Boats, Drones and an Idiot - I crashed my beloved Mavic Air

[Bruce Lythe]

FUDHU Mavic Air from Rib

The key point is that I am an arrogant p***k who thought he knew better and didn't listen to my more experienced betters!!!

I was absolutely sure the bow sunbathing cushion area in the prow of my 20 foot rib was perfectly adequate for landing the Mavic Air. None of this perilous hand catching for me - no cut fingers!

Yer, well, I was wrong. You can't land a Mavic air in pretty much dead calm conditions off Yarmouth on the Solent on a stationary (engine in neutral RIB).

At least not at my pilot skill level!!!

Launching was a doddle.

I attempted two landings onto the deck (actually the sun bathing cushion which i thought would be more forgiving than fibreglass) - the first and last I will try on my RIB.

The first time I just clipped the tube edge as I came in. Nasty noise but no damage - Drone landed safely as normal. Reckoned it was collision avoidance so i turned off all the sensors... and decided to try again.

I did not realise that without collision sensors and landing assistance she would drop quite fast! Bounced - yes bounced - on the cushion, and flipped backwards (across the red line, see closeup) of the cushion onto the deck jamming herself between the forward locker and the cushion like an upside down beetle. Engine was still running so two props broke and the others have been retired. She eventually cut off the engines.

I did not try again till I got home with new props. Launch was fine but without the lading sensors etc she landed hard onto concrete - no damage - but a new prop which I had failed to push in properly flew off!!!

worked out I needed to put back on all the sensors and re attached the undamaged prop.

She seems fine - only my arrogance has been revealed and my pride dented!

Boats move - even in relative calm. Obvious really - don't try and land unless you have oodles on non metallic deck space - and I mean oodles. The relative motion is a challenge!!!! I definitely don't have enough!!!! And it was a calm evening.

The challenge is a small rib which moves in multiple axes single handed alone on the boat. I can hand catch on dry land - no problems. But even 0.5knots per hour horizontal movement and a gentle swell produces significant movement! Just did the math. That's 30 cm per second. My safe landing area is approx an equilateral triangle with base 90cm and height 119cm. That gives me 3 to 4 seconds on a vertical decent from a safe 3m height to clear the A frame and aerials. Plus the 30+ degree random swell.... No wonder it was hard....

Whats the plan, Stan? Learn to catch Mavic Air on the land. Then try again on the sea. I don't think its going to be trivial on the sea!!!

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps someone! From: A chastened failed pilot!!

https://youtu.be/gnEHsmANCuU

 

[JAW]

Give ya credit for fessing up!
ps
Nice RIB! It must really fly with that 150hp Suzuki.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

FUDHU Mavic Air from Rib

The key point is that I am an arrogant p***k who thought he knew better and didn't listen to my more experienced betters!!!

I was absolutely sure the bow sunbathing cushion area in the prow of my 20 foot rib was perfectly adequate for landing the Mavic Air. None of this perilous hand catching for me - no cut fingers!

Yer, well, I was wrong. You can't land a Mavic air in pretty much dead calm conditions off Yarmouth on the Solent on a stationary (engine in neutral RIB).

At least not at my pilot skill level!!!

Launching was a doddle.

I attempted two landings onto the deck (actually the sun bathing cushion which i thought would be more forgiving than fibreglass) - the first and last I will try on my RIB.

The first time I just clipped the tube edge as I came in. Nasty noise but no damage - Drone landed safely as normal. Reckoned it was collision avoidance so i turned off all the sensors... and decided to try again.

I did not realise that without collision sensors and landing assistance she would drop quite fast! Bounced - yes bounced - on the cushion, and flipped backwards (across the red line, see closeup) of the cushion onto the deck jamming herself between the forward locker and the cushion like an upside down beetle. Engine was still running so two props broke and the others have been retired. She eventually cut off the engines.

I did not try again till I got home with new props. Launch was fine but without the lading sensors etc she landed hard onto concrete - no damage - but a new prop which I had failed to push in properly flew off!!!

worked out I needed to put back on all the sensors and re attached the undamaged prop.

She seems fine - only my arrogance has been revealed and my pride dented!

