This is how you hand launch and catch your P4

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There may be times where a tradition launch or landing just is not possible.

I would only recommend doing this for those who have lots of landing and take-off experience with their P4. Do not attempt this in windy conditions

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Hand catching it on a windy day is something I would only recommend after getting proficient at hand-catching on calm days --- but I agree that hand-catching on a windy day is a nice way to prevent a botched landing that can damage props, gimbal, camera, etc.
 
I live in mountainous country too. I always hand catch and fairly regularly hand launch.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots mobile app
 
One questions for those with high hours on the P4.
I seen P3 Pro able to take off from a boat hand held, meaning shaky shaky condition.
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Will the IMU allows a P4 to be shaky shaky during initial start up ?
I am speaking of a take off from a real boat at sea, while boat is moving.

thanks guys...
 
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Nice video! I hand catch 100%, but have never tried hand launching. One thing I would to add to hand catching is to make sure that the Phantom hovers above your head so you actually have to reach up to grab it. Do not let it hover on eye-level (in case it suddenly drifts to the side and hits you in the face).
 
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Nice video! I hand catch 100%, but have never tried hand launching. One thing I would to add to hand catching is to make sure that the Phantom hovers above your head so you actually have to reach up to it. Do not let it hover on eye-level (in case it suddenly drifts to the side and hits you in the face).

Yes, no eye level... surely, thank you.
I have taken serious precaution ...:D , as me not a good pilot...yet

Safety visor and a bit of forehead protection + full arm length welding glove
Safety Visor and Long Welder Glove.JPG


These safety gear is for training and later for real use....I hope.
I am not taking any chance, if Murphy Law is not on my side.

I hope Phantom 4 IMU is not fussy about shaky shaky initial start.
 
Three things I'll add to this hand launch/catch subject :

1. Notice the OP video barely shows the guy is wearing an RC harness. The harness is mandatory to make it easy to execute the launch method using one hand. Safety first.

2. I find it easier to hand launch by enabling auto launch using the on-screen icon and slide bar launch method. This method automatically applies adequate throttle to lift the craft up away from you, and then it hovers.

3. When hand catching, NEVER grab the craft while your fingers are touching the control sticks. Turn off the motors only AFTER you have a firm grip of the landing gear.
 
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ALSO, my bird was coming in from a Litchi mission when I stuck it into another mode so I could take control. It always comes back around 35% so I fly it a little manually to allow the battery to go down to or around 20%. As I brought it in, it got a little too close to the corner of my roof, and when I did a stick left, it slightly went right first before going left. Because I thought it was a little too close for comfort, I grabbed the landing gear and a little bit of the vertical part of the gear with a desire to walk it away from the roof corner. When that happened, I let off of the controls. The bird wanted to sit at that location in space, and it fought me while I tried to moved it away. YES, the bird tilted hard, trying to remain at that location, and the blades got my right forearm.

The front right blade broke and the right rear blade struck the top of the shell near the battery. I should have gone to the doctor to sew me up, but I treated the several light and a couple of moderate lacerations myself. I probably will have scars like a "cutter" because I didn't have a good grip on the vertical portion of the landing gear, causing the loss of control.

The bird is pretty much fine, other than having to pop another prop on it. I won't call this a crash, but I will cause it pilot error damage incident.
 
ALSO, my bird was coming in from a Litchi mission when I stuck it into another mode so I could take control. It always comes back around 35% so I fly it a little manually to allow the battery to go down to or around 20%. As I brought it in, it got a little too close to the corner of my roof, and when I did a stick left, it slightly went right first before going left. Because I thought it was a little too close for comfort, I grabbed the landing gear and a little bit of the vertical part of the gear with a desire to walk it away from the roof corner. When that happened, I let off of the controls. The bird wanted to sit at that location in space, and it fought me while I tried to moved it away. YES, the bird tilted hard, trying to remain at that location, and the blades got my right forearm.

