landing issues

[Bpwants2ski]

Hi guys, Ive been flying both my Q and H for some time now but have to yet to put the H down exactly where I want too.
I love this bird but she really poses challenge when I want to land on a pad, I am landing in tortoise mode but still require an awful lot of stick input to get close to where I want to be, am I alone, am I just rubbish or am I missing something please ?

 

[Mr. I]

How long have you had the drone ?

 

[Bpwants2ski]

Thank you for the prompt response, about 5 months now

 

[WTFDproject]

Can you land the Q on target?

 

[Mr. I]

Thank you for the prompt response, about 5 months now

No problem. Well, I have always landed in turtle mode too. That's a good start. What might help is more practice. Try hovering in one spot without GPS. Sounds kinda scary, but it really not that hard. When landing, there this effect called 'ground effect'. It's when the downdraft of the props hits the ground and comes back up and hit the props again pushing the drone back up. Causing it to hover and drift around. And that's what your fighting. My H is kinda jumpier than I would like when it below 15ft, but you'll overcome this with practice and time. Try hovering low in one spot (2ftx2ft) for awhile. then get lower, and lower until you land. I did this with GPS and no GPS for a few hours throughout my first week having my H. You can also try calibrating your drone.
I hope this is helpful. Wish you the best.

 

[Gomi]

I only have problems landing exactly where I want when the GPS signal has interference. Otherwise, it lands perfectly. Make sure you land in an open space without sources of interference like power lines and cell towers.

 

[Bpwants2ski]

Can you land the Q on target?

Yes perfectly, thats whats frustrating me

 

[Bpwants2ski]

No problem. Well, I have always landed in turtle mode too. That's a good start. What might help is more practice. Try hovering in one spot without GPS. Sounds kinda scary, but it really not that hard. When landing, there this effect called 'ground effect'. It's when the downdraft of the props hits the ground and comes back up and hit the props again pushing the drone back up. Causing it to hover and drift around. And that's what your fighting. My H is kinda jumpier than I would like when it below 15ft, but you'll overcome this with practice and time. Try hovering low in one spot (2ftx2ft) for awhile. then get lower, and lower until you land. I did this with GPS and no GPS for a few hours throughout my first week having my H. You can also try calibrating your drone.
I hope this is helpful. Wish you the best.

Thats great, thank you for the advice

 

[Bpwants2ski]

I only have problems landing exactly where I want when the GPS signal has interference. Otherwise, it lands perfectly. Make sure you land in an open space without sources of interference like power lines and cell towers.

Thank you, much appreciated.

 

[Mr. I]

about 5 months now

I've had mine since march. So 9 months now.

 

[Murray Martz]

Hi guys, Ive been flying both my Q and H for some time now but have to yet to put the H down exactly where I want too.
I love this bird but she really poses challenge when I want to land on a pad, I am landing in tortoise mode but still require an awful lot of stick input to get close to where I want to be, am I alone, am I just rubbish or am I missing something please ?

Because of the large size of the H, plus having 6 rotors, you will get a lot of rotor wash when trying to land at a crawl. Do not hover above your landing target at any point. Commit to the landing, then land. If you feel you are losing it, climb back up and try again. Going down too slow will create a lot of wash and blow the air back up at you causing you to most like toilet bowl(swirl). Some pilots will hit the kill switch for the rotors just before the touch down, but constant practice will allow you to get more confident in piloting the craft.

 

[Mr. I]

Because of the large size of the H, plus having 6 rotors, you will get a lot of rotor wash when trying to land at a crawl. Do not hover above your landing target at any point. Commit to the landing, then land. If you feel you are losing it, climb back up and try again. Going down too slow will create a lot of wash and blow the air back up at you causing you to most like toilet bowl(swirl). Some pilots will hit the kill switch for the rotors just before the touch down, but constant practice will allow you to get more confident in piloting the craft.

Yes, you will get lots of rotor wash, but coming down fast isn't a good way to land. I'm sorry sir, but that doesn't make any sense to me. Coming down fast will just put ware and tear on the drone. It may be hard to land slowly, practice makes perfect. Once you perfect it, it shows you have mastered landing.

You never see any pilot of any kind come down hard and fast for a landing. Helicopters always land nice and slow. Ask them how much rotor wash they get. None the less they land perfectly every time. How about airline pilot ? The ones that have to land Large aircrafts like 747, B-52's ! very large aircrafts. They always land nice and soft. they never come in fast and hard, slow and steady.

Have you ever tried landing micro drone ? The ones that fit in your palm ? Me and my friends can land those things like a pro. Even with those you can land slowly and softly. Practice my friend, not habits.

 

[Bpwants2ski]

Because of the large size of the H, plus having 6 rotors, you will get a lot of rotor wash when trying to land at a crawl. Do not hover above your landing target at any point. Commit to the landing, then land. If you feel you are losing it, climb back up and try again. Going down too slow will create a lot of wash and blow the air back up at you causing you to most like toilet bowl(swirl). Some pilots will hit the kill switch for the rotors just before the touch down, but constant practice will allow you to get more confident in piloting the craft.