Boats move - even in relative calm. Obvious really - don't try and land unless you have oodles on non metallic deck space - and I mean oodles. The relative motion is a challenge!!!! I definitely don't have enough!!!! And it was a calm evening.

The challenge is a small rib which moves in multiple axes single handed alone on the boat. I can hand catch on dry land - no problems. But even 0.5knots per hour horizontal movement and a gentle swell produces significant movement! Just did the math. That's 30 cm per second. My safe landing area is approx an equilateral triangle with base 90cm and height 119cm. That gives me 3 to 4 seconds on a vertical decent from a safe 3m height to clear the A frame and aerials. Plus the 30+ degree random swell.... No wonder it was hard....

Whats the plan, Stan? Learn to catch Mavic Air on the land. Then try again on the sea. I don't think its going to be trivial on the sea!!!

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps someone! From: A chastened failed pilot!!

https://youtu.be/gnEHsmANCuU

Recommend you get on the list for the Phantom Rain Lunar Landing Pad.

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

 

[PhantomFandom]

FUDHU Mavic Air from Rib

The key point is that I am an arrogant p***k who thought he knew better and didn't listen to my more experienced betters!!!

I was absolutely sure the bow sunbathing cushion area in the prow of my 20 foot rib was perfectly adequate for landing the Mavic Air. None of this perilous hand catching for me - no cut fingers!

Yer, well, I was wrong. You can't land a Mavic air in pretty much dead calm conditions off Yarmouth on the Solent on a stationary (engine in neutral RIB).

At least not at my pilot skill level!!!

Launching was a doddle.

I attempted two landings onto the deck (actually the sun bathing cushion which i thought would be more forgiving than fibreglass) - the first and last I will try on my RIB.

The first time I just clipped the tube edge as I came in. Nasty noise but no damage - Drone landed safely as normal. Reckoned it was collision avoidance so i turned off all the sensors... and decided to try again.

I did not realise that without collision sensors and landing assistance she would drop quite fast! Bounced - yes bounced - on the cushion, and flipped backwards (across the red line, see closeup) of the cushion onto the deck jamming herself between the forward locker and the cushion like an upside down beetle. Engine was still running so two props broke and the others have been retired. She eventually cut off the engines.

I did not try again till I got home with new props. Launch was fine but without the lading sensors etc she landed hard onto concrete - no damage - but a new prop which I had failed to push in properly flew off!!!

worked out I needed to put back on all the sensors and re attached the undamaged prop.

She seems fine - only my arrogance has been revealed and my pride dented!

Boats move - even in relative calm. Obvious really - don't try and land unless you have oodles on non metallic deck space - and I mean oodles. The relative motion is a challenge!!!! I definitely don't have enough!!!! And it was a calm evening.

The challenge is a small rib which moves in multiple axes single handed alone on the boat. I can hand catch on dry land - no problems. But even 0.5knots per hour horizontal movement and a gentle swell produces significant movement! Just did the math. That's 30 cm per second. My safe landing area is approx an equilateral triangle with base 90cm and height 119cm. That gives me 3 to 4 seconds on a vertical decent from a safe 3m height to clear the A frame and aerials. Plus the 30+ degree random swell.... No wonder it was hard....

Whats the plan, Stan? Learn to catch Mavic Air on the land. Then try again on the sea. I don't think its going to be trivial on the sea!!!

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps someone! From: A chastened failed pilot!!

https://youtu.be/gnEHsmANCuU

It's unfortunate that you had to learn the hard way. However, hand launching and hand catching really is the prudent and smart procedure if you must fly from a sea craft. There is ALWAYS motion unless you happen to be on a massive cruise ship that is docked and anchored.

Glad it was not damaged. Let us know how it goes when you hand catch next time. It does help tremendously if you had a second person too.

 

[Moose1967]

My suggestion to a friend was get an old bed sheet and with bungie cords stretch it across the bow with a little give so you can land the quad without damaging props - it worked - and if you can't its just best to hand catch - just make sure when its above your hand face it away from you (that way left is left and right is right) and hold down on the left joystick to force it into your hand.

 

[Personal Drone Repair]

FUDHU Mavic Air from Rib

The key point is that I am an arrogant p***k who thought he knew better and didn't listen to my more experienced betters!!!

