Beginner question:  I've heard of people talk of "hand-landing" their P3.  Maybe it's a good idea if avoid landing on sand, tall grass or on dusty/rough/wet surfaces, to limit contamination of the system.

But how do you hand-catch the bird?  Hover at 6 feet, grab the landing gear, then with your other hand, throttle all the way down until it shuts off?

Thanks

Exactly!  Hover slightly higher than your head so you don't risk injury.  Reach up and take hold of the vertical portion of a leg, nearest the body and shut it down with the other hand.  Neck strap required for the remote.

There are some good videos about various techniques.  Go to YouTube .   

There are some good videos about various techniques.  Go to YouTube .   

Yup, this is what I do when I don't want it to get near the floor.

clive Posted at 2015-9-24 07:09
Yup, this is what I do when I don't want it to get near the floor.

what about for take-off - seems like a bad idea to try to take off when holding it above your head - but do people do this, to prevent dust/dirt getting into the system?

I wouldnt worry about dust so much. These drones are pretty much self cleaning in the air. I carry around one of those aerosol dust blowers if it gets too hairy out there.

chrroman Posted at 2015-9-24 16:21
I wouldnt worry about dust so much. These drones are pretty much self cleaning in the air. I carry a ...

Dust on the lens can ruin your video and dust in the shocks can wear them out prematurely.
Any large bits could get in the motors between the magnets and the coils and cause a jam. This would be a bad thing as your P3 tumbles downwards to an untimely death.

If I'm on questionable terrain; sand, high grass, etc, I take off using my Phantom backpack as a platform. Because my backpack is a hard-foam, soft-cover pack, it wouldn't be the best place to land, so in those situations I "hand catch."

i have never hand-catched mine.  In-fact, I think it's more dangerous with more that could go wrong. As long as the ground as fairly even then  there should be no problem. Just hover a few inches above the ground before landing, left stick fully  down to switch off the motors as soon as it's landed. I've even landed on my  P3P box with no problem.

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I always hand catch - never been a problem.

boxerman Posted at 2015-9-28 12:54
I always hand catch - never been a problem.

Same here, I prefer to hand catch as my flying field has a lot of bumpy ground and loose dirt that blows around below 4 feet.

Do this all the time even without neckstrap.

Not a good thing to show anyone catching a helicopter with spinning blades expessially with all the new people on forums looking  up to all the experts on good flying habits  - Anything could happen - a sudden gust of wind - a glitch all of what could put the spinning blade in someones face or even worse in their eye. Whats wrong with a normal take-off and landing from the ground?

BoomStrike Posted at 2015-9-29 07:58
Not a good thing to show anyone catching a helicopter with spinning blades expessially with all the  ...

As people have explained already, sometimes the ground is not suited to a landing, dirt, dust, uneven, long grass etc.

If you work with your hands, doctor, dentist, surgeon, jeweler, computer guru, etc., hand catching might find you out of work. If you can afford to lose a finger or two no problem.

Mine's never landed on the ground.
l'm always leery of it when hand-catching though, it's not something to be cavalier about. There are a couple of videos on youtube that show  the P3 starting to act erratically as the person was reaching for it.  lt looked like maybe the VPS picked up on movement and started bouncing. Not much fun for the fingers!
lf l have VPS on, which l do most of the time, l make sure that even my shadow doesn't go under the P3. I always grab the front-right at about 7' when it's in a steady hover.

You're all insane.  The P3 does not "start to act erratically" when you reach for it.  Honestly - the thing has a sonar and GPS - when you let go of the control sticks, the think simply hovers.  All you do is walk over grab hold of a leg and power off the motors.  I did this with my P2V+ and now with the P3 EVERY TIME.  All it has to do is tilt over in the grass when landing and there goes another $20 set of blades - cause you can't buy just one....
C'Mon, quit being so timid - my work depends on my hands, but grasping a hovering P3 is nothing.  Nothing at all.

boxerman Posted at 2015-9-29 23:55
You're all insane.  The P3 does not "start to act erratically" when you reach for it.  Honestly - th ...

Are you calling me insane for saying l've seen them act erratically?
There are videos out there of people reaching up for their quad and it starts bouncing up and down. One of them was filming a review at the time.
l have no problem hand-catching, but to do it without any regard for safety while reaching up for spinning props is  not the smartest.

CapitAn Posted at 2015-9-30 04:42
Are you calling me insane for saying l've seen them act erratically?
There are videos out there of ...

Well, if you saw it on the internet then it really happened....     Again, have you ever witnessed this?  In person, I mean?   Thought not.

boxerman Posted at 2015-9-30 13:37
Well, if you saw it on the internet then it really happened....     Again, have you ever witnessed ...

So you think the reviewer posted a hologram? WTF  is your problem. Of course it happens, it's happened to people on this forum that went in for a landing and it started bouncing.
Of course l haven't witnessed it, l probably still wouldn't be hand catching if l had.
Not sure what point you're trying to make.

