Tired of hard landing with RTH

[AWD]

You will find that hand launching is a bit trickier than hand catching, which is pretty simple, all things considered.

The hardest thing about the hand launch is starting the motors with one hand. Once you've got that down, the rest is easy.

Also there was an earlier post which mentioned that they caught the drone after initiating an "auto land". No need for that.

Once it is positioned in front of you and you have a good grasp of the leg and frame, simply reduce power while holding it. It will shut off nicely and you don't have to worry about anything going wrong during the auto-land sequence.

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[John Locke]

I suggest the OP hone his flying skills and practice manually landing. This will be needed the first time he tries landing in wind. Landing pads are counterproductive to adapting to the real world.

 

[realsting]

I am going to the craft store and get an 8x8 half inch foam cutout and make my own pad. The foam will help with the hard landings for rth harder than manual landings which in the long run will stress out the landing gear and craft.

Just buy a doormat, preferably one with a rubber base so you can place it on a damp ground.. cheap and cheerful and does the job wonderfully! Also land manually.. why autoland unless your in trouble?!

 

[jsposito]

I have yet to try the hand release take off, but here's a good little video on it:

Sure it looks okay good little video but I can't see the purose for taking off by hand - except from a boat?

 

[DarkDrone 1]

Sure it looks okay good little video but I can't see the purose for taking off by hand - except from a boat?

Extremely tall grass, side of a hill, major rocks, beach, etc....

 

[Coleza]

Some people (like me) are not too comfortable hand catching, especially when you're alone and have to manage the remote as well. And there are often circumstances when you can't land or take off where you are but want the shot, as you mention DarkDrone 1! Thirdly, a landing pad can be bulky to carry around, though I do like the doormat solution. An alternative is to use, on those occasions, special landing gear like our WaterStrider.

 

[With The Birds]

Just buy a doormat, preferably one with a rubber base so you can place it on a damp ground.. cheap and cheerful and does the job wonderfully! Also land manually.. why autoland unless your in trouble?!

Why carry a rubber doormat around when you don't need to? You make a valuable suggestion of course and pose a reasonable question- the reality is there are circumstances where hand catching is the best and safest option.

 

[Ericb]

He took the hand that controls the throttle to grab the quad ahhhhh

 

[OOO]

These are my fingers

 

[JohnnyB]

That OP is real stupid. He should be eligible for the darwin award.
Hand catching is really safe if you hold the Phanton from underneath by its legs and then turn off the props.
I find it safer than landing on most of the surfaces.

You're also eligible....
Attacked by my P4
Attacked by my P4
Be nice to people man!

 

[rene van der meer]

You're also eligible....
Attacked by my P4
Attacked by my P4
Be nice to people man!

Johnny, it was just a joke and I didn't mean to offend anyone. If you think I did, I'll gladly remove the post.
The person in question is probably not reading this anyway.
Still it looks at least to say clumsy if you let you hit by props that are protected by probe guards.

 

[JohnnyB]

Johnny, it was just a joke and I didn't mean to offend anyone. If you think I did, I'll gladly remove the post.
The person in question is probably not reading this anyway.
Still it looks at least to say clumsy if you let you hit by props that are protected by probe guards.

Laughs.. it's all good. Heck I'm eligible at times. Name calling on the other hand, a bit much for someone looking for advice? The OP didn't slice himself.

 

[OOO]

It can happen to anybody especially at the beginning of the learning curve.

 

[jsposito]

I'm not so sure I'm ok with hand catching. Each time I do I can feel the weight of the opposite side leaning down. Seems like the extra pressure over a long time might cause cracks or worse?

 

[JohnnyB]

I'm not so sure I'm ok with hand catching. Each time I do I can feel the weight of the opposite side leaning down. Seems like the extra pressure over a long time might cause cracks or worse?

If your not comfortable hand catching, don't do it. Nothing wrong with that. I use my floor mat from my vehicle if the ground is to rough. I've hand caught too. I let it be hovering with no stick command when I grab the vertical part of the leg and I don't try to move the bird from that position during shutdown to avoid GPS corrections. But mostly, I land on the floor mat for the challenge. Forces you to fly. Manual landings are much softer than RTH landings. The reason auto landings are harder, it knows to keep a perfect GPS column coming straight down from however high you are to the landing spot, it has to come down faster to compensate wind/propwash in order to hit the recorded target. Come down manually going really slow and you'll see the difference. Prop wash will 'sometimes' blow it off course when close to the ground hence the need for speed.

 

[jsposito]

oh yes I get it now with hard landings. I suppose your floor matt differs greatly from your surroundings ( grass, concrete etc ) for greater precision in landing? Sometimes people mark their pads with an "H" for the bird to lock in easier?

 

[JohnnyB]

oh yes I get it now with hard landings. I suppose your floor matt differs greatly from your surroundings ( grass, concrete etc ) for greater precision in landing? Sometimes people mark their pads with an "H" for the bird to lock in easier?

I mainly use the mat for gimble/Camera protection on uneven surfaces such as grass. Maybe a bigger pad would be needed on dirt or sand to keep from blowing debris back on the bird. As for the "H", it makes no difference on my P4. I think the P4P and Mavic uses that technology. From what I've read, about any pattern would work for those models.

 

[JohnnyB]

Forgot to answer your question, I've only auto landed once on a welcome mat. Very impressed. About 3" from take off point. I just like to land manually. Just my preference. Everyone has their own.

 

[realsting]

Why carry a rubber doormat around when you don't need to? You make a valuable suggestion of course and pose a reasonable question- the reality is there are circumstances where hand catching is the best and safest option.

I wouldn't say catching 4 extremely fast and powerful spinning rotors is a 'safe option' - you only have to look at the posts on this forum to see why. Moreover, holding a phantom by only one side of the landing gear (I would have thought) puts unnecessary stress on the gear.. The landing gear is very thin. My rubber mat tucks away into my phantom backpack and I land manually on it. Surely this has to be the best and safest option no matter how you look at it. The only way I could ever see hand catching being useful is if your Phantom is coming down over water/unsafe area and you have no control.. you of course then have no choice!

 

[Coleza]

I wouldn't say catching 4 extremely fast and powerful spinning rotors is a 'safe option' - you only have to look at the posts on this forum to see why. Moreover, holding a phantom by only one side of the landing gear (I would have thought) puts unnecessary stress on the gear.. The landing gear is very thin. My rubber mat tucks away into my phantom backpack and I land manually on it. Surely this has to be the best and safest option no matter how you look at it. The only way I could ever see hand catching being useful is if your Phantom is coming down over water/unsafe area and you have no control.. you of course then have no choice!

There are other choices More robust ones, too!