Im Staying Right Here" when blades are turning..
That's correct. When you grab the vertical leg, you MUST hold it exactly where you grab it, in place until the motors turn off (full down, left stick) and stop spinning. If you do that the craft won't fight you, and there's no stress on the gear, not to mention less risk getting whacked in the arm. It's no different than driving a car, if you're safe and have common sense, risk is very low. However, nothing comes without some element of risk.
For me, I always catch my craft because the landing area is too risky. I'm usually always in the boonies flying without a clean flat landing area. With any wind I always hand catch because a gust can easily tip your craft over and waste some props. IMO every pilot should get comfortable with hand catching, otherwise you will damage the craft, or someone or animal when landing on the ground. I've had more than one occasion that a loose dog wants to eat my craft. I've even had kids run up and want to grab it when their mom wasn't watching them and I thought I was alone in the park. There's always situations that a hand catch is safer and more appropriate.
Only rarely do I need to hand launched. I did this just 3wks ago on the North shore of Oahu. I find that hand launching is most often needed in the sand at the beach or the dunes in the desert. I use an RC body harness in those situations, to hold the RC, making it easy to use the screen launch icons with just one hand.
FYI, I will often use my mountain bike gloves when flying. Those are gloves with the finger tips removed. These gloves offer a level of protection, but are very pliable and easy to put on and take off. Only in the middle of the summer do I feel it's too hot to wear my gloves.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Nov 13, 2015
- Messages
- 535
- Reaction score
- 184
- Age
- 69
I wouldn't count on it... Prop guards are not all the sturdy and they can flex and bend.
You could also miss them when trying to hand catch, and instead grap onto the prop or shell or something else.
I think they are great for side motion collisions, but other than that, they just aren't all that solid.
Just my opinion.
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2017
- Messages
- 779
- Reaction score
- 680
Well, it seems that it may protect your finger but not your arms if you are a beginner or if you're not careful enough [emoji57]. It was a silly try in my first day with the drone. I find that the more I learn, the more I feel confident that I can accomplish and the fear just goes away without really thinking about it. That being said, yes, it may cause serious injury but is easy and safe if you know what you are doing. Currently I have MP, P4 and P4P and I hand catch 99% of the time. To me it is the safest method of the landing in most of the cases. BTW my fingers are still hurting [emoji56]
Last edited:
If you're after a 100 % proof protection ... ditch your bird and switch hobbies. The prop guards offer 'some' protection, but it all comes down to how 'smart' the operator is. Why would you miss the prop guards while hand catching? ... you hand catch the legs, NOT the prop guards.
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2017
- Messages
- 779
- Reaction score
- 680
I enjoy the take off and landings, I take off and land about 1m from my house or car always with the ac facing away. Take offs are easy and reverse park landings (rather than counter the obstacle sensing) are cool. I have prop and camera guards fitted just in case.
I fail to understand why anybody can call catching a drone the 'safe option'. I've been flying models for 25 years and nobody ever mentioned hand catching for planes, gliders or helicopters we kinda worked out that landing them was inherently safer
Catching a drone is safe, right up until the first time it isn't
my take-off/landing pad
Simple Solution Training Pad Holder
Catching a drone is safe, right up until the first time it isn't
my take-off/landing pad
Simple Solution Training Pad Holder
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2016
- Messages
- 619
- Reaction score
- 244
- Age
- 67
To the original topic: if you want a smoother landing, you never auto-land. Manual landing is much smoother if you know how to fly.
As has always been mentioned, RTH can be cancelled just before landing so you can land manually.
Having a large piece of foam is totally not necessary considering the above. However, if you still chose it, there's no harm in doing it as long as you're taking off near your car. The first time you pack your rig away from your car, you're going to have to know how to do without either of those.
Hand catching is safe. It's also the least stressful on the craft. As with all things, that's assuming you're do it right. Out of hundreds of hand-catches, every single one of them were without personal injury or craft damage / stress. That's 100%.
Personal anecdotes about never hand-catching with legacy RC UAVs without a super-stabilized hover, especially planes and gliders that do not hover at all, is really kind of silly.
The guy who tried to walk away with a still-flying craft is missing at least a few aspects of how this thing works. It's not really a good example of how hand-catching works, or how it can go south on you if you follow the basic rules.
Speck
As has always been mentioned, RTH can be cancelled just before landing so you can land manually.
Having a large piece of foam is totally not necessary considering the above. However, if you still chose it, there's no harm in doing it as long as you're taking off near your car. The first time you pack your rig away from your car, you're going to have to know how to do without either of those.
Hand catching is safe. It's also the least stressful on the craft. As with all things, that's assuming you're do it right. Out of hundreds of hand-catches, every single one of them were without personal injury or craft damage / stress. That's 100%.
Personal anecdotes about never hand-catching with legacy RC UAVs without a super-stabilized hover, especially planes and gliders that do not hover at all, is really kind of silly.
The guy who tried to walk away with a still-flying craft is missing at least a few aspects of how this thing works. It's not really a good example of how hand-catching works, or how it can go south on you if you follow the basic rules.
Speck
Actually, no sillier than hand catching a drone
Any decent fixed wing pilot can bring a plane in at little more than stall speed - for foam aircraft, that's probably less than 2 mph, the same goes for gliders, you can almost drop them into your hands and with no moving parts to injure you that makes much more sense than catching a drone with 4 spinning blades. Helis? Sure, a modern gyro equipped heli will sit in a stable hover, just like a drone yet people still don't think it's that clever to catch them - hmmm, maybe these people who've been flying for years have a point?Most flying clubs want a 10m gap between you and the aircraft for take off and landing - even for drones.
- Joined
- Mar 8, 2016
- Messages
- 619
- Reaction score
- 244
- Age
- 67
People keep saying that. If you watch someone who knows how to hand-catch a drone properly, you will see that their hands are nowhere near the props, though certainly closer than 10m.
Hand catching a Phantom is easy. I do that most of the time. Why, because they can easily tip over after landing possibility damaging the props. I like to land on the ground also providing the surface is adequate. For the ones that can't do either properly, better brush up on your skills. Lets see if we can't have another hundred posts on this.
I fail to understand why anybody can call catching a drone the 'safe option'. I've been flying models for 25 years and nobody ever mentioned hand catching for planes, gliders or helicopters we kinda worked out that landing them was inherently safer
Catching a drone is safe, right up until the first time it isn't
my take-off/landing pad
Simple Solution Training Pad Holder
When flying my gliders on calm days I would very often do a left hand catch on the nose/skid area while keeping my right hand on the right stick for small rudder/elevator corrections. My gliders were generally of the "floater" class and flight speeds were fairly low.
Similar threads
