What do you use as a landing pad?

[African wildlife]

The terrain I work is usually too rough/dusty/hard/wet for pads. My solution has been to do hand launch and catch. It didn't take much practice to avoid the props on the Mavic Mini. But then what? How do you deal with batteries, drone, mobile and controller with only two hands? My solution has been natty belt holders for all three from scottymakesstuff.com. Least useful is the battery holder because I don't do endurance missions but the others provide much more practical permanent homes for the controller and the Mini itself.View attachment 121891

I've worked in the roughest of places in Australia's outback in the past, from WA to Queensland. Nowadays, we usually work in the harshest of conditions, in various countries, which is why we have always had to think long and hard about what type of landing pad to use. We often work in semi-arid places, and deserts (including sand dunes), not to mention snow, and up mountains. When using the P4P+, we've always been able to find a patch of ground to put down the tarp, which is approximately 5ft x 3ft or 1.5m x 1m in size. With the much smaller Moment landing pad, for the Mini 2, a lot less space is required. Yes, we've had to move rocks, stones, etc, but it's always possible to find somewhere suitable. And not having to hand catch is one less thing to have to think about when you're working hard, pushing yourself to the limits to get outstanding footage.

 

[African wildlife]

Even though I have a Mini 2 I just got a deal on a Hooman 5ft Landing pad. I plan to move into something like the Inspire 2 one day.

I'm a fan of big landing pads because it gives you more room to set everything up etc, and for two or four knees. But that Hoodman weights 11lbs, which is great if you're not going far or training for next year's World's Strongest Man. If you go for the Inspire 2, consider what we mainly use (but not for the Mini 2): an old piece of heavy duty cloth tarpaulin (at least double thickness. It's about 5ft x 3ft or 1.5m x 1m in size when laid out on the ground, rolls up brilliantly, and offers more working space for everything when setting up. I haven't weighed it, but it won't be 11lbs.

 

[Alpha2Zulu]

Extra large one inch thick foam pads that came as packaging with an appliance I ordered. I usually don't fly if the wind speeds are in double digits and in those speeds it has never flown away. It can be secured with stakes if needed. Might probably do a paint job on them when I get the chance.

 

[MiniNubi]

Thomas B. What are those strobes on your drone? super bright!
re landing pad, trying to avoid dirt and props hitting grass, I fly mostly out of my backyard, use a sheet of 4x4 insulating foam, planning on making a custom one, ¾ thick, 4x8' painted yellow, really stand out from above, (I live in the woods), when I am traveling in car use a 36"x36" sheet of a plastic sign material, cut in half and taped together. Easy to land on, no precision required. Or, if I am back in the woods, hand launch and catch

 

[MA2 317]

Here's my bucket of fun for the Spark.

The lid screws on the bucket for a nice water tight seal.

 

[Andrex]

Hi Andrex. Before answering your question, I can't stop myself from saying that - here in the UK - Andrex is the best-known brand of deluxe toilet paper. Okay, to the answer. As I said in my original post, we work almost always in remote areas, thankfully well away from any concrete or paving, usually in rough terrain. That aside, sand is a well-known killer of camera equipment etc - if someone was taking off from a beach or where's there's sandy soil - and any tiny stick or other debris wouldn't be good to land on as that, too, could could a problem. DJI drones are very well made but they can be damaged through mild neglect.

Thanks for the reply. Yes I know about the bog roll thing, since I'm also in the UK (Shropshire) - click my location coords on the left to see approx where I am based. But don't worry, Andrex isn't my real name...

Perhaps I've just not encountered it yet, but have not felt the need for a landing pad for my M2P in the past 18 months. Maybe one occasion in mid-May when it was very dry and sunny, but I found a workaround in the field. I'll consider whether I need a landing pad, but if I'm near the car I can usually improvise, and if I'm not I usually have a rucksack which can be laid down and used instead.

I saw a Matrice pilot the other week who travels around with a small fold up camping table...

 

[danny_2020]

I personally use my hand to takeoff, and land the drone, this also allows it to be further away from any metal objects, though I REALLY like A.O's landing pad.

 

[rcourtney671]

This is what I use. Sorry I posted a reply earlier but wanted to show off the new orange Master Airscrew props. 2021 is an "orange" year for me. ?

