Flying 1 handed?

[Chris Woodford]

long shot, but need some advice if anyone can help. I fly a P3 and my brother also wants to buy a drone, however he recently suffered a stroke and has little to no control of his left hand and arm. He wants a drone he can control with just his right hand, possibly totally via tablet or phone. Thoughts welcome as I don't even know if this is possible or realistic at all? He is quite stubborn and will engineer mods, etc as required.

Thanks

Chris

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

It is quite the machine, the Phantom. But if he takes it real slowly He might benefit from it. I mean real slow. As he learns how it reacts and doesn't go far, mabey have help if he needs it the hobby will do him good. The Phantom is stable and very fun to operate. As long as he realizes it's needs they will be the best of friends.

 

[eaglegoaltender]

long shot, but need some advice if anyone can help. I fly a P3 and my brother also wants to buy a drone, however he recently suffered a stroke and has little to no control of his left hand and arm. He wants a drone he can control with just his right hand, possibly totally via tablet or phone.

Sorry to hear about our brother - hope he gets some great recovery from that - it is amazing how people nowadays recover from strokes - all the best to him.

As to doing it "single handed" - first I would advise he flies with you around at the same time to at least begin with.

I am not advising or advocating here - simply just some random thoughts..............

I supposes theoretically with the controller on a lanyard, he could use one hand to get it up to the altitude he wants to fly at with the left stick - then control the flight with one hand once he is up there. Best to try some very low altitude flights in a wide open space to practice first - and as mentioned have you there with him for a while or maybe always when flying.

There are plenty of options as to using flight aps where he can program different flight paths using one hand then fire up the Phantom and let it fly.

Most likely overall not advisable but hey - who are we to say what one can and can't do despite any physical limitations. The biggest draw back I could see would be in the case of an emergency it might be very difficult for him in what ever the situation that arises and wouldn't want to see him get into any trouble with it (legal issues).

Has he tried any one handed flights with your Phantom?

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

If he flew it with controller on a holder/shelf he could fly it around locally enjoying it's prowness. Long distances are not needed.. I imagine he's not disabled in the mind. Enjoyment is needed in life.

 

[Les Davidson]

Hi Chris, sorry to hear about your brother. I have severe Arthritis and fingers are very bad. I love Phantoms and bought a P4. It almost flies itself. I am sure he will adapt to it. Just give it a try. I have only been on this forum for two weeks but there are many people willing to help. I am a beginner and have asked some stupid questions but all are tolerant.


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[Sagebrush]

I assume he's in a chair. Put on a lanyard to stabilize the controller and he'll be fine.

He can start out just like all of us should have and use one stick at a time. I suspect that sooner vs. later he can figure out a way to manipulate both sticks one-handed with his fingers stretched out.

Not a problem.

SB

 

[Chris Woodford]

All great advice and help, so thank you all. I'll update once he decides and tries the bets way forward.

Chris

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Slowly is the way... for all of us..

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

The ones that do it fast are the ones that say : Help!, where is my drone, or help, I crashed, what happened....

 

[syotr]

long shot, but need some advice if anyone can help. I fly a P3 and my brother also wants to buy a drone, however he recently suffered a stroke and has little to no control of his left hand and arm. He wants a drone he can control with just his right hand, possibly totally via tablet or phone. Thoughts welcome as I don't even know if this is possible or realistic at all? He is quite stubborn and will engineer mods, etc as required.

Thanks

Chris

Back in the day, there were single stick RC transmitters. It would be possible to modify a Phantom transmitter this way. Google it and you find some examples.
One other thing you might look at is the Wizard wand that comes with the Typhoon H or Typhoon G. It is a one handed solution. When held horizontal, it acts like the right stick. When held vertically, it acts like the left stick.

 

[syotr]

Another 1 handed solution
What to Expect From The Consumer Drone Industry in 2017? - WeTalkUAV

 

[captain kush]

all good replies that were already given, I believe it would be great therapy to keep him active and working on motor control of the impaired arm and also on hand eye coordination. I have an adapter that i bought that mounts onto a camera tripod, and the phantom 4 controller snaps easily right onto it or off of it, allowing adjustability in height if wanting to sit and or stand while flying . I cant remember off the top of my head who I got from, but I can look it up after I get home from work tonight if you want to know.
captain kush

 

[Chris Woodford]

Some great ideas I knew nothing about, and all welcome. Any links to anything I can send to him are appreciated


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

 

[captain kush]

Hey Chris, here is a link to the tripod adapter for the phantom controller. Lots of other accessories there also.
Gimbal-Guard


Gimbal-Guard

captain kush

 

[royster]

Tripod adapter is a great idea, Lanyards are great but, think about it, you still use both hands with lanyards, just to keep your RC stable, at least in my case.
Not sure what your brothers diagnosis's is, but, in my sisters case, her right hand/arm was the issue, & with therapy & time she can now write & pick things up.
If he has a chance of getting motion back, flying may actually be great therapy for him,
All the best to your brother!

 

[Neon Euc]

Hiya, I think flying one handed is possible,

Take off can be done with auto take off being pressed on the screen

Altitude is used on left stick (default mode)

Once altitude is reached, use right stick to control forward, back , left and right.

Personally I hardly use the yaw at all

Everyone has their own methods and it's all about trying. Also, give the flight sim a try in DJI go app. The phantom is a very relaxed machine and it will just hover when no sticks are pressed giving your brother time to work out the next move.

And of course. We have autoland and "return to home" where all it takes is just one hand to activate it. I believe your brother will enjoy this drone and find it very easy to get to grips with [emoji2]

Neon Euc

 

[Neon Euc]

Just remembered... Right stick controls the yaw.. Not turn it left or right. My mistake. But as I mentioned... It will hover so your brother can happily switch between the left and right stick without being rushed to do so. And also make sure it's not in ATTI mode as it will drift with the wind with no GPS[emoji2]

Neon Euc