Any reason not to hand catch?

[Deleted member 65595]

Yesterday I was forced to both start the Mavic from my hands, as well as catch it when it returned. The ground was uneven and rocky. So I wonder, is there any reason not to do this all the time? Seemed safe to me

 

[msinger]

is there any reason not to do this all the time?

The only reason not to do it is it's not as safe as landing on the ground.

This video shows a few ways to hand catch as safely as possible:

 

[Moose1967]

Practiced hand catching and takeoffs in my yard then went out in the boat and it wasn’t a problem - i wasn’t moving either - worked great - turned the drone around so it was facing away, hit land on the controller, stuck out my hand and hand caught it - I made sure my index finger was in around the gimbal and I still have all my fingers

 

[dirkclod]

As far as landing I just put it above eye level and in a hover sideways and watching what I am doing reach up and get it between my thumb and other fingers. Been like that since the mavics came out and caught the Phantoms by the leg.
Taking off I have only done to see if I could but if I had to I know I could. You just got to have your attention on what your doing and nothing else. Find what’s comfortable to you and after awhile it’s second nature.

 

[ZX14-R]

I am attached to my Fingers

 

[dirkclod]

I was attached to my money before I got into this hobby.

 

[BigAl07]

We hand catch almost every single flight and hand launch about 1/3 of the time.

If practiced and done correctly there's very little danger and the props don't remove your fingers... although in cold weather it may feel like they do . . .

 

[charliesRig]

your an amputee.?

Pros:
Doing properly It is the softest landing
Eliminates Sucking grit into your Drones fan
protect your gimble from touching upon landing
.
....cR
.

 

[WithTheBirds]

Hand launch/catch really opens up your possibilities for choice of operator position. I pretty much hand catch always and hand launch usually. Apart from issues with the surface the additional height from a hand launch is enough to ensure you wont have compass issues.

 

[dirkclod]

Hadn’t thought about compass issues. Have always heard not to do compass cals with a watch or anything metal on
So wonder if having one on would/could mess it up hand launching.
Just a thought.

 

[WithTheBirds]

Hadn’t thought about compass issues. Have always heard not to do compass cals with a watch or anything metal on
So wonder if having one one would/could mess it up hand launching.
Just a thought.

Have thought the same myself. It seems that brass and stainless steel compass housings don’t Cause a problem. Non ferrous metals don‘t influence the operation of Mavic or phantom compass from what I have seen either based on my very basic testing (looking for an observable change in mod value when bringing various non-ferrous metal objects in close proximity to the magnetometer) and direct experience.

 

[BigAl07]

Hadn’t thought about compass issues. Have always heard not to do compass cals with a watch or anything metal on
So wonder if having one one would/could mess it up hand launching.
Just a thought.

Never has for me. Maybe I've just been VERY lucky

 

[pmshop]

Some vendor in the Spark group has developed a hand held landing pad that you can velcro all your equipment to and, if compass calibration is needed, can remain attached to the pad and just rotate the disk as required for calibration

 

[Thomas B]

Some vendor in the Spark group has developed a hand held landing pad that you can velcro all your equipment to and, if compass calibration is needed, can remain attached to the pad and just rotate the disk as required for calibration

The same device is on this blog by the inventor @Phantomrain.org
Wonder if you get a good calibration without removing the other components, extra batteries, etc.? If not, I’d do the “drone dance” with my bird handheld.

 

[jason38]

Yes, it's possible to do it every flight...I do it all the time, to take off or landing , because I fly mostly in mountains or accidented terrains...
Just be careful about not be hitten by the props when catching it..grab it from under: make it coming down slowly above your hand and slow down the power..
Maybe the drone will want to rise up a little bit above your hand, juste keep the throttle stick back, it will go down again after a 30cm rise...
I didn't notice any issue doing that since I got m'y mavic pro..

 

[pmshop]

The same device is on this blog by the inventor @Phantomrain.org
Wonder if you get a good calibration without removing the othe components, extra batteries, etc.? If not, I’d do the “drone dance” with my bird handheld.

without removing?

 

[Thomas B]

without removing?

Take s look at the device.

 

[pmshop]

Take s look at the device.

I saw it, being "jesty".
One should remove all other components before calibrating

 

[Thomas B]

I saw it, being "jesty".
One should remove all other components before calibrating

Sorry my friend... missed it ... late night last night

 

[BigAl07]

When Hand Landing my Mavic Pro Platinum I do the following:

Establish a nice controlled approach to my location. When the aircraft is about 5 feet away I hover, rotate the aircraft "Tail In" (facing away from me) and come in slowly at around eye level. When it's 2' away I let it hover in place and stabilize. I then ease in from underneath but off to the side (belly sensors) and firmly grasp it in the middle and quickly rotate the aircraft upside down. This immediately shuts the motors OFF and you can carry on with your next step (battery change, packing up for the day etc . . .)

In regards to PhantomRainSuit Lunar Landing Pad.... Mine should arrive ANY day now Can't wait get it into use.

New Product Launch - Phantom Rain ! Lunar Landing Pad System :]

The Lunar Landing Pad is a Revolutionary new way of Hand Catching your drone.* It's Safe / Fast and very Secure and even minimizes the risk of Hand Catching and launching your drone. Hand Launching with the Lunar Pad is so effortless that you won't think twice about using it and helps to avoid...

mavicpilots.com

New Product ! Lunar Landing Pad is shipping

The Lunar Landing Pad is a Revolutionary new way of Hand Catching your drone.* It's Safe / Fast and very Secure and even minimizes the risk of Hand Catching and launching your drone. Hand Launching with the Lunar Pad is so effortless that you won't think twice about using it and helps to...

mavicpilots.com