Thank you

 

[Murray Martz]

Yes, you will get lots of rotor wash, but coming down fast isn't a good way to land. I'm sorry sir, but that doesn't make any sense to me. Coming down fast will just put ware and tear on the drone. It may be hard to land slowly, practice makes perfect. Once you perfect it, it shows you have mastered landing.

You never see any pilot of any kind come down hard and fast for a landing. Helicopters always land nice and slow. Ask them how much rotor wash they get. None the less they land perfectly every time. How about airline pilot ? The ones that have to land Large aircrafts like 747, B-52's ! very large aircrafts. They always land nice and soft. they never come in fast and hard, slow and steady.

Have you ever tried landing micro drone ? The ones that fit in your palm ? Me and my friends can land those things like a pro. Even with those you can land slowly and softly. Practice my friend, not habits.

Please re-read what my post said. There is nothing in my post about landing fast and hard. When landing a craft the size of the H, you must commit to the landing. A lot of people that crash while landing these, have it happen because the get low and land too slow. The H can list to one side or the other, it may also toilet bowl. Experience and practice will always make for a better pilot.

 

[AH-1G]

I land the majority of the time in turtle mode, never have issues drifting, unless wind is gusting.
I have many examples of my landings on video.
It takes practice. I made it an effort learning to land softly.

 

[Murray Martz]

I land the majority of the time in turtle mode, never have issues drifting, unless wind is gusting.
I have many examples of my landings on video.
It takes practice. I made it an effort learning to land softly.

And that is my point with committing to the landing. I always use turtle to land, but I do not hover below 2 feet or you could be looking at issues.

 

[DCH]

Good advice from @AH-1G and @Murray Martz. The thing is you do not want to linger close to the ground and let the turbulence get the upper hand. If you do you will be wandering around the LZ all day fighting it and never make your intended mark. Commit to the landing from about 4 to 6 feet, come straight down with purpose but not so fast as to hit hard, just let up a little at the last moment, you want the process to be fast enough so the turbulence doesn't get a chance to throw you off. It does take practice, and practice makes almost-perfect. As a side note, I actually find the the prop wash from the H easier to land thru than that of the Q500.

Sometimes the H can get confused at the last minute when landing with GPS on and hop around as it makes minor adjustments in location. This calls for immediate abort and full power up for a second attempt. The problem is it sometimes takes a second or two for the H to realize it has landed and idle down. For this reason it is always good practice to have a finger on the Kill Button while landing and hold it as soon as you touch down.

In fact many people like the alternate "Kill Button" method to land, where you tap the Kill button repeatedly when you are close to the ground, causing the H to drop about 6" each time, then once it contacts the ground hold the button until the motors stop. I have tried this myself and it works pretty good, though not my preferred way to land. And NOT to be attempted with an H Plus or H520.

I don't worry too much about landing right on target anymore, to me a good landing means no tip-overs, and no broken props! If you don't put a target on the ground, no one will ever know you missed it!

Whenever in doubt, I'm a big fan of the hand catch -something every drone pilot should practice (unless they have a H920!)

 

[Bpwants2ski]

Good advice from @AH-1G and @Murry Martz. The thing is you do not want to linger close to the ground and let the turbulence get the upper hand. If you do you will be wandering around the LZ all day fighting it and never make your intended mark. Commit to the landing from about 4 to 6 feet, come straight down with purpose but not so fast as to hit hard, just let up a little at the last moment, you want the process to be fast enough so the turbulence doesn't get a chance to throw you off. It does take practice, and practice makes almost-perfect. As a side note, I actually find the the prop wash from the H easier to land thru than that of the Q500.

Sometimes the H can get confused at the last minute when landing with GPS on and hop around as it makes minor adjustments in location. This calls for immediate abort and full power up for a second attempt. The problem is it sometimes takes a second or two for the H to realize it has landed and idle down. For this reason it is always good practice to have a finger on the Kill Button while landing and hold it as soon as you touch down.

In fact many people like the alternate "Kill Button" method to land, where you tap the Kill button repeatedly when you are close to the ground, causing the H to drop about 6" each time, then once it contacts the ground hold the button until the motors stop. I have tried this myself and it works pretty good, though not my preferred way to land.

Thank you, looking forward to lots more practise

 

[AH-1G]

I'm in the process of uploading 4 landings on hard surfaces, 3 on calm days and one windy day.
Geezzzz, 37 minutes uploading to YouTube.

 

[Bpwants2ski]

I'm in the process of uploading 4 landings on hard surfaces, 3 on calm days and one windy day.
Geezzzz, 37 minutes uploading to YouTube.

Thank you, look forward to seeing that footage