rank best available surface to take-off-land from

[ribjig]

P4P+ BeginnerModeOnly newbie;

Have read that concrete with rebar causes issues;
always or case by case? messes with GPS?
Sand & loose dirt have obvious issues;
Long grass messes with gimbal calibration;

Will be traveling regionally first time & looking
for public places to take-off-land. Unwilling to
carry around portable landing pad because will
often be walking with P4P+ in ProBass shoulder bag
& regular camera around neck, too, & need both hands
available to take grab shots...

Would this be reasonable ranking of best level public surfaces?

1. very short grass
2. any hard manmade surface without metal (wood, asphalt, stone, etc.)
3. hard dirt, nothing loose
4. #3 with minimal loose
5. concrete if no negative messages from controller
6. ?
7. ?

Help with what I'm forgetting appreciated!!!

 

[Ian Bailey]

I use one of these they fold into a small bag and has a few pro's... A good investment.
Double Side Landing Pad Apron for DJI Phantom4 3 Mavic Pro Inspire 1 RC Drone IR | eBay

 

[ribjig]

Like a windshield sun reflector.
80cm = 31in = not wide enough for this newbie
& really don't want to add to me roam-around weight...

 

[With The Birds]

You really only need something slightly larger than the landing gear footprint for take off, you can hand catch instead of trying to land back on it. A smallish square or marine plywood, Masonite or similar that fits in your backpack will work well. I use it in the beach all the time, even makes a handy screed for batting a level surface before placing it down.

 

[srv49]

Buy a very light chopping board/sheet from eBay and cut to fit your pack. Very light but can peg down in wind.


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[Loz]

Hard surface / Short Grass with some space around it seems best for your experience level and that you stated you don't wish to carry a takeoff/landing surface.

Personally I learned to hand land very early by necessity (uneven landing areas) but of course risky.


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[tyler9734]

Put it in atti mode on concrete then switch to GPS mode after takeoff

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[Teamfour]

I takeoff primarily from concrete and asphalt all the time. The issue with rebar comes into play when calibrating the compass. Once the bird is in the air, rebar doesn't matter.

 

[With The Birds]

Put it in atti mode on concrete then switch to GPS mode after takeoff

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What are you hoping to achieve from the ATTI mode launch? Probably best to just leave it, all will be good once in the air anyway.

 

[a31burgervan]

I take a piece of heavy foam floor tile and use that


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[Loz]

Yes but OP indicated preference NOT to carry 'take off' platform, so we are commenting on ways to achieve that safely [emoji4]


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[Onajourney]

I take off from the hard case I carry it with and always hand catch.

 

[Ian Bailey]

I take off from the hard case I carry it with and always hand catch.

Yeah, this makes a lot of sense and pretty much what I did till i got my landing pad. The reason I use the pad is because it's very visable. People tend to stay well clear when in parks, beach etc and great for day and evening use.

 

[ribjig]

Thanks for responses.

Is there good video tutorial for hand landing newbie.
All I've heard is catch vertical stem, never horizontal...

Would it be correct to say most times a sidewalk
takeoff has no issues when in BeginnerMode?
If it did have issues, what would I notice...?
A message on RC?