Hi, is there any disadvantage whatsoever to hand catch and kill the motors? If you ignore it can be kind of dangerous.
Hand catch disadvantage?
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I hand catch about half the time and have never had a problem. Just be sure not to move the drone til you shut the motors down or it will fight you. It's just personal preference , some people are comfortable doing it and some are not.
Tom
Tom
FlushVision
Premium Pilot
The disadvantage comes from not doing it right/carefully for obvious reasons. Done with care it can help in situations where there isn't a good and reasonably level landing place available, or flying from a boat, say.
I almost exclusively hand catch the Phantom I have because it just loves to tip over if landing in anything other than the lightest of winds or rough-ish ground so I regard myself as an 'expert' (if there is such a thing) when it comes to hand catching a Phantom. The h, on the other hand, is much better with ground landing because of its larger landing-gear footprint, so in contrast to my Phantom experience I tend to almost exclusively ground land my H and have, to date, only hand caught it twice (last Wednesday in fact!)
I have noticed, though, that hand catching the H is a different experience from that of the Phantom and requires a different technique...but my no means difficult so long as you keep in mind that it's allot heavier and there's six rotors to keep your pinkies away from rather than 4.
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So is Air One's note about the inherent risks involved in attempting hand catching your Typhoon H.You need to consider that point of view, too, to be fair to yourself.
A LOT of Typhoon H pilots hand-catch on a regular basis successfully and do so without ever having any troubles, but I am not among their ranks. Good luck does not run in my direction, and I simply see no reason for me to try it, while my hat is off to those who do.
Just like I don't think there is any man yet who has been born big enough to throw me out of a perfectly fine flying airplane for me to try parachuting, the same goes for my feelings about drone hand catching. It's just not in my stars!
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I have only hand catch in an emergency. I would find a way to practice. It would be good with knowing how it reacts. Not sure how to practice. Maybe someone who has experience can teach you.
I do not know anyone who has been injured by typhoon props. I have also seen video of large birds of prey being used to down nuisance drones. Considering the value of a trained bird of prey I very much doubt they would put it in harms way.
Typhoon props are small and fragile, they are nothing like the heavy duty carbon cutting blades used on helis for example.
If you have any worries just buy yourself a half decent pair of construction gloves, you will be fine.
Watch a Trained Police Eagle Take Down a Drone
Oh, they can hurt you, alright. Do not believe otherwise, because you would be very wrong.
One reason I hesitate in hand catching a Typhoon H is because I HAVE been bitten once by its props. This happened long before I purchased my own Typhoon H Pro.
A buddy of mine bought a Typhoon H last year, the first one I saw in person. He has a VERY large steel pole building with a dirt floor where he stores his heavy equipment, which he owns and operates for his business. He was going to show me how it can operate indoors in such a huge environment when his H suddenly pitched forward in the dirt and tried skittering off on its own. (We later found out he had taken off in Smart Mode indoors too close to the H!)
Instinctively, I tried going after it and made the huge mistake of putting my hand in the wrong place at the wrong time. It bit me but only lightly and briefly. The photo below shows the results of my very brief encounter with the Typhoon H's spinning props. (The photo was taken about a week or so after this incident.) At that time the machine was NOT running at high RPMs, in flight, or running fast enough to be airborne. But it still got me, and it got me good. My finger broke 2 props. The Typhoon H was fine.
"Once bitten, twice shy." That's my motto. So, no drone hand catching for me!!
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FlushVision
Premium Pilot
Oh yes. I completely agree. If you aren't careful these things can do harm. Which is why in my earlier post I stressed that if it is done it should be done with care.
I read somewhere that if you let The H hover for a few seconds before you land it, that gives it time to talk to the satellites and confirm it's altitude, and you will have better landings by doing that.
FlushVision
Premium Pilot
I usually do have good ground landings with the H. It's just that on the two occasions where I felt it more appropriate to hand catch the H that no amount of good satellites or stability would have ensured a good landing. The area I was flying from had just a little too much slope coupled with a rough surface to risk a ground landing (It was, essentially, a rubbish tip).
This is not meant to be an 'attack' on some members, but merely a point of view that I have on this topic.
I'm from the 'old school' where things like hand catching are strongly discouraged. Yes, there are people out there that can hand catch and also have no injuries, but it is not something that you should either be doing, or showing others about in media such as YouTube (in my opinion).
Here's one take on this: How many of you hand launch? Hmm, what's the difference!
I believe that there are some people that use hand catching purely for personal reasons. "Hey watch this man, I'm going to catch this instead of landing"
Looks cool doesn't it?
My point is, if you don't hand launch, then why hand catch? Every single flight you take should be planned out prior to arming and taking off - this includes the landing site, (I also ensure I have an alternative/backup landing site). If this is done correctly, then there is no need to even consider putting yourself that close to a machine with 6 spinning props that can potentially cause injury.
Talking about this sort of thing on a forum, and 'encouraging' it is only going to lead to bad things. There are a lot of new users who have the H as their first ever multi rotor, and unfortunately, some of them may be inclined to try this landing 'method' out because others are advocating for it.
If you are confident in your abilities to hand catch - good for you, but please think of the range of experience of other members here and also of the negative publicity that an incident will bring to our hobby/profession.
