DJI's on hand landing.

[old man mavic]

@skyscapist @jwilson ,as clever as these drones are ,when the flip method has been used to stop the motors after a hand catch ,then it asks you to check the props ,simply because it was turned upside down,
which if the drone had indeed landed that way, then prop damage would have been a distinct possabilility

 

[jwilson]

@skyscapist @jwilson ,as clever as these drones are ,when the flip method has been used to stop the motors after a hand catch ,then it asks you to check the props ,simply because it was turned upside down,
which if the drone had indeed landed that way, then prop damage would have been a distinct possabilility

Not at all. It does not damage the props. There is no impact.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Not at all. It does not damage the props. There is no impact.

That wasn't what he said.

What he said was,

"which if the drone had indeed landed that way, then prop damage would have been a distinct possibility."

"When the flip method has been used to stop the motors after a hand catch, then it asks you to check the props, simply because it was turned upside down…."

 

[Filmarik]

No matter what anyone says I do not like the idea of flipping the drone upsidedown after hand catching. I always wait until the motors stop with the drone held firmly in my hand. It is only about 2 sec. Never had any problem doing this on land, on boat or whatever the case might be.

 

[old man mavic]

@GadgetGuy ,thankyou for clarifying my post #41 above thats exactly what i was trying to say

 

[AMann]

@GadgetGuy ,thankyou for clarifying my post #41 above thats exactly what i was trying to say

I didn’t know that such a warning existed until I was testing out my drone without propellers attached and it replied with that message even with the props off and the motors just idling.

Oh, and you guys in the UK need to learn to write better English so us Yanks can understand your meaning!

 

[mikey201]

I broke 3 propellers landing on narrow boats. So I tried a hand landing, and it went well. I rotated the drone upside down to stop the propellers. So I emailed DJI this.

I've damaged a number of propellers on recent flights, mainly landing on narrow boats.
If I hand catch my drone, is it ok to turn it over so it's facing down, to stop the propellers? Since I fly with a tablet, I can't really operate Fly while I'm holding my drone. Thanks, Steve

This was their response.

Please don't catch the aircraft when the propeller is rotating. It may hurt your hand. We recommend you to take off and land the drone on the ground.

So when I'm on a boat, not because I want to be, I should still take off, and land, on land. Great advice!

So I'm on a boat, anchored in the ocean. How do I take off on land? Swim to shore, holding the drone in my teeth?

you dont need to rotate the drone upside down to stop the propellers. just land the drone on your hand and grab it and keep holding down like youre landing the drone on the ground. the propellers will stop as normal. i hand land 95% of the time and take off from my hand also

 

[Melvoid]

Well, just from my (possibly over cautious) point of view, if anything ever goes awry and it has to return to home, if you boat moved, home might be a spot in lake. If you take off from, say, a dock, you can always retrieve it without SCUBA gear.

 

[Filmarik]

you dont need to rotate the drone upside down to stop the propellers. just land the drone on your hand and grab it and keep holding down like youre landing the drone on the ground. the propellers will stop as normal. i hand land 95% of the time and take off from my hand also

Agree 100%. There is no need to turn the drone upside down to stop the props. The pros and cons of this have been debated here for eternity but no matter what anyone says, landing the drone in your hand is not that complicated and the props stop if you hold the throttle stick down for a couple of seconds. That is to me the most apropriate and safest way to do it. Just do not extend your fingers ! Always catch with fingers bent and grab the drone by its sides at the centre of the fuselage.

 

[TheRock]

I broke 3 propellers landing on narrow boats. So I tried a hand landing, and it went well. I rotated the drone upside down to stop the propellers. So I emailed DJI this.

I've damaged a number of propellers on recent flights, mainly landing on narrow boats.
If I hand catch my drone, is it ok to turn it over so it's facing down, to stop the propellers? Since I fly with a tablet, I can't really operate Fly while I'm holding my drone. Thanks, Steve

This was their response.

Please don't catch the aircraft when the propeller is rotating. It may hurt your hand. We recommend you to take off and land the drone on the ground.

So when I'm on a boat, not because I want to be, I should still take off, and land, on land. Great advice!

So I'm on a boat, anchored in the ocean. How do I take off on land? Swim to shore, holding the drone in my teeth?

Classic response. I put one in the water by accident landing on a boat. Ya gotta be careful out there. Everything is moving. If you're good at hand catching, go for it. But I do have a friend who lost part of a nose when a wave hit the boat and he got clipped.

 

[Filmarik]

Classic response. I put one in the water by accident landing on a boat. Ya gotta be careful out there. Everything is moving. If you're good at hand catching, go for it. But I do have a friend who lost part of a nose when a wave hit the boat and he got clipped.

If you know that you will need to hand take off and land while on a small boat and you know that the waters are going to be rough you can always take extra precaution to avoid injury. It might sound way over the top but motorbike helmet with closed visor and gloves might be a good idea. I saw a video of a movie set where assistants were hand catching Inspire drones on the ground for continual transition shots from aerial to ground views. Those assistants were fully geared up with helmets, gloves and joint protectors.

 

[3rdof5]

Just my 2 cents, having owned both the Phantom and Mavic series, I can definitively state that hand catching the Mavic series is more of a challenge and presents more danger than a Phantom simply due to the fact that your hands are closer to the props. I've done both quite safely though and there are definitely circumstances where landing anywhere besides on your hand is just not doable.
As far as flipping the aircraft to stop the props, that's not something I've ever tried or would do. I've fought with my P3P while trying to move it with the props running and it fought back very strongly, one loose grip would have been a disaster. Use the left stick to stop your props, it's safer and easier on the aircraft.

 

[Jiker69]

Lose a prop in flight and the motors will continue to run.

Absolutely no evidence of this. But funny reply just the same.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Absolutely no evidence of this. But funny reply just the same.

Have you any evidence to the contrary?

 

[Melvoid]

I used to hand catch my Phantoms routinely if I was on dusty or sandy ground, but their landing gear were like two big handles, so it was much easier than the Mavic.

 

[Meta4]

Absolutely no evidence of this. But funny reply just the same.

Are you suggesting that I was incorrect?
Based on what?

Unlike you I've seen the flight data from incidents where a prop was lost in flight.
The data showed that no motors stopped .. why would they?