Is turning Mavic Air sideways to shut down ok?

[nieto]

Over the last year as I have watched many Mavic Air reviews, demos, or other YouTube videos, I have seen a number of people land the MA onto their hand and then shut it down by a quick flip. I figure the MA safety features took over to turn off the props, maybe thinking the aircraft had crashed. I don’t want a discussion on the safety of landing like that, but want I want to know is if shutting off the motors that way would in any way damage the aircraft. I prefer no speculation if possible but some understanding of what is happening when it shuts down. I hear the motors rev for a moment just before shutoff. I am thinking there are not many options to turn off the motors if you are by yourself and land it in your hand. I am not planning on doing this maneuver any time soon but it is good to know if the option is available for special times or an emergency if no good landing spot is available and need to land.

 

[brett8883]

Over the last year as I have watched many Mavic Air reviews, demos, or other YouTube videos, I have seen a number of people land the MA onto their hand and then shut it down by a quick flip. I figure the MA safety features took over to turn off the props, maybe thinking the aircraft had crashed. I don’t want a discussion on the safety of landing like that, but want I want to know is if shutting off the motors that way would in any way damage the aircraft. I prefer no speculation if possible but some understanding of what is happening when it shuts down. I hear the motors rev for a moment just before shutoff. I am thinking there are not many options to turn off the motors if you are by yourself and land it in your hand. I am not planning on doing this maneuver any time soon but it is good to know if the option is available for special times or an emergency if no good landing spot is available and need to land.

In this video a pilot who works for DJI does it so can’t be that bad.

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Skip to 6:15 if you don’t want to watch the whole thing

 

[WithTheBirds]

No need for speculation or watching you tube videos.

You won't cause any issue for your Mavic Air tilting it to stop the motors. It is well known that the flight controller code includes a motor stop command when the attitudes reported to exceed 85.

 

[brett8883]

Over the last year as I have watched many Mavic Air reviews, demos, or other YouTube videos, I have seen a number of people land the MA onto their hand and then shut it down by a quick flip. I figure the MA safety features took over to turn off the props, maybe thinking the aircraft had crashed. I don’t want a discussion on the safety of landing like that, but want I want to know is if shutting off the motors that way would in any way damage the aircraft. I prefer no speculation if possible but some understanding of what is happening when it shuts down. I hear the motors rev for a moment just before shutoff. I am thinking there are not many options to turn off the motors if you are by yourself and land it in your hand. I am not planning on doing this maneuver any time soon but it is good to know if the option is available for special times or an emergency if no good landing spot is available and need to land.

In the firmware there are condition which it defines as “emergencies” and if an “emergency” occurs the programming is designed to cut the motors. Some known “emergencies” are if there is a motor obstruction and the motor is unable to rotate freely the FC will cut the motors or in this case if the drone is titled past a certain angle and is unable to quickly right itself it will kill the motors.

You wanted only the facts so the fact is I have seen no evidence that doing this harms the aircraft or it remembers that it happened (other than the logs)

 

[Deleted member 94047]

I am thinking there are not many options to turn off the motors if you are by yourself and land it in your hand.

I can't say if flipping the MA on its side does any harm to the motors or not; I simply don't know. What I CAN say with confidence is this - there is simply no need to do it. Practice it a little and it is really easy to hand catch the MA or even land it on your palms. I prefer to catch it if it is windy and land it on my palms if it is calm. It is real easy. There are plenty of YouTube videos on the matter that you can watch. Why wonder about the potential harm of something if you can entirely avoid it?

 

[msinger]

I am thinking there are not many options to turn off the motors if you are by yourself and land it in your hand.

I've never seen this motor stop method cause any issues.

After hand catching, you could also hold the left stick (the throttle) down for a few seconds to stop the motors. If you have trouble holding the remote controller, you could get a lanyard and hang it on your neck.

 

[spamgnome]

I hand-catch 100% of the time. I simply hold the left stick down until the motors shut off.

 

[nieto]

I hand-catch 100% of the time. I simply hold the left stick down until the motors shut off.

Sounds like the consensus is that flipping the MA is ok and also catching it is fine. I have never tried catching it but have been concerned I would catch a prop on a finger. I have also seen some YouTube videos show the MA rev up when caught like it does not know what is going on and is probably adjusting to the sudden stop.

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Sounds like the consensus is that flipping the MA is ok and also catching it is fine. I have never tried catching it but have been concerned I would catch a prop on a finger. I have also seen some YouTube videos show the MA rev up when caught like it does not know what is going on and is probably adjusting to the sudden stop.

If it is fighting you or the motors are reving up; you are doing it wrong. Bring it down to about a little above your height first. Then hold the left stick full down to force it in to landing mode; hold out your hand with palms stretched below it and it will land on it smoothly. The mavic air may sometimes sense your hand and jump up a little (it is only a little) but continue holding down the left stick and it will land on your palms and turn its motors off on its own. If it is a little windy and you feel uncomfortable landing it on your palms, hold it with your thumb and middle or index fingers from below while it comes in to land. It won't fight you as long as you keep the left stick full down. Here are two videos that might illustrate the technique better.

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[nieto]

I hand-catch 100% of the time. I simply hold the left stick down until the motors shut off.

Just curious. If you hand-catch 100% of the time, do you usually do ground take-offs?

 

[Deleted member 94047]

Not sure how spamgnome does it; but I use my hard case as a launch pad. Take off from carry case, land on my hand or hand catch. It works great.

 

[Dan C]

Sounds like the consensus is that flipping the MA is ok and also catching it is fine. I have never tried catching it but have been concerned I would catch a prop on a finger. I have also seen some YouTube videos show the MA rev up when caught like it does not know what is going on and is probably adjusting to the sudden stop.

FYI, I use both methods when I don't want to land it on the ground.

Regarding your point, two things...

When I'm catching the drone, I bring it to a hover at around eye level, and approach it from the fore-port quarter (front-left) of the drone. I do that because I'll have my left thumb ready to command descent/land (which is the standard left stick), therefore it'll be my right hand catching.

This orientation between you and the drone means:

1. You will not trigger the front (or back) sensors as you approach, and
2. your hand will (should) not trigger the bottom sensors which is what causes the drone to pull away from you when reaching for it, or race the engines trying to move away from you after grabbing it.

HINT: Grab the drone by the battery. This keeps you clear of the camera/gimbal assembly, and clear of the bottom sensors.

The first item is not so important, but this approach will have your hand in a very natural position for grabbing the drone without triggering the bottom sensors. Then "down-stick" to engage landing mode, or flip it over. It does not matter which way you flip it, just so long as it goes close to vertical in some plane. I usually flip mine nose down.

 

[hiflyer201]

I hand catch 90% of the time and on a rare occasion it has to be rotated to shut down. I know it's over-reving but at that point it is what it is. Like Dan, I just bring it down to chest level and walk over and take hold of the battery and shut it of with my left thumb. When I first got the Air I tried to land it on my hand like you do with the spark with hand gestures, but using the controller and I got bit pretty good. I think that was before I calibrated my controller. Live and learn..