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

[VouilEz]

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

lol were all human mate.
Your drone is flying, so keep some of it to yourself and Keep flying fun happy

 

[Moose1967]

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.

Ya never tried that after that one time - I got a landing pad and use it now.

 

[VouilEz]

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.

Bit Melodramatic I think. I think the lesson there is dont take a video of yourself doing it until you
can do it confidently,

This video was all i ever needed to watch to learn to do

Hand catching in Atti mode is tricky, any other mode theres not much to it.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Bit Melodramatic I think. I think the lesson there is dont take a video of yourself doing it until you
can do it confidently,

This video was all i ever needed to watch to learn to do

Hand catching in Atti mode is tricky, any other mode theres not much to it.

My favorite part is before he even gets started the drone almost takes his face off. lol.lol I cant imagine how many takes he did but im betting it was a lot.
The lunar Pad is Brilliant , it changes the whole experience of flying , throws hand catching out the window and minimizes any risk.

I do think if you can shuffle , cover slip , bob , weave and duck you will be a good hand catcher.

Phantomrain.org
Gear for your Mavic to fly in the rain.
Maker of the Lunar Landing Pad.
Coal

 

[VouilEz]

My favorite part is before he even gets started the drone almost takes his face off. lol.lol I cant imagine how many takes he did but im betting it was a lot.
The lunar Pad is Brilliant , it changes the whole experience of flying , throws hand catching out the window and minimizes any risk.

I do think if you can shuffle , cover slip , bob , weave and duck you will be a good hand catcher.

Phantomrain.org
Gear for your Mavic to fly in the rain.
Maker of the Lunar Landing Pad.
Coal

If it doesnt fit in a backpack..


edited: unnessacery negativity

 

[BigAl07]

Ok, a post ago, I was hesitant to diss someone entrepenourial, trying to make/do something (that or someone who has acess to neoprene in bulk).
But im guessing youve got thick skin so, here the lunar landing pad imho is unnesscaery.
I would honestly be more worried about dropping it post landing balancing the two than hand catching.
It looks like it would Love Wind, and as such would not be my choice as a landing pad.


If i was landing my Drone onto water (why i am i dont know), i think it would be ideal, as other landing pads would sink.
And maybe you wont hurt your pinkies.

I dont hate it, but I just think it's a bit clumsy. If you cant hand catch your as likely to slam the drone into your face with
that pad.
A successful hand catch on it looks like a DJI/Little Caesers Collaberation.
A bad catch with it may be a DJi/Dominos collab

If it doesnt fit in a backpack..
I woudl rather pack my backpack up, than load unload a landing pad
Anyway thats just my 0.2 c

edit: excuse the edits

While you're entitled to your opinion understand that some of us in this industry have a need and desire for this exact product. If you're not up to the task of hand landing then that's fine and you keep doing what works for you but don't dismiss a product you've never used or even seen in person. At the end of the day it's up to you to decide what works best and is the safest practice for you and how you fly but that's not the case for everyone.

For the way we fly this Lunar Landing Pad looks to fit a very real and large need we have. We are often times landing and launching in areas with no place to from the ground so we are hand doing it (yes directly in front of out face and our pinkies etc) day in and day out.

As far as "fitting in your backpack" every pack I have also have exterior attachment points where you "Could" latch it down. When we used our DJI Inspire and Phantoms in the Blue Ridge Mountains we strapped the aircraft directly to our backpacks and humped it into the wilderness that way. It looked goofy but we did what we had to in order to get into the back-country to launch and try to find lost/hurt people.

For whatever it's worth, I'm not really planning to utilize it as the "Carrying Case" for my aircraft (although I may at times, this is NOT my intended use of the product) but as a landing/launch specific pad only that will stay in my vehicle with the aircraft at all times so we are ready to launch/land anywhere we are called to. Right now I'm using a large "collapsible" landing pad that's very much overkill for most of our operations and the small Lunar landing Pad looks to fit our needs splendidly. Only time will tell once we get our hands on one and try it out. It might end up being like so many other gadgets we buy... use it a few weeks and it goes down into the work shop but it could be our next Daily Use device.... we will see.

It's not for you and that's fine but don't dismiss it as a viable solution for many others operating in this industry.

 

[VouilEz]

While you're entitled to your opinion understand that some of us in this industry have a need and desire for this exact product. If you're not up to the task of hand landing then that's fine and you keep doing what works for you but don't dismiss a product you've never used or even seen in person. At the end of the day it's up to you to decide what works best and is the safest practice for you and how you fly but that's not the case for everyone.

For the way we fly this Lunar Landing Pad looks to fit a very real and large need we have. We are often times landing and launching in areas with no place to from the ground so we are hand doing it (yes directly in front of out face and our pinkies etc) day in and day out.

As far as "fitting in your backpack" every pack I have also have exterior attachment points where you "Could" latch it down. When we used our DJI Inspire and Phantoms in the Blue Ridge Mountains we strapped the aircraft directly to our backpacks and humped it into the wilderness that way. It looked goofy but we did what we had to in order to get into the back-country to launch and try to find lost/hurt people.

