Landing Mini 2 on a moving boat with many obstacles

[NG Wildman]

sure, no easy way...even on horseback it's a nightmare

Try riding a horse on a treadmill on the back of a boat while wearing a sombrero and eating a sandwich with boxing gloves on....just kidding; the horse wears the boxing gloves...?

 

[Robifz]

You've got me thinking about this now ....

A zip tie round the "belly" of the drone with the tail left on would give you something to grab. A knot in the end will help you get a firm grasp and avoid the tail slipping out of your hand. Incredibly cheap/light and certainly strong enough. Maybe use 2: one around the drone body and another looped through the first one and hanging underneath the drone to give you a hoop to grab onto

A few further thoughts on flying from a moving boat:

• Consider taping over the downward sensors for when you're flying from the boat. That's the crude way of disabling them on the mini1 &2 ? The IR proximity sensor tends to make the drone rise up out of your grasp as you try to hand catch it - better off with it disabled. The optical flow sensor is going to struggle to contribute in a useful way when flying over water/moving boats so also better off with that disabled too. Just be aware the drone won't automatically slow its descent as it nears ground(or water!) level as it's no longer seeing anything under it. Low altitude hovering accuracy will be a bit poorer than on land too. Any kind of dangly handle/rope/wire could confuse the sensors too.
• Launch out the back of the boat. The GPS on the drone will make it want to hover in place so if you take off at the front of the boat the boat will then sail straight into the drone.
• For landing fly ahead of the boat and bring the drone into a hover or slow forward flight just to the side of the boat's path, and catch it as you sail past it.

Hmmm..the zip tie is a great way. I like it. More simple than wire because it is easy to attach. Yes I always launch from the back of the boat. For landing I would just fly the drone parallel to the boat and grab it as it goes past.

 

[scro]

How about putting the twist tie "handle" pointing up, as far up as you need to get your hands away from the prop. That way there less chance of interference with the bottom sensors. Grab the handle from above as it descends towards the deck and keep the stick down "Landing" and lower the AC to the deck as the motors shut off. If you are gently pushing it down the AC will slow the props as it feels it lose altitude too fast.

I see what you're thinking with regard to avoiding upsetting the downward sensors, and expect it would work OK. However, if you can get the drone down low enough over the boat deck to get your hand above it then you'd probably just land it normally. Sailing boats have quite a lot of rigging/masts/sails up in the air that makes descending down to the deck quite a challenge in its own right . In anything other than flat calm conditions with nobody moving about on the boat the deck will be moving up and down a bit and pitching, hence the appeal of a "quick snatch" hand catch of the drone from out the side of the boat, clear of moving things that could hit the drone.

I don't think that disabling the downward sensors for flying out at sea is a big loss. They rely on there being a solid non-moving object less than about 10m under the drone, which you don't normally have in such a location.

 

[RogerDH]

If you're determined to master hand landing on a moving boat, the lessons might be less expensive if you invest in some falconry gloves.

 

[Rich QR]

If you're determined to master hand landing on a moving boat, the lessons might be less expensive if you invest in some falconry gloves.

Agreed! Also, consider safety goggles, maybe even a full face mask. If things go badly wrong, little bits of a propeller may fly off, or the entire drone may go somewhere unintended. Injury may not be very likely, but you only get one set of eyes. Make sure they last a lifetime.

 

[66427cobra]

If you can hold your controller with one hand while simultaneously controlling direction, speed, altitude, AND catch the drone with the other hand you are very good.

Me...I would need a helper...or two. Must be other folks (crew) on the yacht you can enlist for a few minutes and forget about the Rube Goldberg rigs. Much safer, too.

Good luck.

 

[Robifz]

If you can hold your controller with one hand while simultaneously controlling direction, speed, altitude, AND catch the drone with the other hand you are very good.

Me...I would need a helper...or two. Must be other folks (crew) on the yacht you can enlist for a few minutes and forget about the Rube Goldberg rigs. Much safer, too.

Good luck.

Thats a good point. From a stationary boat there are less variables and it is easy. From a moving boat the altitude can be set once the drone is close. Just the speed and slight changes in direction need to be controlled and might be tough with one hand.

 

[scro]

I'd imagine this would be a 2 person job - one person pilots the drone and the other does the catching.

It might be possible with just 1 person, by getting the drone heading and altitude set and then using your left hand to catch, while your right hand does the stickwork to match the boat speed and then slide the drone towards you to within reach.

Practice from the back of a pickup truck/out the passenger window of a car/thru the sunroof (in a suitable area, obviously) as @Capt KO suggests sounds like a good idea too, to get a bit of practice in speed matching and grabbing the drone.

