Hand landing drone question

[Deleted member 103366]

Yep I can imagine, I lunged to goalkeep a phantom from hitting a wall, my fault, and it caught one finger just above the quick. It didn't even break the skin but blacked the quick.
That was before corona kicked off and the new, smooth nail still hasn't grown to th end of the nail bed, you have a bit of time to go yet I think

 

[k9kids]

Saw a video where the presenter said the best way to hand land is put the drone into sport mode prior to hand landing. This way the drone will not think your hand is an obstacle to avoid.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Surely it would drop like a stone in S mode, I have switched off the downward sensors/landing protection on a M2P before and close up it scared the doda out of me the way it 'fell'.

 

[Jane Duff]

Well there you go! I am delighted, thank you to all. I have been in the spare room practicing and... it's just as you say... I can do it! The instructions in this thread are spot on... thank you, your experience shows. Even a 61 year old Cotswold very novice woman can take off and land to the hand.

 

[Jane Duff]

Hey, I hope those fingers heal! Ouch!!

 

[Endeavor]

Hi, I did many hand launch/land Air 2 recently while was using it in the mountains. To hand-land I hold my hand below the drone and press 'land' icon on the phone. I've noticed that it often warns that it isn't safe to land and shows Yes/No confirmation dialog, so confirm landing and everything is ok. But sometimes it just shows cannot land error (without any choice, just OK button). When such error is shown and how to avoid it? I hand land the drone in normal/tripod mode, is it helpful to do it in a sport mode?

I never actually land my drones as I always hand catch. On the spark and air you just slide you hand in from the rear and give it a twist which instantly kills the props. On the M2 and Mz you have to again slide your hand in from the rear which instantly turns off the sensors then stick down to kill the motors. The twisting does not work on the bigger mavics.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

For what it is worth catch and twist is not recommended as a routine procedure. Emergency, yes, by all means, but routine, no.
Spin up a bicycle wheel with the axle horizontal then try and twist the axle vertical, you are asking the motor bearings to do the same thing with the props.
Sorry, but with a Mavic 2 pro or zoom it does stop the motors, I have done it in the past, to get the drone out of the air and away from a rampaging dog (the battery was running out and the dog would not clear off), and again just now to confrim it.

 

[Wozza]

Sorry but catch and twist is not recommended as a routine procedure. Emergency, yes, by all means, but routine, no.
Spin up a bicycle wheel with the axle horizontal then try and twist the axle vertical, you are asking the motor bearings to do the same thing with the props.
And sorry, but with a Mavic 2 pro or zoom it does stop the motors, I have done it in the past, to get the drone out of the air and away from a rampaging dog (the battery was running out and the dog would not clear off), and again just now to confrim it.

I'd seen it done on Youtube but hadn't tried it until I had the same problem with a small dog. Bloody thing was going beserk as I was landing it so I had to hand-catch. Pretty straightforward. So if I haven't got a perfect take-off point I'll generally hand launch and retrieve.

Although I was carrying the drone with an overhand grip to move it to a clear space for my son-in-law yesterday and he hit launch. Scared the **** out of me. 'Turn. It. Off!'

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I suspect you left a few words out of that turn it off quote lol

 

[DustyJaguar95]

I do it with the camera facing my way and as others have said, just use the stick to reduce the throttle to zero. Once you do it enough times, you’ll know the right hand placement as the bottom sensor can fire off warnings if it detects the hand. I find switching to sport mode (all sensors off) helps, but only suggest this one you’re more comfortable coz responses to stick movements are high in sport mode.

 

[Ian in London]

How do I check this bit...
Assuming that the MA2 behaves on the same way as the Mini and M2P.
Can anyone confirm... please?
Thank you.

Hi Jane. The Aircraft may lift up if you bring your hand up to meet it as it's descending; that's the landing sensors raising it out of what it initially thinks is an unsuitable spot to land.
If you hold your hand flat and still, and just lower the left stick, it will come down to you. The other tip is to leave your hand at the same height until the motors shut down; if you drop your hand as soon as it touches it, the aircraft may think it hasn;t fully landed.

I've done two videos on hand catching; the method for the Air 2 is the same as the Mini.
Cheers
Ian

 

[Mel 08]

On the first video he makes a point of opening the props before take off
I never do that
Does anyone else not open them?

 

[Ice_2k]

On the first video he makes a point of opening the props before take off
I never do that
Does anyone else not open them?

The moment the A2 spins the folded props is quite nasty as the drone briefly shakes quite violently, I always unfold them manually

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Ditto the above. Unopened initially creates excessive vibration (M2P)

 

[InvisibleName]

On the first video he makes a point of opening the props before take off
I never do that
Does anyone else not open them?

I always open the props; for the few extra seconds it takes, I think it’s worth reducing the initial kick the bearings & motors get.

 

[PeteTheJack]

Does this work with the Air 2? I am worried about trying and I thought this only worked in other models.

It's what I do and it works.

 

[volition]

I’m with @PhiliusFoggg
1. No hand land and twisting for me.(emergency only, hasn’t happened yet)
2. I prefer to open out props before motor start/take-off too.

for me I just don’t see why it is worth placing undue pressure on the bearings, shafts, components. When there are easy alternatives.

 

[flycaster1]

Does this work with the Air 2? I am worried about trying and I thought this only worked in other models.

Yes, it's the technique I use all the time.

 

[Ron (MM)]

I operate hand land in S MODE bringing AC within hand reach and placing my hand under lower fuselage. Grasp it and good to go.. S mode Obstacle sensors are inoperational.

 

[Ron (MM)]

S-Mode (Sport) – In Sport mode, the Mavic Air 2 uses GPS for positioning and the quadcopter can fly at it’s maximum speed. Also, in S-mode, the Mavic Air 2 drone and remote controller are optimized for agility and speed. The stick movements on the Mavic Air 2 RC will be far more responsive than in N-mode.

In Sports mode the Vision System is turned off so it can’t avoid obstacles automatically.