The front right blade broke and the right rear blade struck the top of the shell near the battery. I should have gone to the doctor to sew me up, but I treated the several light and a couple of moderate lacerations myself. I probably will have scars like a "cutter" because I didn't have a good grip on the vertical portion of the landing gear, causing the loss of control.

The bird is pretty much fine, other than having to pop another prop on it. I won't call this a crash, but I will cause it pilot error damage incident.
Sorry to hear of your mishap. Hope it all heals up well for you. It's amazing just how stubborn the AC can get whilst tugging on it when the GPS is holding position. Thanks for sharing so others can learn.
 
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Hope u recover well FT

I guess hand catch landing is best using ATTI non GPS mode, I mean if on a boat, which is never "stationary" the person is.
 
Hope u recover well FT

I guess hand catch landing is best using ATTI non GPS mode, I mean if on a boat, which is never "stationary" the person is.
ATTI is not advised to hand catch. Catch only in P mode. It's best if the craft is stationary. On a boat you'll have only one unpredictable moving object to compensate for, instead of two.

You can always switch to ATTI AFTER you have a firm grip of the landing gear, then turn off the motors, but always hold the craft high and away from you until the motors stop.

The problem @ftttu experienced was not knowing you MUST hold the craft in place after grabbing it. He learned this the hard way unfortunately, sorry to hear that. It's not difficult to master, and it won't fight you if you have know to HOLD IN PLACE after you grab, and then turn off motors while holding in place.
 
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Hi John,

Some question if I may.....
Say the boat is moving at 5 knots, I then position P4 for hand catch. That means I must still maintain also 5 knots on the P4.
I then get a second person to do hand catch, because it is safer with two hands.

The moment the hand catch occurred, I then throttle down, but since the boat is moving at 5 knots or 2.57 meters per second.
Don't you think that between the command of throttle down/motor-kill to actual response of the P4 really killing its motor, it may sense position drift and P4 may assume a drift condition ...and will make adjustment by throttling to previous spot some seconds ago ?

Why I say this is because during the hand catch, I need to maintain forward speed equal to boat speed.
I am afraid the P4 algorithm does not think I am actually doing immediate landing as a 2.5 meters forward speed is still going on.
The video I linked indicated when Erik the sailor grabbed his P3 Pro, BUT the P3 is trying to throttle away at 2:59 to 3:04 until motor kill completed. If in ATTI mode, the algorithm will think it is wind blown drift and its okey and perhaps less powerful resistance from a P4 except for height correction.

FTTTU got resistance from his Phantom because he was walking away from phantom hoover spot , don't you think that is the same
case in as in a moving boat hand catch scenario?

I think for moving boat landing, the VPS sonar at the belly of P4 must be turned off too don't you think ?

Thanks
 
If you do not have control of the boat, I would never attempt to launch and catch from a boat.

If you do have control of the boat, I suggest pointing the boat toward the water current and idle the motor at the right speed to make the boat somewhat stationary, reasonably stationary so you can grab the stationary craft in P mode.

It's my opinion the least risk scenario is to always have your craft parked in the sky at the right altitude to grab it just above your head. BEFORE you grab it, take your hands off the sticks so you don't accidentally give the craft commands. With the craft hovering stable with hands off sticks, grab the landing gear with right hand. With a firm grip of the craft, turn off the motors with left hand on the RC, left stick down. Optionally you can flick the mode switch to ATTI right after the firm grip, removing the fight from the craft to stay put in the sky, then turn off the motors. IE, as you approach the craft to grab the landing gear, have your left thumb on the mode switch ready to switch to ATTI, right after you have a firm grip. You will still need to hold the craft at the hover elevation, it will still fight you to maintain elevation, but it won't fight you horizontally, alleviating half the battle.

Hand catching on a boat is very dangerous IMHO, especially if it's not calm or you're dealing with water current. I wouldn't try it, it's asking for trouble IMO.

If you're trying to capture a water skier or wake boarder, I do that from shore. It's much easier, such as this one I did from a river deck a couple years ago.

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Skilled operator, excellent video, congratulations. Would it be safe, would I try it, OMG
N o.
 

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