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How many of you hand catch your Air 2s?

Skyryder

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I love the idea of hand catching and launching, and I did try it with a mini 2 but the Air 2S is a lot bigger, a lot heavier and with meaner blades. I know there are a lot of videos on it, but how many of you actually do this? Everyone says the blades can do some serious damage to your fingers if you mess it up. I am not sure if I want to risk that. I am on the fence about it.
 
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I love the idea of hand catching and launching, and I did try it with a mini 2 but the Air 2S is a lot bigger, a lot heavier and with meaner blades. I know there are a lot of videos on it, but how many of you actually do this? Everyone says the blades can do some serious damage to your fingers if you mess it up. I am not sure if I want to risk that. I am on the fence about it.
I hand launch and catch frequently. The landing takes a bit of practice and does pose some danger to your hands. My friend ended up with some stitches from his Air 2 when not paying attention enough.

The upside of this method is the ability to fly and land in areas with uneven surfaces and tall grasses.
 
I do hand launch and catch mine all the time. I fly the Air 2, but also tried to do the same with my friend's Air 2S, and it is identical. Pretty easy once you get the hang of it. There are many videos on YouTube on how to do it, but I recommend to practice over grass, so if you drop it accidentally, hopefully it will not break.

Actually, for me at least, catching a mini 2 was harder, because it is so small, that it is easier to put your fingers in the propellers by letting it down to your hand too low. The Air 2S' body is tall, so you're not as likely to cut yourself with the props, but check some YouTube videos on how to do it before attempting.
 
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I love the idea of hand catching and launching, and I did try it with a mini 2 but the Air 2S is a lot bigger, a lot heavier and with meaner blades. I know there are a lot of videos on it, but how many of you actually do this? Everyone says the blades can do some serious damage to your fingers if you mess it up. I am not sure if I want to risk that. I am on the fence about it.
I hand launch and catch all the time. I have been clipped a couple times, once on a boat and the other was an extremely windy day, so those conditions were not ideal for hand catching and my own fault.

Practice on days with little to no wind until you’re comfortable and it gets easier mentally over time. I lay my hand flat until the drone hits my palm and if it’s windy, I will then pinch under the middle of the drone with my fingers just under the battery.
 
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My Air 2S got me good a few weeks ago. I think I must have not been perfectly behind it when I was lowering it onto my hand and at the last second triggered one of the sensors and it moved away from me, hit my hand and dropped to the ground. Luckily it was not damaged, but I can not say the same for my hand that suffered several minor cuts. Be Careful!
 

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I hand launch and land all my drones unless windy. If you are in RTH mode using stick down, the drone will power itself down, no need to flip the drone. There is a possibility of pilot injury, but with practice and patience, I am very comfortable hand landing a drone.

Cheers!
 
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I hand catch and launch a M2P/Z, only very occasionally have I 'caught' a blade but NEVER a blade tip.
I cup my fingers slightly so that the drone can't slip off my hand.
Same thing with a Mavic Mini and Mini 2.
I think only once has my 'cup' been too deep with a mini and I think that that catch was a bit of a grab.
Once the drone is in your hand and your hand is still, closing the throttle will stop the motors. If you find the drone fighting you you are probably not holding you hand still enough.
Just be careful of the inside of your wrist, probably the best way to do that is, with your forearm at least horizontal, have the palm of your hand in line with your forearm or if your forearm pointing upwards have your palm slightly bent 'downwards' (so as to be level ) from the line of your arm.
 
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After hundreds of successful hand catches without incident,, I became overconfident and cut two of my fingers badly. There are times when we have to hand catch because of terrain but now I use my landing pad most of the time. I also got a set of leg extensions.
 
I hand launch and land my M2Z, Air 2, Mini 2 and Mini 3 Pro almost exclusively. I do not use the palm up method. I use the cupped hand, finger tips up method. That way I can grab it if I need to. If you use the open palm method, you can't grab it if you need to. Also, I never take my eyes off the aircraft during the landing.
 
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I do it almost every time. I'm vigilant and careful and wait for it to "lock in" to landing mode so that it descends at a slow, steady pace. To me, this keeps out dirt, dust, and grass that it otherwise might ingest. I have a landing pad but seem to always be in a hurry and don't use it.
 
I love the idea of hand catching and launching, and I did try it with a mini 2 but the Air 2S is a lot bigger, a lot heavier and with meaner blades. I know there are a lot of videos on it, but how many of you actually do this? Everyone says the blades can do some serious damage to your fingers if you mess it up. I am not sure if I want to risk that. I am on the fence about it.
We frequently hand catch our smaller drones (Air2s). That stated, we pay close attention to wind conditions (direction and gusts) and drone descent behavior as we decide how to best proceed to facilitate a most stable landing. Prior to take off we pre-determine how we will land the aircraft upon completion of the planned aerial mission. If conditions change and risk increases or if the pilot becomes uncomfortable with a hand catch technique, we highly recommend landing the aircraft safely on its pad. Each individual pilot must decide for themselves how to best land their aircraft based on their personal confidence and comfortability with the hand launch and hand catch landing maneuvers. ;-) T
 
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I will be the voice of dissent and say that, while I wouldn't not fly if I had to hand launch/catch, I avoid it to the greatest extent possible. I bought a landing pad for the times when I might need to launch/land from grass or other suboptimal places, but I've never had to use it. That's not to say that I wouldn't if it was the only way to get the shot I wanted, but I try and plan for that ahead of time and make sure I have a good place to set up.
 
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Mini 3 - all the time. Air 2S - only if I really need to. Just throttle down with my hand underneath, it announces "landing" and slowly descends onto my hand and the props stop. I keep my hand open and parallel to the ground until the props have stopped. Never try to catch or grab it while props are moving.
 
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