I was absolutely sure the bow sunbathing cushion area in the prow of my 20 foot rib was perfectly adequate for landing the Mavic Air. None of this perilous hand catching for me - no cut fingers!

Yer, well, I was wrong. You can't land a Mavic air in pretty much dead calm conditions off Yarmouth on the Solent on a stationary (engine in neutral RIB).

At least not at my pilot skill level!!!

Launching was a doddle.

I attempted two landings onto the deck (actually the sun bathing cushion which i thought would be more forgiving than fibreglass) - the first and last I will try on my RIB.

The first time I just clipped the tube edge as I came in. Nasty noise but no damage - Drone landed safely as normal. Reckoned it was collision avoidance so i turned off all the sensors... and decided to try again.

I did not realise that without collision sensors and landing assistance she would drop quite fast! Bounced - yes bounced - on the cushion, and flipped backwards (across the red line, see closeup) of the cushion onto the deck jamming herself between the forward locker and the cushion like an upside down beetle. Engine was still running so two props broke and the others have been retired. She eventually cut off the engines.

I did not try again till I got home with new props. Launch was fine but without the lading sensors etc she landed hard onto concrete - no damage - but a new prop which I had failed to push in properly flew off!!!

worked out I needed to put back on all the sensors and re attached the undamaged prop.

She seems fine - only my arrogance has been revealed and my pride dented!

Boats move - even in relative calm. Obvious really - don't try and land unless you have oodles on non metallic deck space - and I mean oodles. The relative motion is a challenge!!!! I definitely don't have enough!!!! And it was a calm evening.

The challenge is a small rib which moves in multiple axes single handed alone on the boat. I can hand catch on dry land - no problems. But even 0.5knots per hour horizontal movement and a gentle swell produces significant movement! Just did the math. That's 30 cm per second. My safe landing area is approx an equilateral triangle with base 90cm and height 119cm. That gives me 3 to 4 seconds on a vertical decent from a safe 3m height to clear the A frame and aerials. Plus the 30+ degree random swell.... No wonder it was hard....

Whats the plan, Stan? Learn to catch Mavic Air on the land. Then try again on the sea. I don't think its going to be trivial on the sea!!!

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps someone! From: A chastened failed pilot!!

https://youtu.be/gnEHsmANCuU

Not a Failed but a Seasoned Pilot .
Welcome to the club sir ! ?

 

[Bruce Lythe]

Give ya credit for fessing up!
ps
Nice RIB! It must really fly with that 150hp Suzuki.

46 knots (2 way check) on GPS when there is enough chop for her to unstick and fly over. Was a challenge to rig at the right height. 23P prop!

 

[Olav van Gerven]

Do you know what a dronepilot is that never crashed his drone?

A lyer!

 

[PhantomFandom]

Do you know what a dronepilot is that never crashed his drone?

A lyer!

That's really presumptuous, and very WRONG. By the way, the proper spelling is "liar" and "drone pilot".

I have never crashed any of my drones. It takes patience, planning, and a knowledge of the equipment/environment but short of a hardware failure (which admittedly can happen), there is no reason for a competent pilot to crash a drone.

 

[DDS]

That's really presumptuous, and very WRONG. By the way, the proper spelling is "liar" and "drone pilot".

I have never crashed any of my drones. It takes patience, planning, and a knowledge of the equipment/environment but short of a hardware failure (which admittedly can happen), there is no reason for a competent pilot to crash a drone.

very true however every pilot was once a newbie. no one that I know is born knowing all the rules and regulations of the faa and best practices insuring keeping your $1k toy in check. I could be wrong but most first time pilots i come across are so eager to get flying they bypass the basic tutorials hence the mishaps.
Hardware failure is less than 1% off all crashes from my experience.

 

[PhantomFandom]

very true however every pilot was once a newbie. no one that I know is born knowing all the rules and regulations of the faa and best practices insuring keeping your $1k toy in check. I could be wrong but most first time pilots i come across are so eager to get flying they bypass the basic tutorials hence the mishaps.
Hardware failure is less than 1% off all crashes from my experience.

