I saw a tutorial from Dirk Dallas - Fromwhereidrone page and he showed how to hand launch and hand catch the Mavic, however I read an article about that and said that hand catching the drone may put pressure on the motors and eventually cause damage to them; Does anyone know if it is ok to do that?

Hello and good day TasosPours. Thank you for the inquiry and for sharing. It is not recommended hand catching the DJI Mavic Air. Please do not stop the drone by hand, it could be dangerous. For your safety, please land the drone and stop the motos by sticks, or use the auto landing function. Thank you for your support.

I always hand catched my Spark and I always hand catch my Mavic Pro.
Without any issues whatsoever, you just need to know to catch them properly
I did it because I was launching either from the beach or a mountain, so no level ground or sand.

Fly safely
Alex

Alex B. Posted at 1-25 09:08
I always hand catched my Spark and I always hand catch my Mavic Pro.
Without any issues whatsoever, you just need to know to catch them properly
I did it because I was launching either from the beach or a mountain, so no level ground or sand.

Thanks Alex! Most of the time I find myself in places where there is no proper ground for launching .

TasosPours Posted at 1-25 09:11
Thanks Alex! Most of the time I find myself in places where there is no proper ground for launching .

For me launching from hand is easier than hand catching

Fly safely
Alex

im amazed by people that thing it damages the drone without realize that wind, sport mode and typical flying  puts same forces on the drone..  even if you use the tilt method to stop it...    the answer is no, it will not harm the drone, i been doing it much of the life of my drones.  

for hand catching it take practice to know where to grab safely and how to handle it, for me if im riding something moving, such as a boat, ATV, car, etc etc and i have grab it i grab and turn it sideways to stop it..  if im just hand catching it because ground isnt idea then lay hand out just under the drone and pull stick down to lower it and hold it there let it eventually come down (landing protection may stall it for a second or 2) then as it reaches ur hand grab it until props stop

hand launching is much easier, do normal take off with button and slide then as holding it wait till motors spin up a bit and strat to feel it pull and let it go it handle itself... you can also take the sticks to buttom center (csc take off) and then push lift stick as you release it..

HereForTheBeer Posted at 1-25 11:47
im amazed by people that thing it damages the drone without realize that wind, sport mode and typical flying  puts same forces on the drone..  even if you use the tilt method to stop it...    the answer is no, it will not harm the drone, i been doing it much of the life of my drones.  

for hand catching it take practice to know where to grab safely and how to handle it, for me if im riding something moving, such as a boat, ATV, car, etc etc and i have grab it i grab and turn it sideways to stop it..  if im just hand catching it because ground isnt idea then lay hand out just under the drone and pull stick down to lower it and hold it there let it eventually come down (landing protection may stall it for a second or 2) then as it reaches ur hand grab it until props stop

I agree, I have used the emergency shut off tilt method with my spark and never had issues. The damage done to the motors is marginal at best in comparison to running a full flight in sports 100% throttle. Will it kill your drone faster? I dont think so, but then again I aint to worried about it. personally I never hand catch/launch my MA due to a recent bad experience where it clipped my thumbnail (No damage though!) as there really isnt much real estate for grabbing the aircraft. Maybe one day I will get back to hand catch/launch, maybe with a chainmail/leather glove for safety

I personally risked my air way worse in ground landings (prop wash sometimes causes it to drift near touch down, landing it outside the pad) until I finally gave them up altogether. My two tips for hand landing are:

1) Always, and always catch it above head level, reaching up from below the drone. This simply keeps things safer.

2) Keep your hand steady (don't catch the drone and pull down) until the motors stop while keeping the throttle stick down, much like a regular landing. Normally air registers it as a landing and stops the motors in a second or two if you don't move your hand. If you grab and move the MA, it sometimes fights back or at least keeps the motors running for longer.

My 2cents is... Land your drone over to your hand facing up and get your left stick all way down and hold. Your Marvic Air will understand that you want to land and he will see a "surface" to land. The motors will not screem like when you hold it when landing and tilt. Like CemAygun and and HereForTheBeer (like that nick) said. It is safe and easy.

Just want throw my two cents in. I’ve hand caught my Mavic Air successfully probably 2 to 3 dozen times no problem. However, on my last flight a few days ago upon catching the drone my grip slipped before the rotors fully powered down and two of my fingers got nicked. The blades completely took the top layer of the skin off one of my finger tips drawing a lot of blood and left a small nick and bruise on the other. It hurt like a b****  and I’m still healing. So in conclusion, it is possible to catch the Mavic Air, but it only takes one mistake and you will be in for a bad time. I can only imagine what would have happened to my fingers if the blades were at full power. I can tell you I am done hand catching mine now.

Kevin79 Posted at 1-25 16:34
Just want throw my two cents in. I’ve hand caught my Mavic Air successfully probably 2 to 3 dozen times no problem. However, on my last flight a few days ago upon catching the drone my grip slipped before the rotors fully powered down and two of my fingers got nicked. The blades completely took the top layer of the skin off one of my finger tips drawing a lot of blood and left a small nick and bruise on the other. It hurt like a b****  and I’m still healing. So in conclusion, it is possible to catch the Mavic Air, but it only takes one mistake and you will be in for a bad time. I can only imagine what would have happened to my fingers if the blades were at full power. I can tell you I am done hand catching mine now.

everyone been grabbed their drone like an idiot and bit a few times! i think that's part of flying... it does hurt but ya know what... now ya know what it feels like and what your avoiding.  

I totally hand launch and catch esp if ground not permitting and can cause damage just be carefull

Well today I tried to launch and catch the drone and it went excellent . For the launch I grab the drone with the index , thumb and middle finger. I initiated a take off and when I sensed the kick from the drone I released it . The landing was the same. Three finfers and the stick all the way down.i disabled landing protection because the drone kept avoiding my hand .