 

[Tomk_]

I usually hand launch and catch, but I do use an 18"x 18" piece of rubber mud flap. This is similiar to those using a floor mat. It is fairly stiff and heavy enough that even the strongest wind will not blow it around. To heavy to carry around for any distance but works great and I just toss it into the bed of my pickup when I'm done with it.

 

[crlmjohnson]

My custom pad with motion sensors and led lights

it is six inches high, 5 motion sensors, red led lights on the side, red led lights on the top, yellow led lights on the top and white led lights on the top in the center

 

[SpitFire]

I have both, the standard pad, and a pad I made from 1|4 " plywood
5 X 5 foot. Painted it red, with a big white X on it. Cost me under $5.00
and I like it better. It has handles on it for easy transport. Its a matter of preference.

 

[DougMcC]

My wife's roll up yoga pad. Easy to deploy, it's always in the trunk of the car, has handles for carrying, does NOT move in the wind or rotor wash and she has never missed it - yet!

 

[African wildlife]

My wife's roll up yoga pad. Easy to deploy, it's always in the trunk of the car, has handles for carrying, does NOT move in the wind or rotor wash and she has never missed it - yet!

A yoga pad or exercise mat was something that we considered.

 

[Tentoes]

I don't land my drone. I hand it.

Sometimes I use a takeoff pad when I can't find a nice surface to take off from.

 

[dulcificum]

Just use my hand.

 

[Gringorio]

I've got a great suggestion for a landing pad if you've got a small drone and you live in the USA. But, first, a bit of background. Until very recently, we've only been flying a Phantom 4 Pro Plus, for professional work. As any photographer or filmmaker knows, it's crucial to protect a lens and camera. So, after a lot of research and thought, we ended up using a piece of an old heavy cloth tarpaulin (once red, but now faded to a dull pink colour). And it's been great. We almost always work in remote locations on rough terrain, in various countries, with (thankfully) no concrete or paving anywhere in sight. When having to walk long distances with lots of filming equipment, the tarpaulin landing pad rolls up and can be strapped to the outside of a daypack. It's large enough to also place and open the dedicated carrying backpack for the P4P+, lay everything out, with the knees of two people around the edges - basically a clean work surface for the ground.

Then we decided to also get the Mini 2 for those times when we have to travel ultra light. Our trusted piece of tarpaulin is not only too big, but also too heavy and bulky, relatively speaking, for such circumstances. So it was back to the proverbial drawing board. We dismissed the usual circular helipads, which are better than nothing but not that useful for a working pro. Besides, they're basically the same as a photography light reflector, minus the reflective surface, which we carry anyway for lighting a human subject talking to camera. We then learnt of Moment's Rugged Landing Pad - in the USA. To make it worthwhile importing it to the UK, we got three of them - and the two spare ones are now happily owned by two other forum members. The Moment pad is square, foldable into nine smaller squares, fits neatly into the DJI Mini 2 carry bag, waterproof, washable, and the company gives a lifetime warranty. And it's not at all flimsy, so highly unlikely to move or blow away. Yes, it weighs a bit more than the Mini 2, but that's inevitable if you want something that's quality. There's even a sturdy elasticated strap for holding it together when folded. I give it 5 stars. I have nothing whatsoever to do with the Moment company, but this is one of the very best accessories you'll ever use. I'm including a couple of photos below.

So what do you use as a landing pad? And, yes, of course we considered using a hand for takeoff and landing. i should also add that we've never crashed or suffered any damage whatsoever to a drone. "Be prepared" really works.

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Have to ask: Why use a landing pad when hand-catching is much better in pretty much every circumstance?

 

[dulcificum]

Have to ask: Why use a landing pad when hand-catching is much better in pretty much every circumstance?

Exactly. Haven't heard a single advantage of lugging one around and setting it up.

 

[Droning on and on...]

It always amazes me that people who hand catch their drone can't can't even imagine why someone wouldn't want blades spinning a few thousand RPM within inches of their fingers and within an arm length of their face.

 

[dulcificum]

It always amazes me that people who hand catch their drone can't can't even imagine why someone wouldn't want blades spinning a few thousand RPM within inches of their fingers and within an arm length of their face.

It doesn't move anywhere you don't tell it to, please explain why that should be an issue.

 

[Droning on and on...]

It doesn't move anywhere you don't tell it to, please explain why that should be an issue.

Well, where I live, humans sometimes make mistakes, electronics sometimes fail, and the unexpected sometimes happens.