Landing DJI drones by hand, does it damage it?

[Yeunglings]

Like others have said you land it in your palm, you don't reach up to grab it. The sensors on the bottom will react differently. A lot of people will do the flip over method to stop the motors, and it does work, but I feel like it puts too much strain on them and the frame. There's also the possibility of accidently letting go mid flip and then it does damage to itself or whatever it hits. As for the props still spinning if you turn off the RC-so if it's still in flight it has no way to know if it's a range/ interference disconnect or an intentional one so the drone would drop out of the sky every time a tree got between you and the drone. On the ground it's the same thing just without the problem of crashing. Imagine being in a high interference area( common sense would tell you to find a new location but still) where you keep getting momentary disconnects. You'd never be able to get anything done.

 

[Grazuncle]

similar experiences to most posted here too.

I will not take off from a landing pad or by hand when it is very windy and hence unlikely to fly it either. It took a few anxious goes to land and take off but it is my preferred method now for the usual reasons; you are away from vertical obstructions BUT there is not a flat space for a pad or is a lot debris around. The 'wake' of this little thing is quite a bigger circumference than the little body indicates.

holding my hand out first and letting it come down to my palm felt it was going against the grain at first (trying to push my hand up to grab when it is still lowering to my palm) but learned to relax a bit.

It wont appeal to everyone.. I understand that but it is another option.

 

[tvdwouw]

I start and land using my hands all the time - I had a few times dogs showing too much interest. Essential: when grabbing the drone, do not pull de drone down, rather, push it up a bit! And I find a neck strap for the remote control makes things a lot easier, especially with the larger remote control.

 

[Faster]

I start and land using my hands all the time - I had a few times dogs showing too much interest. Essential: when grabbing the drone, do not pull de drone down, rather, push it up a bit! And I find a neck strap for the remote control makes things a lot easier, especially with the larger remote control.

The RC neck strap helps a lot.

 

[Heavydpj]

Just curious if landing DJI drones by hand (grab it while still hovering in air then powering it off), does it damage the hardware?

I've been doing hand catches and releases for years without a problem for my Mavic and Phantom series drones. Sometimes I use one hand on the RC to shut the motors down, other times I use the "flip over" technique. Just depends on the circumstances.

 

[BingBong]

With my Air 2S, I switch to sport mode when low down to disable the sensors, and manoeuvre it so it is next to me to my right, just above shoulder height. I then just reach out and grab it from the side, no revving involved, and kill the props on the left stick. Obviously you need to be careful with inputs when close. If you leave it in normal mode, it will detect you as it gets close and move away.

 

[Dbez1]

Just get on uTube and type in “how to hand catch a drone” and you’ll get more videos than you can watch in an evening. When I was just starting out, I learned a lot from dronexfactor

 

[Donnie Frank]

Just curious if landing DJI drones by hand (grab it while still hovering in air then powering it off), does it damage the hardware? It always makes me nervous since you can still feel the aircraft still trying to hover on it's own and you feel vibration.

Also is there a way to have the drone power off from powering off the RC? Last night I powered off the RC and the drone stayed on which makes no sense since the connection between the drone and the RC was cut off.

 

[maggior]

The RC neck strap helps a lot.

For me personally, it's essential. I use the smart controller and no way could I hold it in one hand and work the left stick. For landing and takeoff, I let the controller hang from the strap and work the stick to send it up or bring it down.

Even with the standard controller, I'd be afraid of the controller falling out of my hand and either getting damaged, damaging my phone, or falling on the sticks and sending the done off to who knows where.

 

[maggior]

One woman thought my drone was imprinted and would only land in my hand.

WDK

That's hilarious!! To the uninitiated I can understand how it might seem that way. It does pause like it has to think about it, and then drops the rest of the way.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I would not recommend the grab and twist method of shutting the drone for routine use but it is useful to know of, and perhaps practice once or twice. I have had to use it once when I couldn't land because of a crazy dog and couldn't do a normal hand landing for the same reason.

 

[WDKZoom]

That's hilarious!! To the uninitiated I can understand how it might seem that way. It does pause like it has to think about it, and then drops the rest of the way.

I thought about giving her a song and dance making up something about how you imprint your drone with your DNA……but then I would not be a good ambassador.

 

[Dmcvey]

Just be sure to keep body parts away from the props. They can slice and dice before you even know what happened. A trip to the ER can get expensive.

and reportable

 

[Dmcvey]

To all those that say "done it 1000 times"....."just practice" (better be right the first time and every time), ...."done it for years"...."never had a problem"....got two words for you, Steve Irwin

Play with fire you gonna get burned.

 

[Grazuncle]

To all those that say "done it 1000 times"....."just practice" (better be right the first time and every time), ...."done it for years"...."never had a problem"....got two words for you, Steve Irwin

Play with fire you gonna get burned.

You're correct.. it is sometimes playing with fire and most problems associated with playing with fire is lack of respect for the fire.
I worked with three phase 240v AC (415v total) for years. You can protect yourself whilst working with it and there are times when you have to stop working.

I hand launch and land often but there are times when it is stupid to attempt. I respect the conditions then.
I haven't heard anyone say the opposite here, yet.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

I worked with three phase 240v AC (415v total) for years. You can protect yourself whilst working with it and there are times when you have to stop working.

I accidentally shorted a largish 600 V capacitor across a finger tip once. Oh boy, crisped human skin smells like crispy fried bacon. Lol.

 

[Grazuncle]

I accidentally shorted a largish 600 V capacitor across a finger tip once. Oh boy, crisped human skin smells like crispy fried bacon. Lol.

OMG!

I can hear the sizzle now..!

I also stopped wearing rings on fingers. Gold is an excellent conductor

 

[Gringorio]

To all those that say "done it 1000 times"....."just practice" (better be right the first time and every time), ...."done it for years"...."never had a problem"....got two words for you, Steve Irwin

Play with fire you gonna get burned.

This is a poor comparison. A drone is not a wild animal in an uncontrolled circumstance. And there are many of us who have hand launched and caught various drones for many years without issue. Sure, there are risks involved, but good judgement and experience go a long way.

 

[Donnie Frank]

This is a poor comparison. A drone is not a wild animal in an uncontrolled circumstance. And there are many of us who have hand launched and caught various drones for many years without issue. Sure, there are risks involved, but good judgement and experience go a long way.

Agreed.

D

 

[tvdwouw]

Landing on a flat hand often works well, but it depends on the circumstances. In windy conditions or when on a boat, it is better to have your hand in a U-shape and grab the drone firmly upon contact. Then. as usual, move the drone up a bit until the props stops spinning.
A Mavic 2 Pro/Zoom can be reprogrammed to enable ATTI mode (search the web for more info) and before flying from a boat it is advisable to practice hand landing using ATTI mode.