I'm from the 'old school' where things like hand catching are strongly discouraged. Yes, there are people out there that can hand catch and also have no injuries, but it is not something that you should either be doing, or showing others about in media such as YouTube (in my opinion).
Here's one take on this: How many of you hand launch? Hmm, what's the difference!
I believe that there are some people that use hand catching purely for personal reasons. "Hey watch this man, I'm going to catch this instead of landing"
Looks cool doesn't it?
My point is, if you don't hand launch, then why hand catch? Every single flight you take should be planned out prior to arming and taking off - this includes the landing site, (I also ensure I have an alternative/backup landing site). If this is done correctly, then there is no need to even consider putting yourself that close to a machine with 6 spinning props that can potentially cause injury.
Talking about this sort of thing on a forum, and 'encouraging' it is only going to lead to bad things. There are a lot of new users who have the H as their first ever multi rotor, and unfortunately, some of them may be inclined to try this landing 'method' out because others are advocating for it.
If you are confident in your abilities to hand catch - good for you, but please think of the range of experience of other members here and also of the negative publicity that an incident will bring to our hobby/profession.
I have tried hand catching a few times, just to be sure I know how to do it in case of an emergency. What I found out immediately is that this bird doesn't like being held! And tries like everything to fly away. Fumbling with 1) supporting the ST16, 2) holding the left stick down, 3) pressing the red button and 3) controlling the angry bird was a real problem. I've sense learned that you only need to press and hold the red button. But, having the lanyard to hold the ST16 leaves both hands free to do the deed. So, if you plan to hand catch, I suggest you fly with the lanyard.
Hi. WHY hold the left stick down? Dont't touch it!! Just let it hoover about 1,5meter above ground then grab it light, don't fight it - then kill the motors. Don't do it more complicated than necessary.
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FlushVision
Premium Pilot
I would agree with this except that if it were me I would catch above head height. Of course, if you happen to be just 1.4m high, then we are in complete agreement (lol)
I have always wondered how those birds can take that. They must have incredibly tough skin.
This is not meant to gross anyone out, and it's certainly not a scientific comparison between the strength of the H props and the park foam park flier plane that came alive and took my finger almost clean off and cut up the rest of my fingers and palm pretty good. The prop sizes are almost identical and appear to be made out of a similar plastic.
I have about the same luck CC Rider has and I'm just showing this as a warning of what can happen. I hope it doesn't offend anyone. 4 surgeries later, donor nerves and tendons, and still at least 1 or 2 more surgeries to attempt to make it work again before they recommend removing it surgically to avoid removing it painfully by accident, due to it getting itself caught in something by being unruly and uncooperative. I was a little too busy to get a photo of it when it happened. This is a photo of it after the first surgery that only put it back in place temporarily while they worked out the details and got donor parts 2 days later.
Before anyone starts telling me what an idiot I am for putting my hand in the prop, it was a malfunction of the plane, and it was either my hand or my daughters face. It wasn't and enjoyable choice, but it was an easy choice.
The manufacturer admitted it's failure, corrected the programming and now I own 2 of these planes that have still never seen the air. The stick was at zero throttle and the radio wasn't even touched when the plane glitched and came alive, flying right up and at my daughters face.
I know I have this kind of luck so I'm not here to judge anyone that chooses to hand catch. I just want people to be aware of what a spinning prop can do. In fact, I had to hand catch my H when the GPS board went out on it. That wasn't nerve wracking at all.
I know there is a big difference between catching it from the prop, (like I did) and catching an H from the bottom. If I had time I would have grabbed elsewhere on it, but it was already so close by the time I got my hand in front of it that she looked like she was the lead role in the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Again, I don't mean to offend anyone, but if a vivid picture saves one person a finger, it may be worth offending another. Speaking of offending...too bad it wasn't my middle finger because it's stuck straight and unable to bend now. I would have a great excuse.Attachments
I have always wondered how those birds can take that. They must have incredibly tough skin.
This is not meant to gross anyone out, and it's certainly not a scientific comparison between the strength of the H props and the park foam park flier plane that came alive and took my finger almost clean off and cut up the rest of my fingers and palm pretty good. The prop sizes are almost identical and appear to be made out of a similar plastic.
I have about the same luck CC Rider has and I'm just showing this as a warning of what can happen. I hope it doesn't offend anyone. 4 surgeries later, donor nerves and tendons, and still at least 1 or 2 more surgeries to attempt to make it work again before they recommend removing it surgically to avoid removing it painfully by accident, due to it getting itself caught in something by being unruly and uncooperative. I was a little too busy to get a photo of it when it happened. This is a photo of it after the first surgery that only put it back in place temporarily while they worked out the details and got donor parts 2 days later.
Before anyone starts telling me what an idiot I am for putting my hand in the prop, it was a malfunction of the plane, and it was either my hand or my daughters face. It wasn't and enjoyable choice, but it was an easy choice.
The manufacturer admitted it's failure, corrected the programming and now I own 2 of these planes that have still never seen the air. The stick was at zero throttle and the radio wasn't even touched when the plane glitched and came alive, flying right up and at my daughters face.
I know I have this kind of luck so I'm not here to judge anyone that chooses to hand catch. I just want people to be aware of what a spinning prop can do. In fact, I had to hand catch my H when the GPS board went out on it. That wasn't nerve wracking at all.
Ouch....!
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