Anyone have a video of landing in manual in windy weather?

Joined
Dec 16, 2016
Messages
113
Reaction score
8
Age
40
I want to see your skills.

Who here has made the most difficult landing in manual? :)
 
I want to see your skills.

Who here has made the most difficult landing in manual? :)
I fly mine in through the laundry room window and land on the washing machine (while in spin cycle), in the basement. no video though, both hands on the sticks. (joke of course, couldn't help myself.)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ralph E. Johnson
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

The beginning of the video on the peak of Okemo, it was 30 degrees and the wind was ripping 25 gusting to nearly 40mph. It was a rough day for the drone and my extremities! The very end, I'm landing on the tiny little back balcony with a close in tree line. The wind was gusting probably 10mph, but no crazy steady wind. The gusts are what throw you off. It's easy to compensate for a steady wind. Zero room for error on that little balcony. Sorry there isn't really anything dramatic or exciting here, but it's very doable if you practice.

The important thing in these circumstances is to always use manual, do not try to be gentle, and perfection is irrelevant! The absolute last thing you want is the drone trying to move itself laterally with one or more of it's feet on the ground. And if you use FLY or LAND/RTH, that's exactly what will happen. If it tries to move and there is a leg or two on the ground, it will filp. You want it to move around only if you tell it too.

The drone will need to lean into the wind to hold position. So if possible, stand in position and align the drone so you're looking at it from behind with the wind perpendicular from the left or right. That way you only need to fight the wind in one direction. If you can't do that, you'll just need to be fighting the wind with a combination of pitch and roll. If the wind is coming from the left, you'll need to apply left roll to lean into the wind and line up over your LZ. Descend slow and steady down to about 12-16 inches above ground. When you're ready to land, do not do it slow and gentle. You need to plant the legs down immediately. Pull the throttle all the way down and hold it there, making a firm immediate landing. The legs on the side leaning into the wind will hit ground first. Just as those legs are coming to the ground, smoothly release the roll that was compensating for the wind. This will plant all 4 legs down swiftly and firmly. The motors should shut down after a second or two, at which point you can let go of the throttle stick. DO NOT RELEASE THE FULL DOWN THROTTLE STICK UNTIL THE MOTORS STOP. If the motors do not stop on their own, use the A+B+Pause kill switch.

Landing in strong wind or gusty wind will never be graceful, gentle, and pretty. And that is ok. Trying to be graceful and gentle will more than likely result in botched landings or flips.
 
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

The beginning of the video on the peak of Okemo, it was 30 degrees and the wind was ripping 25 gusting to nearly 40mph. It was a rough day for the drone and my extremities! The very end, I'm landing on the tiny little back balcony with a close in tree line. The wind was gusting probably 10mph, but no crazy steady wind. The gusts are what throw you off. It's easy to compensate for a steady wind. Zero room for error on that little balcony. Sorry there isn't really anything dramatic or exciting here, but it's very doable if you practice.

The important thing in these circumstances is to always use manual, do not try to be gentle, and perfection is irrelevant! The absolute last thing you want is the drone trying to move itself laterally with one or more of it's feet on the ground. And if you use FLY or LAND/RTH, that's exactly what will happen. If it tries to move and there is a leg or two on the ground, it will filp. You want it to move around only if you tell it too.

The drone will need to lean into the wind to hold position. So if possible, stand in position and align the drone so you're looking at it from behind with the wind perpendicular from the left or right. That way you only need to fight the wind in one direction. If you can't do that, you'll just need to be fighting the wind with a combination of pitch and roll. If the wind is coming from the left, you'll need to apply left roll to lean into the wind and line up over your LZ. Descend slow and steady down to about 12-16 inches above ground. When you're ready to land, do not do it slow and gentle. You need to plant the legs down immediately. Pull the throttle all the way down and hold it there, making a firm immediate landing. The legs on the side leaning into the wind will hit ground first. Just as those legs are coming to the ground, smoothly release the roll that was compensating for the wind. This will plant all 4 legs down swiftly and firmly. The motors should shut down after a second or two, at which point you can let go of the throttle stick. DO NOT RELEASE THE FULL DOWN THROTTLE STICK UNTIL THE MOTORS STOP. If the motors do not stop on their own, use the A+B+Pause kill switch.

