Why I Don't Catch My Drone

EyeWingsuit · Jan 9, 2016

Why *I* Don't Catch my Drone (the link is an article)

Some of you might find this article of interest. It surely sparked a number of dissonant responses in the DJI world.

Maddog · Jan 9, 2016

Ouch!

John N Kronyak III · Jan 9, 2016

EyeWingsuit said:
Why *I* Don't Catch my Drone (the link is an article)

Some of you might find this article of interest. It surely sparked a number of dissonant responses in the DJI world. View attachment 2283

Same happened to me. Made the mistake of turning off the RC first. I lost the wrestling match to protect my dog. Sewed it up myself.

EyeWingsuit · Jan 9, 2016

John N Kronyak III said:
Same happened to me. Made the mistake of turning off the RC first. I lost the wrestling match to protect my dog. Sewed it up myself.

To be clear, none of these pix are of me. I witnessed a similar accident and after being berated in a Phantom forum for bringing up why i feel it's a bad idea to catch a drone in *most* cases, I decided to share my thoughts with illustrations from around the Web. I had an RC heli take a chunk of finger a few years ago; it was my fortune to learn in one. How it helps someone out there as these grow in numbers.

User Name · Jan 9, 2016

I'm of two minds on the issue:

1- With enough care and caution, you can do it with little risk.
2- Sooner or later, even with care and caution, you're gunna get bit.

I recently had my 250 take a nice slice through my palm. I was as careful as I always was, but inadvertently knocked my TX off my desk, and it landed pushing the throttle to full. One prop caught my palm, luckily only once, before being sheered off. And luckily I had enough of a grip on it to hold it steady, props at full power, until I could retrieve my TX and power it down.

It was a wake up call. I'd still consider catching my Solo under the right circumstances, but man, I'm *extremely* cautious now.

EyeWingsuit · Jan 12, 2016

User Name said:
I'm of two minds on the issue:

1- With enough care and caution, you can do it with little risk.
2- Sooner or later, even with care and caution, you're gunna get bit.

These two statements are dichotomous.
Either the risk is there or it isn't. You can mitigate the risk, you can mitigate the severity of the result, but the risk just "is."

It doesn't matter to me what others do, outside of how it affects me. Unfortunately we're already seeing lawyers go after drones specializing in drone injury lawsuits. They already have plenty of fodder to demonstrate why drones can be dangerous both to drone owners and those around them. The guy in Australia that went to catch his drone and then put the props into his child's head will likely never forgive himself for the injury he did to his child because he couldn't/didn't properly catch it.

I can see situations such as landing on a boat transom for example, where catching is pretty well necessary. Beyond that, it seems to mostly be about ego. Ego is an expensive motivation for stitches on any part of the body.

User Name · Jan 12, 2016

EyeWingsuit said:
These two statements are dichotomous.

Yea, maybe I didn't explain it correctly, but that was what I meant - if you're careful you can do it with little risk *most of the time*, but sooner or later, something in or out of your control will go wrong and you (or someone else) will get bitten.

EyeWingsuit said:
I can see situations such as landing on a boat transom for example, where catching is pretty well necessary. Beyond that, it seems to mostly be about ego.

Agreed, and that's the only type of situation I'd consider catching mine. The only times I've done it is when there's no good landing place. You can perch it on uneven, ragged rocks level and stable enough to take off, but there's just not the precision to put it back down in the exact same spot. Or on a boat, as you say.

If there's an acceptable landing spot, there's no justification to catch it. If not, it's just a calculated risk, like so many others we all accept every day.

PdxSteve · Jan 12, 2016

Some people try to clean their lawn mower blades while it's running too. You can't fix stupid. Coffee is hot, don't put it between your legs lol.

Redbugger · Jan 12, 2016

After flying rc airplanes and helicopters for years all I know is something can and will go wrong eventually no matter how careful you are. It will surprise you and give you a rude of awakening.

erikgraham · Jan 12, 2016

Like @User Name mentioned above, I've taken off from boulder fields and steep terrain where I'm able to pile and wedge rocks under each leg to create a level "platform" for take off, but not big enough for landing. Something I try to avoid, but sometimes in remote areas, Mother Nature just doesn't provide good landing sites for drones. I'm thinking about trying to rig some kind of foldable, platform with adjustable legs. Anyway, in those cases I've had to hand catch. I can understand the boat thing as well, but I can't say id ever recommend it.

EyeWingsuit · Jan 12, 2016

Redbugger said:
After flying rc airplanes and helicopters for years all I know is something can and will go wrong eventually no matter how careful you are. It will surprise you and give you a rude of awakening.

One can say the same about piloting real aircraft, and most certainly BASE jumping (where my dead friends are in triple digits).
We can control how we approach, respond, and react to the risks, but we cannot control the risks themselves. I've had a couple PM's from people telling me "if you can't catch your drone then you need to learn how to fly" and "Why the *f* bring this up? Everyone catches their drones because it saves the motors," hence the reason I entitled the article "why *I* don't catch my drone.

As long as one is aware of the potentials, doesn't mind putting their limbs or face at greater risk, then by all means...have at it.
The only other concern is what happens when one catches their drone, is injured, and the now out-of-control-drone flies into someone else (like the infant in Australia).

Maddog · Jan 12, 2016

EyeWingsuit said:
One can say the same about piloting real aircraft, and most certainly BASE jumping (where my dead friends are in triple digits).
We can control how we approach, respond, and react to the risks, but we cannot control the risks themselves. I've had a couple PM's from people telling me "if you can't catch your drone then you need to learn how to fly" and "Why the *f* bring this up? Everyone catches their drones because it saves the motors," hence the reason I entitled the article "why *I* don't catch my drone.

As long as one is aware of the potentials, doesn't mind putting their limbs or face at greater risk, then by all means...have at it.
The only other concern is what happens when one catches their drone, is injured, and the now out-of-control-drone flies into someone else (like the infant in Australia).

I was not aware that people catch their drones "to save the motors". Sounds incredibly stupid to me.

Chuck · Jan 12, 2016

I think that they worry about dust and debris getting in the motors on landing. I guess they would rather take a chance on human debris getting in......ouch!

EyeWingsuit · Jan 12, 2016

Maddog said:
I was not aware that people catch their drones "to save the motors". Sounds incredibly stupid to me.

Over on the DJI FB forum, you'd think I was Satan incarnate for bringing up this subject.
Apparently the motors fail "up to 50% faster due to dirt sucked in on landing"
No kidding. There are even a few videos that can "teach you how to save your motors, and it looks really cool too!"

Maddog · Jan 12, 2016

Chuck said:
I think that they worry about dust and debris getting in the motors on landing. I guess they would rather take a chance on human debris getting in......ouch!

That's why I use a landing pad.

EyeWingsuit · Jan 12, 2016

Maddog said:
That's why I use a landing pad.
View attachment 2314

Me too.

Mine is not nearly as robust as yours, but it is very lightweight, and allows me to do a bit of branding. 1/4 foamcore over a second layer of 1/2 foamcore. Lightweight, durable. And always fun when RTH hits it spot-on.