Everything you say is true about "most" first time pilots. That however does not mean all first time pilots. I did all of my research and my studying before ever powering up that first Phantom 3 Pro. About four months ago in fact, I gave a lesson to a first time pilot who even got his Part 107 license before ever touching a drone. Not many do it that way, but he wanted to learn as much as possible before diving in. He was very careful and meticulous about learning as much as possible, and I could see immediately that he would do well. He bought a Spark from me and to date he has never had a crash either.

Yes hardware failure is very rare, but that slight chance is there.

 

[Olav van Gerven]

That's really presumptuous, and very WRONG. By the way, the proper spelling is "liar" and "drone pilot".

I'm human, so I am entitled to mistakes, or as I always said in school "if you find any spelling mistakes, you may keep them..."

Consider the fact that english is my 4th language, I can live with occasional spellingerrors.

 

[GFields]

FUDHU Mavic Air from Rib

The key point is that I am an arrogant p***k who thought he knew better and didn't listen to my more experienced betters!!!

I was absolutely sure the bow sunbathing cushion area in the prow of my 20 foot rib was perfectly adequate for landing the Mavic Air. None of this perilous hand catching for me - no cut fingers!

Yer, well, I was wrong. You can't land a Mavic air in pretty much dead calm conditions off Yarmouth on the Solent on a stationary (engine in neutral RIB).

At least not at my pilot skill level!!!

Launching was a doddle.

I attempted two landings onto the deck (actually the sun bathing cushion which i thought would be more forgiving than fibreglass) - the first and last I will try on my RIB.

The first time I just clipped the tube edge as I came in. Nasty noise but no damage - Drone landed safely as normal. Reckoned it was collision avoidance so i turned off all the sensors... and decided to try again.

I did not realise that without collision sensors and landing assistance she would drop quite fast! Bounced - yes bounced - on the cushion, and flipped backwards (across the red line, see closeup) of the cushion onto the deck jamming herself between the forward locker and the cushion like an upside down beetle. Engine was still running so two props broke and the others have been retired. She eventually cut off the engines.

I did not try again till I got home with new props. Launch was fine but without the lading sensors etc she landed hard onto concrete - no damage - but a new prop which I had failed to push in properly flew off!!!

worked out I needed to put back on all the sensors and re attached the undamaged prop.

She seems fine - only my arrogance has been revealed and my pride dented!

Boats move - even in relative calm. Obvious really - don't try and land unless you have oodles on non metallic deck space - and I mean oodles. The relative motion is a challenge!!!! I definitely don't have enough!!!! And it was a calm evening.

The challenge is a small rib which moves in multiple axes single handed alone on the boat. I can hand catch on dry land - no problems. But even 0.5knots per hour horizontal movement and a gentle swell produces significant movement! Just did the math. That's 30 cm per second. My safe landing area is approx an equilateral triangle with base 90cm and height 119cm. That gives me 3 to 4 seconds on a vertical decent from a safe 3m height to clear the A frame and aerials. Plus the 30+ degree random swell.... No wonder it was hard....

Whats the plan, Stan? Learn to catch Mavic Air on the land. Then try again on the sea. I don't think its going to be trivial on the sea!!!

Thanks for reading and I hope this helps someone! From: A chastened failed pilot!!

https://youtu.be/gnEHsmANCuU

Practice "hand catching" for this situation.

 

[Tmax]

Practice "hand catching" for this situation.

I have a Mavic Pro and Spark and used to have a Phantom 3. I am also a boater (power and sail) and have done a good bit of scenic photography on the water.

Takeoff is easy and hand launching or finding a flat clear spot if the boat is big enough works well.

Landing works best for me by approaching from downwind or such that the wind and current or boat motion is away from the drone (so that it doesn’t drift into people, structure or mast while recovering). Then, as it gets within 15 feet of the boat, I rotate the drone 180 degrees and back it towards me carefully. This makes the right stick directional controls intuitive so it is easy to adjust for unexpected motion and also takes the forward motion sensors out of play. I position the drone the last few feet at altitude just above my head. Then grab the bottom of the drone firmly and flip it over to instantly kill the motors.

Works every time and I have never lost one. Also I don’t wait till the battery warning is coming... recover with s good bit of power/time left so there is plenty of margin to stabilize.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Hand catching is near and dear to my heart when it comes to catching the Phantom i can think of no better way than to hand catch , however with the Mavic it was not like that, it demanded practice, and the reward was to not land on the ground possibly damaging the very delicate gimbal or end up in the water.

