After reading all of the compass error horror stories, I have been paralyzed and afraid to fly until I get my Statefarm PAP policy... What type of take-off surface do you use on a regular basis?

I do it from my wooden deck but there are metal railings and chairs all around it.

If its grass or sand ill throw a beach towel down and use that.  If its uneven i'll hand launch.

The mavic sits REALLY low to the ground and most concrete contains rebar or wiring ducts so is very prone to interference.  I also dont want the fragile camera or vents sucking up dust and dirt.

i like to take my wife droning with me and insist on only taking off with her on hands and knees using her back as a launchpad.

jk - concrete if its clean, if not i carry a fold out launchpad.

I use a launch pad. Not only does it provide a clean surface, the white H on an orange background gives precision RTH a distinct target.

Strangely, I use both my car and the tractor ion-roof when I fly and land without any problems.

Concrete, is there rarely iron in here when it is on the ground as tiles.

How a Launch Pad should prevent magnetism from affecting my drone is a mystery to me. Maybe I've forgotten some of my children's lessons from physics ???   

Regards Leif.

I fly from mountains so I use whatever surface is available. Grass, dirt, rock, etc.  If it's really bad, I hand launch.  I don't think it makes much difference but if you hand launch you want to practice until it's a second nature.

BeefStew Posted at 2017-7-17 16:00
i like to take my wife droning with me and insist on only taking off with her on hands and knees using her back as a launchpad.

jk - concrete if its clean, if not i carry a fold out launchpad.

That's brilliant!  Now, why didn't I think of that?

Let's see if I can convince the wife to stay in position throughout the flight so that the Mavic don't get confused about where to land when RTH.

Concrete is fine as long as it doesn't have a lot of steel in it.  When I launch where I think there might be magnetic interference from steel I use a box or chair to raise the air craft.  I haven't had a problem landing on an  area with a lot of steel.

Landbo Posted at 2017-7-17 16:55
Strangely, I use both my car and the tractor ion-roof when I fly and land without any problems.

Concrete, is there rarely iron in here when it is on the ground as tiles.

How a Launch Pad should prevent magnetism from affecting my drone is a mystery to me. Maybe I've forgotten some of my children's lessons from physics ???

I'm guessing that the reference was to something like this, in which case the explanation is very simple: the pad allows takeoff to occur over (for example) a grassy area well away from the steel that might be embedded in concrete.

Tripp Posted at 2017-7-17 19:43
Concrete is fine as long as it doesn't have a lot of steel in it.  When I launch where I think there might be magnetic interference from steel I use a box or chair to raise the air craft.  I haven't had a problem landing on an  area with a lot of steel.

Now I think you will make it toooo complicated as grass grows on steel and tiles is very rarely. Will refer to the thread-starters own question/word.   

Regards Leif.

1" thick form pad with a T for good RTH reference. Nice area and clean and works well for any surface area.

FatherXmas Posted at 2017-7-17 16:23
I use a launch pad. Not only does it provide a clean surface, the white H on an orange background gives precision RTH a distinct target.

I'm going to have to get one

Landbo Posted at 2017-7-17 16:55
Strangely, I use both my car and the tractor ion-roof when I fly and land without any problems.

Concrete, is there rarely iron in here when it is on the ground as tiles.

I should have been clearer.. Launch pad would be from grass/dirt etc.  anything other than concrete

I only take off from where it is clean an stable, too afraid of handlaunching either.

STRIDE8 Posted at 2017-7-18 06:41
I should have been clearer.. Launch pad would be from grass/dirt etc.  anything other than concrete

Yes, okay.   

Regards Leif.

Stay away from concrete, metal, Clear your body from keys, phone, metal wallet etc...

For me, the reason to stay away from the concrete is that it's too hot in the summer.  My IR thermometer can easily register 135(F) on a normal sunny day in Houston.  The Mavic gets very, very unhappy when it overheats.

For takeoff/landing I use a fordable windshield reflector with an old Astros logo on  that works as well as an H for precision landing.  It's held to the ground by two sand filled paper weights.

Don't get paranoid I started from many different surfaces from rocks, roads, fields... I prefer landing pad because it protects my drone from dust (which clogs gimble and goes in motors) and in some really bad conditions (puddles) I hand launch.
Have fun flying

I always try and take off from concrete as its easier

I have an old all-weather rubber car mat that I have re-purposed.  It's heavy enough to knock down anything over it and is easy to clean off whenever I need to.

alex_markov Posted at 2017-7-18 22:30
Don't get paranoid  I started from many different surfaces from rocks, roads, fields... I prefer landing pad because it protects my drone from dust (which clogs gimble and goes in motors) and in some really bad conditions (puddles) I hand launch.
Have fun flying

^ This.

I've been taking off/landing from rock/concrete/dirt/snow/car/deck/grass... without any issues.