Any thoughts on hand catching the Mini 5 Pro?

[AntoineD]

I've been practising hand launching and catching my Mini 5 Pro because there are so many times there isn't a suitable surface to fly from. I'm pretty confident about launching, but landing really worries me - I tried it twice with success, but the third time I just let it fly back up because I was afraid I'd damage it, or my hand.

The way they always show you in the videos is to let it settle down on your hand, but I don't think I'll ever be confident enough to adopt this method - those three tries convinced me of that. I notice that in the videos, there's not the slightest breath of wind, so the drone just settles down on the person's hand perfectly, but even with a slight breeze, I notice it pitches around quite a bit when it's preparing to land, and I can't imagine I'll ever be sure it won't slide off my hand and damage itself.

When I had a Phantom 3, it was easy - just put it a little above head height, grab one of those chunky legs firmly then power off the motors.

So I'm wondering if it's possible to do something similar with the Mini 5 Pro? Grab the body and then power off the motors? I notice that there's a control labelled 'vision positioning and obstacle sensing' - if you switch that off, does it disable the downward facing sensors so you can grab the body without the drone thinking it's seeing the ground and then jumping away from your hand? If so, has anyone tried this method of hand catching? I'd love to know, because frankly, I don't think this 'let it settle on your hand' method it really safe.

 

[MS Coast]

I'll ever be sure it won't slide off my hand and damage itself.

Just close your thumb and fingers around the drone as it settles and hold it steady until the motors have stopped.

So I'm wondering if it's possible to do something similar with the Mini 5 Pro? Grab the body and then power off the motors? I notice that there's a control labelled 'vision positioning and obstacle sensing' - if you switch that off, does it disable the downward facing sensors so you can grab the body without the drone thinking it's seeing the ground and then jumping away from your hand? If so, has anyone tried this method of hand catching? I'd love to know, because frankly, I don't think this 'let it settle on your hand' method it really safe.

Hand landing a drone is like seduction. Gentle, patient, and subtle is always better that abrupt grabbing.

If you hold your hand still, the drone will settle easily onto it, with the sensors identifying your hand as a stable plane to land on, like the ground. It is possible to snatch the drone out of the air, but it will immediately power up the motors and put up a fuss. Another option is to grab it and immediately invert it so that the motors automatically switch off.

If you're landing the drone gently on your hand and something isn't quite right, the drone will either hover or ascend and you can try again. If something goes wrong while snatching the drone out of the air there are some very unpleasant consequences.

Consider getting using a kevlar kitchen glove while hand landing, one of the lighter weight ones intended for protection from knife cuts.

 

[BossBob]

Always land tail towards you, that means that stick movements can be instinctive and gives you the area around the battery to grasp gently but firmly. If there is a breeze stand with your back to it and use yourself as a windbreak. Try to land side on to a breeze and the drone will bounce around.