 

[jencarta]

I recommend hand-catching. As scro suggests, it is much easier with two people. Turn off the downward sensors if possible. I have a lot of experience using this method to catch the Mini 2, Mavic 2 Pro, and Parrot Anafi while on a rocking and rolling drifting boat. It’s not easy, so practice when the seas are calm. Gloves and glasses are also recommended. I’ll admit I’ve not used a glove yet but do wear prescription glasses. I know someone who got a pretty good cut from the Mini’s props, so it pays to be cautious.

Here is a short video of my coworker catching the Mavic 2 Pro on a small boat that was rocking moderately.
Hand-catching the M2P

- Jen

 

[Heavydpj]

I've launched and recovered off a moving sailboat before, as well as powerboats. You have three options.

Option 1 is to have an assistant for the catch. You basically fly to the assistant and the assistant reaches out for the final grasp while you closely observe and then cut power appropriately.

Option 2 is for you to do the hand catch, depending on the sea state, forward motion of the boat, and wind vector / velocity, this may or may not be possible.

Option 3 is to land it on the deck or sunshade, if there is one. I had great success landing on a shadesail that the boat's owner had set-up on the bow. Big and flat, where I could just come over, and then cut power.

Hand launching is pretty easy, though.

Regardless of which option, you will need to practice, practice, practice! Matching the pitch, roll, and altitude in various wind directions can be tricky, and you need to survey the landing area closely for approach and emergency paths. Once you've done it a few times, it becomes considerably less pucker-factory.

 

[Montana_Flyer]

I bought a insta360 camera mount for my boating adventures using my Mavic 2 pro. It has a rigid adjustable hanging post that works perfectly for catching the drone. Maybe a similar product exists for the Mini/Mini2?

Ebay Link
The lower handle is just the right size for an adult to grab the drone, and it is strong and rigid enough to pull it from the sky until you can actuate a landing from the controller. I have landing sensors turned off as well

 

[Donnie Frank]

I have been hand launching and landing my Mini 2 from a stationary yacht many times. Also have hand launched from a moving yacht. But I cannot figure out what is the best way to land it on a moving yacht. Yes I have researched but all hand catch using a phantom which is easy because it has legs and is large to catch. But the small mini 2 on a moving and rolling yacht is a mission I want to master. Hand catching is very difficult because you need to keep the same speed as the boat and at the same time the boat is moving because of waves and the speed is not constant. I thought of catching it in a fishing net but that would damage the props? Any suggestions?

Your idea of using a net is a good one. You might encounter some tangle issues. So perhaps a large bag instead. A large butteryfly net or bird net is what I would use. Replace the net with a bag to avoid tangle issues. Flip the drone over in the bag to shut it down quickly.

D

 

[Ian UK]

It's a shame there isn't an option for Dynamic Home Point, where the home point = the location of the mobile phone attached to the remote control handset. At least that would take away the worry of getting the drone into your immediate vicinity, preferably at the back of the boat. You still have to catch the thing of course!

 

[billiam1]

I just grab it using the landing gear

 

[BruddahMidds]

I bought these because I use the mini2 to make fishing videos. Easy to grab hold of and worst case won’t sink to the bottom of the lake. Have not weighed to see if they are adding enough weight to go over 250 gm but am planning to register any way.

 

[scro]

I bought these because I use the mini2 to make fishing videos. Easy to grab hold of and worst case won’t sink to the bottom of the lake. Have not weighed to see if they are adding enough weight to go over 250 gm but am planning to register any way.

Nice big soft red handles to grab hold of ?

What's the drone like in wind with them fitted?

 

[Viewfinder]

This was mentioned on another thread. Looks very good but I don't have time to find someone to print them.

MAVIC MINI / MINI2 split-type landing skids ( for hand catch ) by CyberCyclist

Make hand catch easier. In wind warning situation, if the camera is facing down, the tip of the skid may occasionally be reflected in the video. [Japanese] MAVIC MINIのハンドキャッチをしやすくする目的で作ったスキッドです。 強風警告が出るような状態でカメラを下に向けていると、たまにスキッドの先端が映り込むことがあります。 https://youtu.be/rkcEgvQ3xF8

www.thingiverse.com

 

[KiloMeater]

I just printed these last night !!!

 

[BruddahMidds]

Nice big soft red handles to grab hold of ?

What's the drone like in wind with them fitted?

I have only had them on with a light breeze going with no bad effects to the performance so I can’t really comment on it. I’m pretty new to this so I am quite cautious.

 

[scro]

I have only had them on with a light breeze going with no bad effects to the performance so I can’t really comment on it. I’m pretty new to this so I am quite cautious.

Something that may be worth trying, even for your own education is to fly upwind and down wind with the floats on and then with them off. Give it full stick and give the drone plenty of time to reach its full speed - it can take a good 10seconds+ before you reach top speed. Take a note of the max speeds you hit in each of the 4 scenarios and the difference between the floats and no floats speeds will give you a feel for how much drag the floats provide.

Might be worth trying the same but with the drone going sideways too, and in sport mode. It'll give you a much better feel for what effect the floats have on the drone.