I have watched a ton of videos , no one does that hand catching with ease on the Mavic , they all look very focused and foolish very slow and cautious as if there about to catch a king cobra by the neck.

Despite that I needed to be able to hand catch to fly in extreme weather conditions and so I practiced and realized that there are to many variables that increase the risk and sure enough I slipped on the rocks and got bit , pretty good bite across my wrist, it was the blood sacrafice to the rock gods of lake erie cliffs.



The bottom line was I created the Lunar Landing Pad to solve the eqaution and mimimize the risk of hand catching.



Flying the Mavic is now and entirely new fun experience. it only takes one landing to get the hang of it. No real practice needed.

Phantomrain.org
Email me at [email protected]
Coal

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[tmtwomey]

The bottom line was I created the Lunar Landing Pad to solve the eqaution and mimimize the risk of hand catching.

The Lunar Landing Pad may work well on land, but I can't imagine using it on a boat. The boat (and you) are always moving even if you're on an anchor or a mooring. Trying to land the drone on a small pad held in one hand while controlling it with the remote would seem to me to be MUCH harder than gently grabbing the Mavic from the bottom and then shutting down the motors. Get one landing leg off the pad and now you have an out of control drone with blades spinning on a boat where you probably are pretty limited in where you can move.

On my Mavic 2 Zoom, you can disable Landing Protection, which means the Mavic doesn't try to 'get away' from your hand when you reach for it. Makes for a very controlled hand landing when on solid ground. On the boat, it's still a challenge, but it is the best way I have found.

 

[Moose1967]

Hard to hand catch the Mavic without taking a nail off - mine flipped onto the ground once when I didn’t have a good hold of it to turn it upside down - just a nicked prop and that was all - the old phantom I had was easy with that huge landing gear.

 

[tmtwomey]

when I didn’t have a good hold of it to turn it upside down

I put a non-cut glove on my right hand and wear safety glasses, at least on those days when I value my hands and eyes. I then hover the Mavic slightly above eye level and a few feet away. When I'm ready, I reach under and slowly upward grasping the drone from the sides. Once I have a grip on the Mavic, I just hold the left stick down on the RC to stop the motors. It really is pretty drama free (except on the boat where the Mavic is perfectly stationary while the boat will always be moving )

 

[Bebopperoo]

Hard to hand catch the Mavic without taking a nail off - mine flipped onto the ground once when I didn’t have a good hold of it to turn it upside down - just a nicked prop and that was all - the old phantom I had was easy with that huge landing gear.

Moose,. Don't flip to turn off. It will screw up your gimbal. Dji, and everyone on this forum seems to know this, but lots of people still advocate it. Also, don't disable downward landing. DJI, who seem to know what they're doing, put these systems there for a reason.
Simple rule. If you can't get it to match your movement, just under arms length and just over head height, don't fly off a boat yet, and land on land.
Otherwise, get it to fly above you just to your right, slightly ahead, then place your right hand under it palm open, holding down your left stick continuously. As long as your open palm is about 6 inches under, the second it would take to react and rise slightly is the moment you close your hand around its underside. Keeping the craft level , and wearing sunglasses or regular ones,avoids props slashing your face and eyes in the second or so it takes to switch off, in response to the held down left stick. Just keep a reasonable hold, and if you lose it, left stick full up and try again.
Remember, if you can't match your speed, keep it just above head height and at arms length for several seconds as a routine flight procedure, then learn to do this before trying to be me (highly, highly skilled, I have more than 100 pilot points from DJI!!), on a boat.

 

[Bebopperoo]

Also... Use cinematic mode, so it doesn't slam on brakes when you release the LS.
Best way to practice.. buy a toy drone about the same size. Practice walking briskly while you practice the above. When you can do it repeatedly, then try with the mavic on THICK GRASS with the gimbal cover on to protect it, before trying on a boat.
I used an electric unicycle, going up to 25kph, to practice, with a helicute petrel toy drone, which flies about 20 minutes per charge, and has 3 speed modes to change response time when you get confident, and is about 14"x14", but only 110gm, so you can make mistakes safely. You can also leave the prop guards on.