My secret weapon for easy landings
- Thread starter Mark Granger
- Start date
Some great advice in here.
In particular
"Watch your footing - staires/rocks uneven surfaces etc."
You have to step forward to collect, and the number of times I have hooked my foot in a bramble root or something as I moved forward is more than I care to remember. Another reason why the quad must be above you.
FYI, stalling the motors has no adverse effect on the esc's or anything else. A failed ESC, on the other hand will stop the motor suddenly and the inertia of the prop will cause it to unscrew. But it won't hurt the motor.
I learned to fly with a DIY hexacopter which was practically always in manual mode. Landing came quite easy and I transferred this experience to the Phantom. I could land on top of a utility pole if I wanted to.
Here's how I do it. As soon as the Phantom is less than an inch above the landing spot, I CSC the motors off. I've never had a tipover. Using CSC is faster than waiting for the Master Controller in the NAZA to decide that the aircraft has landed by three seconds of no vertical movement.
Respectfully... complete nonsense Steve
http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=...ighlight=Causes+of+motor/ESC+failures&lang=en
Thanks for the link. Apparently it's a question of the ESC design. On my hex I can stall the motor for a long time and never see any bad effects. (And I have, "landing" in a tree and listening to the props trying to turn while I retrieved it). Brushless motors are used in a lot of applications, even in my cordless Dremel tool, and there's no warning in the Dremel manual about stalling the motor.
Those of you who are promoting hand catching your drone can now take a victory lap. Yesterday in gusty wind with the battery warning blaring, I hand caught my P2V+ for the first time. I had no trouble at all. While I still prefer to land on the rug I will now be using the hand catch technique if I feel a ground landing is unsafe. I have a neck strap for the controller which makes the procedure a lot easier.
dirkclod
Premium Pilot
To old to run a lap but after ya do it a few times you will like it a lot better !! JMHO
Hi all. Noob phantomer. I've flown a few times.. totalling not more than 15mins. The hand catching technique is easy to learn and works well. (Hover..grab a leg..hold on..shut down remote)
dirkclod
Premium Pilot
Just make sure when you do get ahold to it you hold it steady while you shut it off !!!!
Just for the record, I never have, nor do I plan on landing my Phantom. The only quad I don't catch, is the CX-10. Did you guys know that thing is so small, it fits in the battery bay?
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dirkclod
Premium Pilot
Thanks Dirk. Glad to be on board.Welcome to the forum CPantom
And now it's on record
dirkclod
Premium Pilot
Well we glad to have ya and take a look around our new board and I think ya will find all you need to in here !! If ya don't...Just ask !
Also it kind of helps if ya put your country in and what ya fly in your signature !!
Then when ya ask it helps all involved
Hand catching is a very bad idea and should only be done in emergency situations, such as stopping it from flying into a bystander.
I have found two reasons for landing "flops".
One cause is ground-effect, which is common to all aircraft. The solution is to pause about 3 feet above the intended landing spot and descend slowly, optimally at a slight angle.
A second cause is from pulling both sticks to the center as in take off. Instead push just the left lever to the lower right corner and hold it there until the motors shut down. Then you can move the right lever to the lower left if you need to to complete the shut down.
A common door mat can be used as a landing pad, but I have found the HELIPAD from UAVBITS.NET solves several problems. It's more portable than a rug, the perforations in the deck seem to reduce ground effect turbulence/
reflections and the elevated platform provides protection from grass, sand and flying debris.
For more tips and useful information check out my Ebook on Amazon.com - Droner's Guide.
I have found two reasons for landing "flops".
One cause is ground-effect, which is common to all aircraft. The solution is to pause about 3 feet above the intended landing spot and descend slowly, optimally at a slight angle.
A second cause is from pulling both sticks to the center as in take off. Instead push just the left lever to the lower right corner and hold it there until the motors shut down. Then you can move the right lever to the lower left if you need to to complete the shut down.
A common door mat can be used as a landing pad, but I have found the HELIPAD from UAVBITS.NET solves several problems. It's more portable than a rug, the perforations in the deck seem to reduce ground effect turbulence/
For more tips and useful information check out my Ebook on Amazon.com - Droner's Guide.
You are welcome to your opinion. I beg to differ.
'Hand catching is...'? its only an 'is' for you, please dont assume it is an 'is' for others.
Like most techniques of anything it can be a pain if done wrong. Done right it can be absolutely safe. I and my Observer have done hundreds of hand catches and we have not been in any danger whatsoever...like i said, done right.
IMHO and being a newbie with only about 20 flights.. Prop guards are great and landing on hard surfaces just like hand catching takes practice. Me i've been a mechanic for over 40 years and i was givin great advice as a young lad... Never put your fingers anywhere near moving things!
Again just my opinion. Learn to land..practice and be patient!
Again just my opinion. Learn to land..practice and be patient!
I see it another way. Landing on a flat surface is easy, especially in GPS mode. When flying from surfaces which are not flat (ploughed field, boat, marshland, field with small trees and bushes in) then learn to hand catch. It means you are not so limited as to where you can fly from.
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