Handle for hand catching off boat

[C_Setch]

Bought this drone as a cool way to document my sailing, but was terrified to try and land on a moving boat. Spent some time developing this handle and 3D printing some iterations, and finally came up with this. Very low weight and has no impact on flight performance or battery life. On maybe 50 flights off the boat with no issues even in high winds.

Does anyone have another solution for flying off a boat?

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I have seen a small weight dangling on the end of a piece of string suggested.

 

[Storyline]

I've flown my Mini 2 from our boat several dozen times but I only got it the day before we set off on our last two week cruise. I use one of those pop out round helipad things which I have managed to wedge down in the cockpit under the level of the coamings. So far I've managed to land it on target but if the landing went pear shaped I might lose some props but hopefully the M2 wouldnt go overboard.
I have to admit though that all my flights have been when we have been at anchor so you have my total respect for flying whilst sailing as there are so many potential hazards on a yacht because of all the shrouds and rigging. Coincidentally I watched a video today about various hand launching/landing techniques and the guy said one of the most important aspects is to learn to have confidence in the drone. I only started to feel that towards the end of our holiday but I can see now it would be feasible to fly the M2 at the boats speed and then when everything seems settled slowly move her sideways close enough to grab hold. I can see you would need something like you have made or maybe those extension skid type things I have seen advertised.
The problem I have is that our boat is over 300 miles north of us and we only get to have three two week cruises a year so I have a long time to wait before getting a chance to try anything. There is one good point though and that is I will be hugely more experienced next time we sail and hopefully not have my heart in my mouth for every landing.
I would love to hear how you get on and also see some of your footage possibly .....

 

[eyeonwings]

I have learned to hand launch/land my MM2. I back it up directly in front of me and stick my hand underneath it. When it senses my hand it elevates slightly. I then pull the left stick all the way back and it lands in my hand. I can see how this would be more complicated on a moving boat though.

 

[C_Setch]

I've flown my Mini 2 from our boat several dozen times but I only got it the day before we set off on our last two week cruise. I use one of those pop out round helipad things which I have managed to wedge down in the cockpit under the level of the coamings. So far I've managed to land it on target but if the landing went pear shaped I might lose some props but hopefully the M2 wouldnt go overboard.
I have to admit though that all my flights have been when we have been at anchor so you have my total respect for flying whilst sailing as there are so many potential hazards on a yacht because of all the shrouds and rigging. Coincidentally I watched a video today about various hand launching/landing techniques and the guy said one of the most important aspects is to learn to have confidence in the drone. I only started to feel that towards the end of our holiday but I can see now it would be feasible to fly the M2 at the boats speed and then when everything seems settled slowly move her sideways close enough to grab hold. I can see you would need something like you have made or maybe those extension skid type things I have seen advertised.
The problem I have is that our boat is over 300 miles north of us and we only get to have three two week cruises a year so I have a long time to wait before getting a chance to try anything. There is one good point though and that is I will be hugely more experienced next time we sail and hopefully not have my heart in my mouth for every landing.
I would love to hear how you get on and also see some of your footage possibly .....

Props for taking straight out on the boat after getting it! The footage is awesome, but I have lost one drone to the sea due to a bad catch. Luckily it sends back 720 res video so it wasn't a total loss.

One of the main things I've learned is to come in on the windward side, and as far back as I can get from the mast. Also I like to bring the drone in backwards so the input isn't inverted like if you came in front facing.

I've got some videos on my YouTube channel with the footage I've taken. This is one of my favorite.

 

[Capt KO]

Yep, trick is flying in backwards and if needed, cover the bottom sensor with tape. Keeps it from flying up during catch. Handle is a nice touch but anything underneath can cause drone to not come down (unless sensor covered) till battery dies. Have fun

 

[Crouching Leopard]

Props for taking straight out on the boat after getting it! The footage is awesome, but I have lost one drone to the sea due to a bad catch. Luckily it sends back 720 res video so it wasn't a total loss.

One of the main things I've learned is to come in on the windward side, and as far back as I can get from the mast. Also I like to bring the drone in backwards so the input isn't inverted like if you came in front facing.

I've got some videos on my YouTube channel with the footage I've taken. This is one of my favorite.

Went on a 7-day sailing expedition once in the English Channel, on a racing Yacht. Storm force 10 gales all the way to Northern France. 24 straight hours of leaning over the side and going unconscious. Couldnt keep a travel tablet down long enough for it to work. The rest of the time was mixed, some good days interleaved with trapped in harbour ones. Great shots and I love looking at them, but personally, I will never set foot on one of those chuck-up generators again!!!