For whatever it's worth, I'm not really planning to utilize it as the "Carrying Case" for my aircraft (although I may at times, this is NOT my intended use of the product) but as a landing/launch specific pad only that will stay in my vehicle with the aircraft at all times so we are ready to launch/land anywhere we are called to. Right now I'm using a large "collapsible" landing pad that's very much overkill for most of our operations and the small Lunar landing Pad looks to fit our needs splendidly. Only time will tell once we get our hands on one and try it out. It might end up being like so many other gadgets we buy... use it a few weeks and it goes down into the work shop but it could be our next Daily Use device.... we will see.

It's not for you and that's fine but don't dismiss it as a viable solution for many others operating in this industry.

I agree. And I edited it before i saw this post believe it or not.
wasnt trying to be dismissive of your post post

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I agree. And I edited it before i saw this post believe it or not.
wasnt trying to be dismissive of your post post

You mention the Back Pack : So with all the attachments its an easy Clip on , and the Pad makes an outstanding Seat Cushion and your going to look
good carrying it .

 

[Olav van Gerven]

You mention the Back Pack : So with all the attachments its an easy Clip on , and the Pad makes an outstanding Seat Cushion and your going to look
good carrying it .

May it be advised that it is a good idea to remove the drone and utilities BEFORE using the landingpad to sit on.

 

[VouilEz]

something

 

[Phantomrain.org]

May it be advised that it is a good idea to remove the drone and utilities BEFORE using the landingpad to sit on.

Once the drone is in the air , there is plenty of room to sit with batteries in place.
Works great . The Lunar Pad has been full of surprise benefits. I will most likely make a video for each Benefit . Thank you.

 

[tmtwomey]

Also, don't disable downward landing. DJI, who seem to know what they're doing, put these systems there for a reason.

DJI also put an option in settings to disable Landing Protection. Turning off Landing Protection is easy and makes it MUCH easier and safer to hand land the Mavic. This allows the Mavic to stay still while you grab it from the sides. Then you hold the left stick down until the motors stop. Try it, I bet you'll find it better than holding the stick down trying to get the drone to approach your hand or chasing the drone with your hand. It's not like you are making a permanent change, just re-enable it when you want to do a traditional landing.

 

[Ray&Paula]

I.M.O., $125.00 for the Lunar Landing Pad seems tp be waaaay overpriced. A knee pad for cement, etc. works just as well fpr under $20.00.

 

[PhoebeSnow]

I was going to have my Mavic Pro follow my wife and I across a beautiful rail trail girder bridge in PA. Just as I was about to take off on the 5 foot wide bridge path it dawned on me that if I get a disconnect the metal may intefer with a correct RTH and the drone could miss the bridge and go into the Allegheny River. Common sense prevailed and I decided to take off from a ground picnic table at the end of the bridge. Sure enough, a disconnect, and the drone landed on the picnic table. I was so glad I listened to myself! I would be too hesitant to have either of my 3 pricey Mavics take off from a small boat for the same reason. However, having the Xiaomi FIMI X8, I wouldn't hesitate as it only cost me $400 and I purchased it for the very reason of performing risky flights.

 

[DJI DelBoy]

You mention the Back Pack : So with all the attachments its an easy Clip on , and the Pad makes an outstanding Seat Cushion and your going to look
good carrying it .

View attachment 77293

You know what might enhance it even more? Special Velcro attachments for the Mavic’s landing gear as as well as a Velcro surface for the pad. That way if the conditions are windy or the sea is choppy the drone will at least not slide around or even off the edge.

 

[yuvalko]

Just catch it with your hand and left stick down till calm down. I’m doing it with my mp1 all the time

 

[ForceMajeure]

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

ALL pilots fall into two categories - those who HAVE done something dumb, and those who WILL. Thanks for sharing!

 

[VouilEz]

You know what might enhance it even more? Special Velcro attachments for the Mavic’s landing gear as as well as a Velcro surface for the pad. That way if the conditions are windy or the sea is choppy the drone will at least not slide around or even off the edge.

That's actually pretty clever. Maybe shoes with some more surface area. Like the Apollo landing gear/pads.
Now it's "Lunar"

$125 USD?

 

[Flynz]

Nice rib. This might sound crazy but hover low is over a large net. The whole of the front of your rib and kill the engine using the emergency shut down function. Catch the drone in the net. No lost finger tips. Honestly I have hand caught on stationary concrete and that had me breathing steadily. Can’t imagine doing it on a moving boat. I also regularly land on a wooden table about the size of your sun bathing area on my patio. Again takes focus to land in the middle with a very slight breeze. Again no movement. Go well.

 

[fisheralan.af]

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

Thanks for this. I have a Mavic Air and love it, toying with getting rid of my Pro. Also have a friend with a boat similar to the one in the picture and he would like some aerial footage. Lots of food for thought here. Accident reports like this are brilliant as a learning process. Glad you still have your Air.