Hi all, i am fairly new to drones (3 months now). When i try to hand catch the drone for landing the drone moves upwards away from my hand. I was told putting it in sport mode would solve this. Whilst this does turn off most collusion avoidance sensors. The down facing one is still active and the drone still moves away from your had. What am i doing wring or is there a fault on the drone. Thanks. M
just keep the downward stick down to force it to land
This is quite normal,
Usually you have to hold down the stick ( on yr rc down ) then the drone will eventually come towards your hand, I know what you mean it’s like the drone don’t want to land, I still experience this myself as I always hand catch but it will ( should ) come down.
You essentially need to have your hand out in a way where the drone detects it as a stable object that’s big enough to land on.
I usually hand catch and have found the Mini 4 to be a bit more finicky than my other drones are/have been.
One thing I’ve found that helps when it’s being especially irksome is to point the gimbal straight down so that it displays an overlay of where it’s going to land (on your controller screen)
Nine times out of ten it turns out whilst I think I’m holding my hand in the right spot I’m not so it’s seeing me as an object to avoid instead of a landing pad.
I just stick mine in sport mode and hold down on the stick the drone will rise up again when it detects my hand, I just keep still and keep holding down it then start to initiate landing on my hand
yes know what you mean it does seem to take a while before it decides to land
Or grab and turn it upside down if you’re confident enough.
You can also start the motors running and throw it in the air and the GPS kicks in and hovers in place (don’t do it on a windy day though)
The downward-facing sensors (the two lenses underneath the drone, which work a bit like the searchlights on the Dambusters’ Lancasters) which control landing on a solid surface will tell the drone to avoid the small wibbly pink thing you’ve just stuck under it, and it bounces upwards. Try to grab it and it repeatedly jumps further upwards, which is great entertainment for kids watching you…
Hold the left stick down and the drone will come down gently onto your hand. Grab it thumb & forefinger by the body sides between the prop arms, and tilt it sideways away from your body; the props will stop automatically and the drone is safe to handle. The props will not restart when you level it up.
Hand TOAL is a useful skill to have. For take-off, hold your hand out with the drone sitting on top facing away from you, and launch, stepping backwards as soon as it’s airborne. Hand TOAL will prevent the drone from coming into contact with wet, dirty, muddy, or dusty ground, which could leave damp or muck inside the body, fucking up the electronics or getting into the motors, especially the rear motors which are positioned closer to the ground. Consumer drones are very open to the exterior atmosphere, which is a neccessity to keep them cool and ventilated, but the downside is that they are prone to things getting inside that are better kept outside!
I’m not a fan of throw-launching, because of the possibility of tilting the drone and automatically cutting the motors; it needs to stay level. The result of throw-launching is likely to be throwing the drone to the ground… I understand why people do it, the props spinning close to your face are unnerving, but stepping back as the drone lifts off will ensure safety. Those used to launching gliders or r/c aircraft are familiar with this method, because a throw gives the a/c lift at the vital moment, but it has no advantages in drone flying, as drones use downward thrust not aerofoil lift to stay up.
Don’t do this
Our friend @ianinlondon explains how easy it is
Can over stress the motors and damage the drone. just pulling down on the stick and allow the motors to come to a stop on their own
True
Thanks for all the replies. I still have alot to learn.
@Markham i hand catch my air 2s 99% of the time. Not sure if its been said here or already but ive found if the front of the drone is facing away from me, as in the same way im facing, then i have no issue with it wanting to land in my hand. Whrn the dronrs facing me as it comes down it just wont land. Keeps going up and down. Never done it in sports mode though. And the sensors are probably different in the air 2s
Easiest is to flick it into Sport Mode when you’re ready to land on your hand… and hold your hand still!
This
Main thing is to have your hand perfectly still so the drone sees something stable to land on. The props always stop straight away when theres no load on them.
Never needed to tilt and also never heard that tilting quickly to stop the motors damages the drone… Why would DJI allow the drone to overstress itself. Can probably cut yourself if you dont hold it well enough or move your hand in the wrong way.
I have been taught to always turn the drone to face away from me before descending below head height as you are far less likely to make a ‘wrong’ move with the sticks. To hand catch just keep you hand flat and still at about shoulder height and the drone should come down and sit happily on your hand as long as you keep downward pressure on the stick. Happy landings!
I believe if ever DJI need to look at your flight data any time if you have turned it sideways or upside down to stop the propellers is recorded as a crash. It has been said in Facebook groups several times by DJI reps.