I'm not going to try this, but do the motors on the phantom 3 stop if you throttle off for three seconds even when it is flying ? Or does it know it is off the ground and not stop.

No, if it's descending it won't cut out. But beware of phantom 4 with dodgy gimbal guards that block sensors and won't allow it to descend

As above, if it's descending the motors will not stop.

helidan Posted at 2016-9-22 02:08
As above, if it's descending the motors will not stop.

I will add the obvious: if you hand catch, my most used method, holding it still in the air will allow the single stick shutdown.

Rnfaust Posted at 2016-9-21 19:15
I will add the obvious: if you hand catch, my most used method, holding it still in the air will a ...

Correct, done this a few times.

I don't hand catch, I can land it perfectly and smoothly, it was descending from 300ft behind my house last night, seemed to take ages but I daren't pull the stick back any further just in case.

anthonyg Posted at 2016-9-21 14:36
I don't hand catch, I can land it perfectly and smoothly, it was descending from 300ft behind my hou ...

Full left stick down, do it all the time. I've also heard if you yaw the craft, like 360's as you descend it comes down faster. Or simply drive around as you have left stick full down works too.

anthonyg Posted at 2016-9-21 14:36
I don't hand catch, I can land it perfectly and smoothly, it was descending from 300ft behind my hou ...

There might be times when you need to hand catch! If the ground is uneven, you should hand catch, if the wind picks up during flight, you need to hand catch, if at the beach, you need to hand catch, if you are on the water, you need to hand catch, if a crowd gathers around you with small children, you need to hand catch. Loose sand and dirt will kick up as your P3 nears the ground. Wind will topple over the P3 as it touches the ground, obstructing the motors and being recorded as a crash voiding your warranty. A crowd will always gather around me when I fly. You can inform adults to back away, but they tend to forget they have small children who want so much to try to catch it themselves. You have to be very careful when catching your P3. It will bite! you will bleed! You may loose a body part!

Thanks for the help guys, I'll dare myself to try it.

anthonyg Posted at 2016-9-22 03:19
Thanks for the help guys, I'll dare myself to try it.

As the others have said, it will not shut the motors off while in the air, so feel free to use it all the time for descending.

Rnfaust Posted at 2016-9-22 02:15
I will add the obvious: if you hand catch, my most used method, holding it still in the air will a ...

That's also my main way of landing.

mjlstudios Posted at 2016-9-22 03:14
There might be times when you need to hand catch! If the ground is uneven, you should hand catch,  ...

Correct, if it's very windy, uneven surface, or lots of dirt, hand catching works the best for me.
BUT, that is not recommended.

remember there are two ways to stop the Motors. One which is left stick down and hold, or both stickers down in in towards each other. Left stick down will not stole your Motors in-flight The other way will absolutely stop your motors.