I turned off the "Bounce while landing" setting. So I have no problem.

I always hand catch and I always wear safety glasses to protect my eyes and a hat to protect my head. Wouldn't want to be scalped by my quad.

I hand catch all the time.  Just don't try doing it at any AMA (Academy of Model Aeronautics)  events, they would likely throw you off the field!

"Under no circumstances may a pilot or other person touch an outdoor model aircraft in flight while it is still under power, except to divert it from striking an individual"

I hand land over 90% of the time and hand launch when I have a spotter to help and when conditions suggest it would be safer IE young children or animals in the vicinity. I did a you tube video on the subject. YouTube search JAVI MacNeill Catch and Release

Here's a good reason not too unless absolutely necessary.
Sh*t happens, be careful.
Couldn't find the video, but there's one where the guy was bleeding like crazy from a blade cut. I used to hand catch, but stopped cause I hate going to the hospital

OK.. My answer to tall grass, dust, etc..  Yeah, it's a little hokey  :-)  Folds up well, easy to spot from the air with the bird, big enough that it doesn't blow around..  Besides, it's fun to see how close I can get to the middle of the "H" on the landing.  :-)

http://www.xsllj.com/helipad-dro ... r-parts-211885.html

ImagesByJAS Posted at 2017-1-18 18:54
OK.. My answer to tall grass, dust, etc..  Yeah, it's a little hokey  :-)  Folds up well, easy to spot from the air with the bird, big enough that it doesn't blow around..  Besides, it's fun to see how close I can get to the middle of the "H" on the landing.  :-)

http://www.xsllj.com/helipad-drone-pgy-landing-pad-helipad-protective-rc-drone-gimbal-quadcopter-helicopter-parts-211885.html

I think it's pretty cool.  They have one that's about 8' accross.  

I hand land unless I am flying in the house. To be clear, beginners should not hand land, I have been flying a long time before I upgraded to the P4P+ so I have had a lot of practice.

MaYhEm sMiLeY Posted at 2017-1-18 18:53
Here's a good reason not too unless absolutely necessary.
Sh*t happens, be careful.
Couldn't find the video, but there's one where the guy was bleeding like crazy from a blade cut. I used to hand catch, but stopped cause I hate going to the hospital

Oh dear. When you do hand catch, do not hand catch it by the propeller guards or propellers. Always hold the vertical part of the landing gear.  

198 flights, hand catched everyone. I do have prop guards on now and whilst I can see it could be a problem if you are careful, I will continue. Each to their own tho it must be said.

Forgot to say above that I always have it above my head at hand distance away and grab the landing gear with finger on throttle.

I wouldn't really recommend hand catching unless it's absolutely necessary, It's a very good way to lose a finger, sort of speak, if done wrong. Some customers use landing pads to help soften the landing.

I'll refrain from taking sides on the question of hand catching.  I think that has more to do with people's personalities (risk taking/risk averse) than any logical reasoning.

With regard to hand launching, how does that affect the RTH function.  Won't the Phantom attempt to land in mid-air (where it was launched)?   If so, will it continue to slowly gyrate down or will it drop out of the sky when it hits its perceived ground zero?

No.  As long as your home point is recorded, the Phantom will fly to a spot above it according to the RTH height you set.  It will then descend forever or until it touches down.  When it stops dropping for about 3 seconds, the motors will stop.  Hope this helps.

Also, as a side note, be advised that in the U.S., hand-catching is a violation of (hobbyist rules) CFR Part 101 in that it is contrary to the AMA's Safety Code.  

ImagesByJAS Posted at 2017-1-18 18:54
OK.. My answer to tall grass, dust, etc..  Yeah, it's a little hokey  :-)  Folds up well, easy to spot from the air with the bird, big enough that it doesn't blow around..  Besides, it's fun to see how close I can get to the middle of the "H" on the landing.  :-)

http://www.xsllj.com/helipad-drone-pgy-landing-pad-helipad-protective-rc-drone-gimbal-quadcopter-helicopter-parts-211885.html

As far as landing pads go I have had three and they are out there somewhere. I keep forgetting them and leave them behind. Hand takeoff and landing much better

I wasn't aware of any violation to hand-catching, but I do hand-catch also most of the time. It is safe in my opinion. I know stuff can happen, but as long as you are careful and bring it down to a reasonable height, grab the leg firmly and you can easily use one hand to shut it down. No, if the wind is blowing like crazy I wouldn't try it. But I would in that case to bring it down behind a building or somewhere out of the wind to catch it. If I had to land it I would. I haven't ever took off from a hand-held. If you are at the beach or something I understand about the sand or wherever else you might be with a lot of debris. I would also have those concerns, but would try to make the appropriate provisions to have something to take off from before hand. I supposed taking off from your hand shouldn't be any different than catching. A little common sense goes a long way.