2 Pro Hand Catch at Sea in Calm Conditions

Gringorio · May 3, 2022

Avoiding aft deck obstacles to land after an endangered Vaquita survey:

MS Coast · May 3, 2022

Your video and/or flight? I'm curious about the 90-degree yaw after getting inboard of the lifelines and before the hand catch. Seems like it would have been easier to keep the drone aligned with the vessel since the drone's speed was so nicely synched with the vessel's speed. Or does the superstructure provide a good wind shadow in that location?

Gringorio · May 4, 2022

MS Coast said:
Your video and/or flight? I'm curious about the 90-degree yaw after getting inboard of the lifelines and before the hand catch. Seems like it would have been easier to keep the drone aligned with the vessel since the drone's speed was so nicely synched with the vessel's speed. Or does the superstructure provide a good wind shadow in that location?

I fly the drone facing forward while matching the ships forward speed then use aileron to move laterally. I think what you see as yaw is that the M2P camera automatically turns like that once caught as you can see the drones right front leg. Not sure why or if other Mavic series does this, but in this case the drone is still pointing forward into the wind moving in the ships direction.

MS Coast · May 4, 2022

Gringorio said:
I fly the drone facing forward while matching the ships forward speed then use aileron to move laterally. I think what you see as yaw is that the M2P camera automatically turns like that once caught as you can see the drones right front leg. Not sure why or if other Mavic series does this, but in this case the drone is still pointing forward into the wind moving in the ships direction.

Got it. Thanks. I didn't realize the M2P did that. The Mini 2 and Air 2S move the camera to a straight-ahead and level orientation on landing.

Capt KO · May 5, 2022

I’ve found landing in reverse to be helpful. Keeps the control movements identical to the drone movements. Right is right, etc.

Gringorio · May 6, 2022

Capt KO said:
I’ve found landing in reverse to be helpful. Keeps the control movements identical to the drone movements. Right is right, etc.

Yeah, I know a couple other drone operators use that technique too. I prefer to fly it in when the ship is moving as its more intuitive for me. In the end, whatever gets the drone safely back aboard is all that counts.

Capt KO · May 6, 2022

Gringorio said:
Yeah, I know a couple other drone operators use that technique too. I prefer to fly it in when the ship is moving as its more intuitive for me. In the end, whatever gets the drone safely back aboard is all that counts.

Agree that a boat moving constant speed is helpful. Sometimes easier that trying to hand catch from boat at rest if rocking and drifting with tide and wind. An assistant (that has hand caught before) is nice..but rarely available. Great video, flying, and catching, fun to watch. A go-pro video from your view would be a nice touch..next time. Great catch

Neko 506 · May 10, 2022

I went through that this past weekend, launched for the first time from a small boat or as we call them "panga", but the wind was dead still and there were no waves at all. Still the movement of the boat drifting by was something I did not expect at all. After a couple of minutes I did manage to figure out how /what to do, and by the 6 th landing I was fairly confident of what I was doing. Great experience! Always good to go out of your comfort zone.

You look so confident landing it, it seems it is already your comfort zone!

MS Coast · May 11, 2022

Neko 506 said:
I went through that this past weekend, launched for the first time from a small boat or as we call them "panga", but the wind was dead still and there were no waves at all. Still the movement of the boat drifting by was something I did not expect at all. After a couple of minutes I did manage to figure out how /what to do, and by the 6 th landing I was fairly confident of what I was doing. Great experience! Always good to go out of your comfort zone.

You look so confident landing it, it seems it is already your comfort zone!

Pangas aren't just a Costa Rican thing. I run a 20-foot panga here on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi. But I haven't yet flown the drone from it. Any tips based on your experience last weekend?

Wintertime in the Chandeleur Islands, about 30 miles offshore.

Neko 506 · Jun 9, 2022

Good to know! Next time I am in the states I'll know I can look up pangas if I ever need one.

Aswering your question: after several launches and landings I find it easier to land with the drone parallel to the boat, instead of landing it in any other position. Maybe keeping the nose of the drone pointing toward the front of the boat helps in controlling the sticks in a only X or only Y direction as opposed to combining both while descending at the same time. I plan to shoot some footage from a fishing trip in November, I'll let you guys know how it went.

Pura vida!