 

[PinpointUAVS]

Bought this drone as a cool way to document my sailing, but was terrified to try and land on a moving boat. Spent some time developing this handle and 3D printing some iterations, and finally came up with this. Very low weight and has no impact on flight performance or battery life. On maybe 50 flights off the boat with no issues even in high winds.

Does anyone have another solution for flying off a boat?

View attachment 135578

I hand catch my mini 2 all the time on the boat. It becomes difficult when I’m trying to catch just after we finish a pull for a wakeboarder/wake surfer, and the 2-3’ wake is crashing against the boat. Something like this would sure make is easier. Would you be willing to share the .STL?

 

[Capt KO]

Went on a 7-day sailing expedition once in the English Channel, on a racing Yacht. Storm force 10 gales all the way to Northern France. 24 straight hours of leaning over the side and going unconscious. Couldnt keep a travel tablet down long enough for it to work. The rest of the time was mixed, some good days interleaved with trapped in harbour ones. Great shots and I love looking at them, but personally, I will never set foot on one of those chuck-up generators again!!!

Would have loved it....40 years ago. ?
Glad you got pics to remember it.

 

[skyscapist]

This was what I did

 

[Wildcatgary]

Bought this drone as a cool way to document my sailing, but was terrified to try and land on a moving boat. Spent some time developing this handle and 3D printing some iterations, and finally came up with this. Very low weight and has no impact on flight performance or battery life. On maybe 50 flights off the boat with no issues even in high winds.

Does anyone have another solution for flying off a boat?

View attachment 135578

I always thought about hanging a fishing line and plastic piece. The air is blowing down. LOL

 

[Wildcatgary]

But act looks like a good idea. Swivel at the top for takeoffs?

 

[Storyline]

I wholeheartedly concur with the comments about landing with the Mini2 facing away from you. I learnt that lesson shortly after building a model electric helicopter. This did have a gyro which stopped the tail rotating around the main rotor but that was the only pilot aid. Before you could even think about flying it you had to learn to hover and that is not as easy as it sounds. I spent countless hours with my radio control set connected to a pc running realistic simulation software to learn. I finally felt confident enough to take my precious model out. This was only about 18" long but had lots of finely engineered components and essentially had the same working control surfaces as a real helicopter. I had decided to just have a quick hover and maybe some small changes of altitude but for some stupid reason it felt so good that I decided on a short flight away from me and return. It all went well until I turned and came nose in. I knew this is always more challenging but I had mastered it on the sim. In reality though a mild panic set in as it started coming towards me - this escalated into total panic and complete lack of control within a heartbeat and suddenly it was ripping itself to pieces as the main rotor got a grip on the grass where it crashed. I did not have the heart (or budget) to rebuild it.

It was a long time later when I read about this revolutionary new quadcopter that DJI were soon to release in the UK and this reawakened my passion and I was lucky enough to get one the first Phantoms to arrive here. Most hobby shops were allocated one each from the first shipment but for some reason the dealer I had been talking to was allocated two and sold me one. I was extremely nervous the first time I launched that but within a minute I started to realise it was actually flying itself and five minutes after that I knew for certain it could be relied on. I used it a lot when we were away sailing but always from the shore. Not once did I even contemplate flying it from the boat as it was nowhere near as responsive as the Mini 2 is. I had complete faith in it but always felt it had a three feet or so zone around it within which it would sometimes lurch around.

To return to the point about landing I still instinctively try to avoid flying nose in when there is any need to feel completely in control. I posted on another thread the extraordinary power that even the
Mini 2 has in exposing the lack of control the logical part of the brain has over the emotional bit. On a calm day the Mini 2 is almost unbelievably stable - unbelievable that it until you realise it has three constellations of GPS satellites at its disposal which must give it an extremely accurate fix, maybe not geographically so but certainly repeatably second by second. Any movement away from this fixed point must pose little challenge to the hardware and software that DJI has developed and the esc's & motors probably react nearly instantaneously. The rational part of my brain truly believes this because not only because it is understandable but also because I can see it just sitting in the air without moving. I also know that it would not be a financial disaster if one day it just burst into flames when I switched it on. A pita obviously but it would not have much impact on the quality of my life, in fact I've probably got too much 'stuff' anyway.

So why is it that it is that sometimes I cannot stop the adrenaline from starting to kick in the moment I feel even a hint that the Mini 2 might be at risk? This feeling of anxiety does not spoil the enjoyment I get from flying the machine - in some ways it enhances it because it is so closely related to excitement. I suppose I should feel grateful that a bunch of wires and a bit of plastic can outsmart a cynical old guy who thinks he knows it all

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Sorry but I think a lot of the low down (meaning within the range of the visual sensors) positional stability comes from the downwards looking visual sensors. Indoors with insufficient GPS my mini 2 hovers cm perfect.