I’m new to this with DJI Mini 3. I was out for a walk locally the other day and I met a chap flying his DJI Mini 4 from a pebble beach near me. I chatted with him for a few minutes and wondered how he would land - well of course he landed on his hand. Very impressive. But it got me to thinking - surely you can’t land on a sloping pebble beach? Does a landing site have to be perfectly level?
Thanks
Yes you can, no it doesn’t.
Learn to hand launch and land, especially with something as small as the mini 3. Landing on the ground (without a pad) kicks up all the stoor and crap from the ground, which then gets into your motors and gimble. I do this with an air 2 which I think is more than twice the weight and size of the mini 3. Practise it, it’s really nothing scary or complicated. Only time I am tempted to land on the ground is if it’s REALLY windy and the drone is struggling to maintain position, but i’d rather fly back to the van or car and land on the roof if it isn’t too far away.
You can get away with a landing site not being perfectly level but for something like a pebble beach, mud, long grass, sand or dust I would use a landing mat. that will level out a bumpy surface and prevent dust or sand being blown around and possibly affecting the drone.
An advantage is that it will stand out against the background so if you are somewhere with no obvious features - like a pebble beach - the VPS of your drone will pick up on the coloured mat.
This is the kind of thing I would recommend, they fold so the larger sizes aren’t a problem.
Excellent thanks guys. Short term I’ll get a mat and in the longer term I’ll give hand launch and land a go. Should I wear a glove or am I being a wimp?
Martin
No need for a glove really have a watch of this & familiarise yourself Here good luck it’s easy once you get the hang of it 
But it 'kin hurts when you get it wrong!
Have to admit in the few years I’ve got it wrong maybe twice three times max escaped a cut but the language was very colourful 
Took me an afternoon out on the patio practicing to develop technique for palm TOAL. TO is easy, you place the drone on your palm and go through the take-off procedure. If you are nevous of the high-rpm razors whizzing around close to you (not an unreasonable thing to be nervours of), step backwards as the drone leaves your palm.
Landing is a little less straighforward. The drone has landing sensors, so when you hold your palm out for it come down on to, it thinks that ground has suddenly appeared below it and ascends a few feet. You can overcome this by holding the left stick down, forcing the drone to continue to descend until it lands gently on your palm, and switches itself off.
There are several advantages to this. You keep the drone off the ground, which is worth doing because the ground has got all sorts of dust, mud, general detritis (some of it unpleasantly organic) and stuff you don’t want to get inside your drone. Stops if getting into wet grass as well. And, when you get to my age, you’ll appreciate not having to bend down to pick it up off the ground… Oh, and it looks cool as well, spectators are impressed!
Bending down is beginning to strike a cord - I’ll have to give this hand stuff a try….
In my experience the mats ok for starters like you plan. The way forward really is hand catching. Don’t want to try and push you into it, but it just makes TOAL so versatile. The ONLY time I’ll land, and it’s on the car roof like Darren mentioned, is when it’s real windy (Air2/3S windy 25/30mph).
The hand catch has been mentioned above, the ‘type’ I’ve always used is the ‘pinch’ method. When I say pinch I mean
2.Landing. Bit more tricky but easily doable. Bring the drone back from flight, I always yaw it so it faces away from me before bringing down. Once your in that position with the drone around 2ft above you, reach up until the drone moves up while sensing your hand, when it does DONT move your hand, the drone sees your hand now as the ground, pull down immediately while putting your fingers in ‘pinch’ position. After a split second the drone will go into landing mode. You want the drones belly to land on your bent middle finger,the second it does pinch and keep your hand still while the rotors stop.
Easy peasy😉. It may sound complicated but it’s quite intuitive, after a few goes. Never been snagged once, and I’ve flown in some shit conditions.
The other way, which I just don’t get along with and don’t think is as easy, is the palm way. For me, because you want your.palm flat for landing on, your palms not at eye level (unless you strain your wrist), so to me it’s more difficult. The pinch way you can bring the drone to eye level and keep your eye bang on it while it nestles in your fingers.
Anyways, each to his own. Good look with it whichever way you go👍
I use the pinch method for take off, but palm for landing. Strange that? But each to their own. I know I’ve only been flying for three years but never been bitten yet.
Yeah, I think I’d use a landing mat for that!!!
I’m with you Dave with my 2 Yuneec drones.
I think I’d want to use an airport for that!
I bought a length of chain of an appropriate weight, cut to the circumference of my landing mat. It weighs it down all round, and isn’t high enough to interfere with the rotors.
I have a Mini 4 Pro, and now hand launch and land most of the time, unless I have a very clear/nice landing area.
Take-off is easy enough. My RC2 controller is on a lanyard, so I start by pressing the take off icon mid-left, to bring up the big circle on-screen.I get the drone into position in my left hand, with arm raised just above 90 degrees, and grip it, rather than it being flat on my palm. That way, if there’s a gust of wind it’s not going to tilt the drone. Then, whilst the controller is hanging off the lanyard I press the take off button. Drone will spin up and lift a couple of seconds later, without me having to also move the left stick.
Landing has also become very easy now, but remember to flick it into Sports mode as this disables the obstacle avoidance sensors. The aircraft then won’t sense your hand and try to move away. Get the drone into position facing you, and then raise your arm. I tend to position my hand in a grip position rather than flat, and lower the drone straight into it, gripping when it’s within reach. I have a firm grip by the time the rotors then stop. I’ve never felt that my fingers were at risk, and gripping rather than it landing on a flat palm feels more secure.
I never needed to ue sport mode for this? I just keep the stick pulled down, drone comes down, sees my hand and goes up a few inches and then drops right down.
I believe that holding the sticks down will ultimately override the drone trying to move away, but sticking it in sports mode just means that it comes down quicker. (Also, if someone is watching it looks way cooler when the drone comes straight down rather than trying to ‘resist arrest’ and move away.)
I’ll give that a try next time