Landing in strong wind or gusty wind will never be graceful, gentle, and pretty. And that is ok. Trying to be graceful and gentle will more than likely result in botched landings or flips.

Dude why did you Rip me yesterday for landing on my deck and taking off near trees telling me its a recipe for disaster? Do as I say not as I do? Lol Nice flight and footage Pedals...
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ralph E. Johnson
Dude why did you Rip me yesterday for landing on my deck and taking off near trees telling me its a recipe for disaster? Do as I say not as I do? Lol Nice flight and footage Pedals...
Manual Mode.. HUGE Difference..
 
That was a absolutely beautiful video!! Well flow and edited. Would love to have seen it with music.
Great job
 
Dude why did you Rip me yesterday for landing on my deck and taking off near trees telling me its a recipe for disaster? Do as I say not as I do? Lol Nice flight and footage Pedals...

I didn't rip you for it. I explained why it may have been a factor in the incident and what problems it can cause. All of which you were not aware of until I told you.

I made that flight knowing those factors and how to properly handle them. Part of that is manual at all times. And part of it is evaluating the risks of what may go wrong.
 
I didn't rip you for it. I explained why it may have been a factor in the incident and what problems it can cause. All of which you were not aware of until I told you.

I made that flight knowing those factors and how to properly handle them. Part of that is manual at all times. And part of it is evaluating the risks of what may go wrong.

I was being Facetious "just joking man" Yes I was aware of all the factors that could go wrong
I've been flying rc for 35 plus years, before they even had autonomus flight control for the masses. I fly often in manual mode myself even sport and acro, that was the first issue I had. It was one of my first post on this forum. The only thing that worried me was it happened after I flashed the latest AP firmware, so I thought something was broke.. And yes its duly noted what you stated you are absolutely correct about where when and how to fly.
 
I didn't rip you for it. I explained why it may have been a factor in the incident and what problems it can cause. All of which you were not aware of until I told you.

I made that flight knowing those factors and how to properly handle them. Part of that is manual at all times. And part of it is evaluating the risks of what may go wrong.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Check this out for flying in High winds. I don't like this except it shows the quality of the Solo.


Solo has to be the best built drone. My nephew took his Solo up and was caught in a blizzard before he could return. I'm so impressed with Solo. It did everything it could do to return home and do what the pilot was telling it to do until a motor pod failed and it crashed.
 
I know how all of you feel watching this video. But it makes me feel happy about my choice to have two solo's even though i have others.
 
Ouch! That had to be the longest few minutes of flying. I didn't hear the motor whining in the first part. Do you think the moisture contributed to the failure? Sorry it happened. Good thing we have spare Solo's, huh? Good luck.
 
Hi Chuck. Yes I think it was moisture causing the pod to fail.
It fell hard from around 70' and busted the body almost in half.
 
Being so close to RTH had to make it even worse. The best of luck to you in your future Solo flights.

Thanks Chuck. But I wouldn't be caught dead flying in a blizzard like that. that was my Nephew who is a photographer. He already has bought another one at BB.
 
Wow! poor Solo was getting a real bashing, but did very well, until the end. She gave it her all.
 
I'll be the jerk. Someone has to say it. That was very very very poor decision making. Amazing video. Bad idea. Lucky it didn't crash into someone or damage someone's car or house doing that.
 
To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Check this out for flying in High winds. I don't like this except it shows the quality of the Solo.


Solo has to be the best built drone. My nephew took his Solo up and was caught in a blizzard before he could return. I'm so impressed with Solo. It did everything it could do to return home and do what the pilot was telling it to do until a motor pod failed and it crashed.

After watching this I needed a cup of hot cocoa! I am amazed solo kept gps lock. How does gps keep lock in a snow storm?
 
After watching this I needed a cup of hot cocoa! I am amazed solo kept gps lock. How does gps keep lock in a snow storm?
Your guess is as good as mine. It almost made it home. My nephew said it spun the rotor off. I need to post a pic of the wreck.
 
I'll be the jerk. Someone has to say it. That was very very very poor decision making. Amazing video. Bad idea. Lucky it didn't crash into someone or damage someone's car or house doing that.
I've been waiting for your thoughts on the debacle :) You didn't disappoint!! My feelings also but he did get an amazing video and certainly tested the limits of his Solo.
 

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
13,093
Messages
147,741
Members
16,047
Latest member
pvt solo