Landing the phantom 2 to the ground or hand-catch?

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I was interested in knowing the opinion of the Phantom Pilots forum on this matter:

Do you guys land to the ground (which I do at the moment) or do you hand-catch it (which /r/djiphantom recommends, but I'm a bit scared to do)

Thanks for your answers in advance.
 
You should practice doing both.
I rarely hand catch, I prefer the challenge of making a nice landing.
Hand catching is easier however.
 
i changed to some taller legs to give the gimball clearance & always land to ground
 
GoodnNuff said:
You should practice doing both.
I rarely hand catch, I prefer the challenge of making a nice landing.
Hand catching is easier however.

I agree. Hand catch if the conditions require it, but remember, one wrong catch and...oh no...
 
I do both but I mostly hand catch. Its easier and less risky in my opinion.
 
Learn both, then do whatever is required at that time.
 
If you lose your fingers trying to hand catch then try the alternative and land it.
I haven't lost fingers yet, so I'll continue to hand catch.
 
I never learned to land, so I hand catch my drone, and with my Cessna, I only can land on aircraft carriers who will deploy their crash nets for my landings. Yup never learned to land.

just kidding...learn to land what you fly!
 
Captain Obvious said:
I only hand catch when on a pitching boat. Hand catching on land is a crutch, plain and simple.

Learn to land properly and you'll be a better operator.


True
 
hand launch and catch. 100% of the time. well, except for crashes.
 
Hand catch - every time now. The ESCs cannot withstand any stress and accidents can happen when landing, especially if the surface is not completely level.
 
Always landing, unless it's safer to hand catch. One really needs to be able to do both.
 
I'm not going to take on any one person specifically but I strongly disagree that you're a "better pilot" if you land, those 2 principles are unrelated.
Phantoms are so sensitive to lateral movement when you're landing all it takes is a small gust of wind at the wrong moment as you're about to touch down and PLOP it's going over and you're going to break props.. it's happened to me several times and props aren't cheap so why even risk it?

I feel like when done properly, hand-catching is safer especially if there's any wind. The key phrase there being "when done properly"... assuming of course your RC sticks are in the default configuration: Phantom should approach from slightly above in the "facing away" orientation (so later stick movements are normal) , then slowly approach the pilot until within arms reach... use your right hand (lateral stick) to reach out and grab a leg because you need your left hand on the throttle to bring the Phantom down the last few inches into your (right) hand, and obviously you need to be able to hold the throttle down with your left hand to stop the rotors. a lanyard is essential of course.
A perfect example of a hand catch (imo) can be seen in the first few seconds of this video

There's also plenty of us with our FPV antennas in a "hangs lower than the Phantom legs" configuration so that we get rock solid FPV no matter what orientation the Phantom is. That being the case I cannot physically land the Phantom or I'd break my FPV transmit antenna, so landing isn't even an option (I always take off from a ledge or have a partner hand-launch)
 
I must have two incredibly stable Phantoms. I've only had a tip over once or twice in two + years of landings.

QYV, you may need to edit your first sentence? I think you meant to disagree, not agree?

And QYV, if your dongle is longer than your legs, doesn't it get uncomfortable?
I mean having to either have a ledge or a second person just to launch? That would so limit when and where I could fly!
You need to get some longer legs bro.
 
HailStorm said:
I must have two incredibly stable Phantoms. I've only had a tip over once or twice in two + years of landings.

QYV, you may need to edit your first sentence? I think you meant to disagree, not agree?

And QYV, if your dongle is longer than your legs, doesn't it get uncomfortable?
I mean having to either have a ledge or a second person just to launch? That would so limit when and where I could fly!
You need to get some longer legs bro.

lol yep you're absolutely right DISagree. stability isn't about your Phantom or the pilot's skill, it's about environment. I fly regularly from rooftops, mountainsides, or near water where there are constant and unpredictable winds. There's also very few places out in nature that are perfectly level to land on. Catching is just so much easier but honestly that's secondary to the antenna issue and just how freaking simple it is to catch it, than worry about a perfect landing.

valid suggestions, but I don't really need or want longer legs, then it wouldn't fit in my backpack. Does it get uncomfortable... no? I don't fully understand that question. like for transport? I take off my super nice FPVLR pentalobe and secure it elsewhere.

finding a place to launch has never been an issue... the ledge doesn't have to be perfectly level, I launch all the time from rocks, tables, hand rails, tree stumps... as long as the surface is dirt, rock or wood (not metallic or magnetic so the Phantom's ability to start up properly and get home-lock isn't negatively impacted). Hand-launching with a friend is mostly for fun, it makes for a fun launch video with the camera pointed straight down and the person looking up at it, then zoom! off into the sky.
The actual process is easy... grab the bottom of the legs and let go when I throttle all the way up and say "go!" :)
 
HailStorm said:
if your dongle is longer than your legs, doesn't it get uncomfortable?
I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but laugh at that sentence. Not sure if I'm the only juvenile one here... :D
 
Captain Obvious said:
QYV said:
as long as the surface is dirt, rock or wood (not metallic or magnetic so GPS isn't negatively impacted).

Ferromagnetic surfaces do not negatively impact the Phantom's ability to acquire GPS lock.Ferromagnetic surfaces can negatively impact the compass.

whatever they affect, my Phantom will just sit and blink yellow, never even green/red if I put it on a metal surface. as soon as I take it away, the lights change and it starts acquiring normally. so fine, it's a compass error not a GPS error... the result is the same it doesn't start up properly and home-lock.
I've updated my phrasing in my other post, hopefully more to your liking
 

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