I have seen conflicting advice online.
When hand catching, some say once it’s in your hand, just flip it over, and that will stop the motors (and it does I’m sure), however ….
I have seen others saying that doing that puts unnecessary strain on the motors, the gimbal, the airframe etc.
I have never flipped my drone over to stop the motors, but wondered what everyone else thinks?
Don’t you have a ‘power off’ button?
Sure …. Holding both sticks down and inwards will stop the motors (that’s what I normally do), but doing it one handed is not that simple while you have props spinning close by!
@BudgieUK In an emergency it is a good safety feature Peter, ie when speed of rotor stop and control is of the essence, but as it is a relevantly violent action it’s not advisable to do it very often.
The propellers are still running quite fast and by turning the drone you force the inertia momentum of the propellers as they speed up in an attempt to correct the drone to it’s normal flight orientation. As a result there is a stress on the axes of the motors and, although this is certainly not a big issue if you do it a few times, it could and will increase the wear and tear of the axis.
If you are fed up of the drone deciding whether or not to descend into your hand then switch to Sport mode as you bring it down and it’s altogether a much smoother experience.
Thanks …. You are confirming my thoughts on that point.
I watched a video a few days ago, where the guy said it was an urban myth, but I wasn’t convinced… I’m my mind, it seemed a ‘unnecessarily violent’ thing to do.
I’ll try sports mode next time I have a go (if it will stop raining)!
On my Mini 3 with the RC controller, I can land on my right hand while pulling back the left stick with my left thumb, and the motors stop automatically.
Do other DJI Mini drones work differently ?
I’ve always wondered if you accidently hold both sticks inwards during flight will it just stop & fall out the sky?
I will do it like this quite often, but will sometimes hover it at shoulder height, and ‘sneak up’ on the drone and just grab it… that’s when I have to shut the motors down
All the same
Forget flipping, forget sports mode, just follow this
As long as you do not set the controller to accept that command at ‘any time’ you should be fine.
The normal setting is ‘in emergency only’
I’ve always hand catched all my camera drones and holding down on the left stick and waiting a couple of seconds while the motors stop automatically has always worked fine for me, until the mini 4 pro that just won’t land in my hand because it detects my hand as an obstacle. So to over come the issue I just bring it to a hover infront of me and then flip it into sport more to disable the obstacle avoidance then it lands just like any other DJI camera drone by pulling down on the left stick. 
Doesn’t always work that smoothly Chris.
Had my hand at the distance shown on the video with left stick of my m3p down and as it descended it would all too often go back up. But using same method in Sport mode 100% guaranteed would come straight down with no sensors to stop it!
They should drop straight into your hand and My mini 2 used to work well that way in normal mode, but my mini 3 and 4 Pro wouldn’t play ball all the time. They would go up and down like a bloody yoyo despite how far I held my hand underneath so as I said just put it into Sport to disable the sensor.
I can catch my Mini 3 Pro but only when facing away from me (no sensor at the back). The Mavic 3 Classic, on the other hand (no pun!) won’t have any of it, so its Sport mode for that one, otherwise it’s like trying to collar a bulldog!
Have it set like that as if i neeeeeeeeeeeeed to get out of the way of manned aircraft. Better a peice of plastic than a lump of flesh.
Update: Tried catching the Mavic with sport mode engaged … no joy! It was waffling about in the turbulence from a nearby hedge; I couldn’t move away from that because another hedge . I had a few goes before fishing my landing pad out (the ground wasn’t suitable) and setting down.
Further research suggests that the IR sensor remains on even in sport mode. Hand catching is possible (allegedly) - I think I’ll wait for calmer conditions - Watch this space!
