What do you use as a landing/take off pad?

[captainmilehigh]

I usually use a carpet square or a doormat. In a pinch I used the floor mat from the car when I forgot the pad. I always hand catch for the landing.

 

[KHobbs5]

Nice. I travel away from home though and a plank of wood would be a bit cumbersum. I like the idea though.

It would be easy to split this and hinge it. It's only 3/8" thick and not heavy at all.

 

[Frankc]

It would be easy to split this and hinge it. It's only 3/8" thick and not heavy at all.

True

 

[GVDD scout]

Just wondering if any of you have come up with a simple/clever takeoff/landing pad? I need one that folds up and I can stick in my rucksack. Seen the ones on flebay but I know people come up with simple but effective solutions to things like this/

Usually I use this to set GCP's on level ground where needed, and use it as a launch/ land point. if my P4P returns within the limits of the pained area, boxes are 1ftx1 ft and 3inx3in, then i have a very high confidence that my way points and navigation are good. If you've never tried using a park picnic table for this, GOOD DON"T, it nearly cost my the drone when I tried it once. If I don't have time to paint and wait, then I'll just use a flat bare ground area.

 

[GVDD scout]

Sometimes where I fly the grass is getting a little tall so I have a small door mat that is just thick enough that it stays down when I take off and land.So far it works great and rolls up nice.

There is a radical fringe in this community that believes that if held upside down, the P4P can be used as a weed wacker. But seriously, the sensors on the P4P have a hell of a time with tall grass, stay clear.

 

[Frankc]

There is a radical fringe in this community that believes that if held upside down, the P4P can be used as a weed wacker. But seriously, the sensors on the P4P have a hell of a time with tall grass, stay clear.

My last P4P, the one that headed for obstacles rather than avoiding them, made an an excellent 'weed wacker'. In the UK we call them strimers. It also tried to cut a hedge. None of this was intended but when the 'Tap Fly' turned itself into 'Tap and I will go where I want' it turned itself into a lovely grass cutter. One of the reasons I sent it back.

 

[rfaaj]

I use my back seat car mat.

Good idea, and cheap!

 

[Robert J. Oliver]

Tahoe cover on my pickup

 

[BanditsRoost]

Look in the houseware section of your local supermarket for a silicon rollup baking sheet. It can easily be folded or rolled up too fit the ricksack and it will not curl. Lays flat every time.

 

[Raptorman0909]

Look in the houseware section of your local supermarket for a silicon rollup baking sheet. It can easily be folded or rolled up too fit the ricksack and it will not curl. Lays flat every time.

I don't recommend the thin sheets as the prop wash can easily flip up the edge and get caught in one of the props -- that would not be good. I discovered this back in December and just avoided crashing my new P4P. You can put stones on the edges to weight the mat but that introduces other problem like the landing gear landing on a stone and tipping over. So, thin mats are not a good idea. After my near disaster with the thin mat I had I went and picked up a door mat at Lowes and then cut that into two squares about 20 inches on a side. This new door mat is much thicker and doesn't roll up or fold, but I leave it in the hatch of my car and it's there when I need it. If I park on pavement I usually just launch and recover from the pavement, but if I'm off road or on dirt/grass I use the mat to keep things cleaner.


Brian

 

[BanditsRoost]

I don't recommend the thin sheets as the prop wash can easily flip up the edge and get caught in one of the props -- that would not be good. I discovered this back in December and just avoided crashing my new P4P. You can put stones on the edges to weight the mat but that introduces other problem like the landing gear landing on a stone and tipping over. So, thin mats are not a good idea. After my near disaster with the thin mat I had I went and picked up a door mat at Lowes and then cut that into two squares about 20 inches on a side. This new door mat is much thicker and doesn't roll up or fold, but I leave it in the hatch of my car and it's there when I need it. If I park on pavement I usually just launch and recover from the pavement, but if I'm off road or on dirt/grass I use the mat to keep things cleaner.


Brian

I use the Silicon sheets regularly and find them plenty heavy for the P3S and P4P. They are heavy, durable and easily folded or rolled to put in the ruck sack. I would think the doormat, carpet, floor mat, or pieces of plywood would be somewhat hard to get in his ruck sack...;-)
My only complaint with the Silicon sheets is they are either red or blue and if you have hiked, paddled or wandered away from the launch site and are looking for it from the air it can be hard to spot in a grassy area.

 

[speleo]

I use the Silicone sheets regularly and find them plenty heavy for the P3S and P4P. They are heavy, durable and easily folded or rolled to put in the ruck sack.

I think there must be different thicknesses of these silicone sheets -- some are barely thicker than baking parchment. How thick is the one you use?
(Thanks in advance .. offline for a couple of weeks.)

 

[GVDD scout]

Silicone baking sheets are usually reinforced in one or both directions if they are good, (culinary wise), and these are stiffer than the 'cheap' soft sheets. Along those same lines, there are flexible cutting boards available online or from restaurant supply stores, these are very similar to the roll up snow sleds from back in the day, polypropylene sheet. The GCP stencil I showed in my earlier post is gray vinyl fabric from the craft store, ~$5/yard, and folds up to be the same size as a pad of paper.

 

[Adam Morrison]

I use the ground or water or any surface that the local conditions throw at me using the WaterStrider.
View media item 1675

 

[Gulfstream]

I use this: Amazon.com: gouduoduo2018 PGY RC Drone Quadcopter Helicopter Fast-fold landing pad helipad Dronepad DJI Phantom 4 Phantom 3 2 1 inspire 1 protective Accessories: Camera & Photo

 

[K Henry]

Just wondering if any of you have come up with a simple/clever takeoff/landing pad? I need one that folds up and I can stick in my rucksack. Seen the ones on flebay but I know people come up with simple but effective solutions to things like this/

Here it is...I took an old bamboo curtain, cut two two foot long pieces. One on top of the other, in opposite positions! Very stiff, rolls up conveniently, all natural to boot.
As an inventor, this was my solution.

 

[K Henry]

Here it is...I took an old bamboo curtain, cut two two foot long pieces. One on top of the other, in opposite positions! Very stiff, rolls up conveniently, all natural to boot.
As an inventor, this was my solution.

Best yet!!!

 

[Z-ALEX]

Usually I take off from the hard back of the backpack.
When you need to fly from the tall grass, I use a homemade take-off platform.
This is a plastic sheet fixed on a cheap photo stand.

Landing is always in the hand.