Remote Landing and Launching

OOO · Mar 4, 2018

Currently I’m working on a video project which includes a remote landing and launching scene (on a cliff edge). I think it's good to practice a bit beforehand. It was raining and I had to be quick (you’ll see a rough landing). The entire video is one continuous shot, except last scene. There was no spotters and I didn’t use goggles. Do you have any suggestion on remote landing and launching?

kndll · Mar 4, 2018

Risky , make sure you have continuous signal between RC and AC , landing could be dangerous to camera or AC could tip over !!

Just_nick · Mar 4, 2018

That was a horrible landing. If you keeping landing that poorly, don't be surprised if you lose your drone because it fell over somewhere where you cannot get it. You need to practice coming down SLOWLY on an uneven surface.

OOO · Mar 4, 2018

kndll said:
Risky , make sure you have continuous signal between RC and AC , landing could be dangerous to camera or AC could tip over !!

Thanks for the suggestions. I have tried remote landing/launching 3 times so far and all went without a significant issue. In the first one, I landed the drone on the fresh snow and the gimbal/camera assembly completely sunk into the snow. But, I didn’t take the risk of remote launching. That was my only unsuccessful landing/launching case so far.

OOO · Mar 4, 2018

Just_nick said:
That was a horrible landing. If you keeping landing that poorly, don't be surprised if you lose your drone because it fell over somewhere where you cannot get it. You need to practice coming down SLOWLY on an uneven surface.

I agree. My previous landings were very smooth. In this case it was raining and I was a little hasty! Landing gears saved the drone!

Deleted member 62848 · Mar 4, 2018

Yes certainly hard to judge angle and how large some stones are when close despite looking semi flat,bit tricky really , camera seems to make landing like it's nearly there but continues to keep on landing ,deceiving on the eyes,good attempt anyway,only way to learn

Aussie markD1969 · Mar 4, 2018

OOO said:
Currently I’m working on a video project which includes a remote landing and launching scene (on a cliff edge). I think it's good to practice a bit beforehand. The entire video is one continuous shot, except last scene. Do you have any suggestion on remote landing and launching?

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

Nice scenery , dam rough landing

WV. Rootman · Mar 4, 2018

Is it worth the risk? I would practice more closely, like almost right in front of me. Lol I would practice more of getting used to what the ground looks like through the camera. Learn to stop a meter off the ground and make a good judgment call on landing.

OOO · Mar 4, 2018

ianzone said:
Yes certainly hard to judge angle and how large some stones are when close despite looking semi flat,bit tricky really , camera seems to make landing like it's nearly there but continues to keep on landing ,deceiving on the eyes,good attempt anyway,only way to learn

This was my second attempt to remote landing on that spot. In the first one I flew over that rock approximately one minute and landed successfully and very smoothly. The surface of the rock may look smooth from a little distance but it is not. As you mentioned above it is also very hard to judge the slope of the landing zone.

OOO · Mar 4, 2018

WV. Rootman said:
Is it worth the risk? I would practice more closely, like almost right in front of me. Lol I would practice more of getting used to what the ground looks like through the camera. Learn to stop a meter off the ground and make a good judgment call on landing.

Thanks my friend. Actually, I’m in the second phase of my remote landing/launching practice. In the first phase, I landed the drone on several different places but up to 50 meters away from the launching spot (may be more than 50 times). And this one is the 3rd flight of the second phase (long distance remote landing/launching).

OOO · Mar 5, 2018

Here is my first video of long distance remote landing and launching. All my long distance remote landing and launchings were successful so far. My observations are as follows:
1) Always keep the drone in VLOS. Make sure you always have a good signal. And always start with full battery
2) Landing zone may look OK from a distance but it may not be suitable for landing. Thus, when you get close to it scan the area for suitability.
3) It may be hard to judge the slope of the landing area. Thus, before landing, I always take a few shots from different angles to make sure that the landing area is flat and obstacle free.
4) Check ground clearance of your drone. My P4P and MP has very small amount of ground clearance which is not enough for a safe landing. I alway use landing gear for this purpose.
5) Goggles may help but I've never used them before.
Do you have any other suggestions?

Scuba Skip · Mar 10, 2018

OOO said:
Here is my first video of long distance remote landing and launching. All my long distance remote landing and launchings were successful so far. My observations are as follows:
1) Always keep the drone in VLOS. Make sure you always have a good signal. And always start with full battery
2) Landing zone may look OK from a distance but it may not be suitable for landing. Thus, when you get close to it scan the area for suitability.
3) It may be hard to judge the slope of the landing area. Thus, before landing, I always take a few shots from different angles to make sure that the landing area is flat and obstacle free.
4) Check ground clearance of your drone. My P4P and MP has very small amount of ground clearance which is not enough for a safe landing. I alway use landing gear for this purpose.
5) Goggles may help but I've never used them before.
Do you have any other suggestions?

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

The only other suggestion is to rotate your camera back up to he "fwd" position before doing the final meter - you are not going to gain any additional information by looking down at that point, and with the camera in the "fwd" position, you have a bit more protection of the lens .......

OOO · Mar 10, 2018

Scuba Skip said:
The only other suggestion is to rotate your camera back up to he "fwd" position before doing the final meter - you are not going to gain any additional information by looking down at that point, and with the camera in the "fwd" position, you have a bit more protection of the lens .......

Totally agree! Thanks for the suggestion.

skiptv · Mar 10, 2018

Great way to break your camera lens. If you continue to want to do remote landings I suggest you point the camera back up so it is not facing down when you land.

OOO · Mar 10, 2018

skiptv said:
Great way to break your camera lens. If you continue to want to do remote landings I suggest you point the camera back up so it is not facing down when you land.

I agree! But I use landing gear which gives me a good out of ground clearance.

Jammer · Mar 10, 2018

Landing gear extensions are a MUST for this kind of work. More clearance, wider base, much less chance of a roll over.
Don’t forget to manage you home point strings properly. ;-)

GadgetGuy · Mar 10, 2018

OOO said:
Here is my first video of long distance remote landing and launching. All my long distance remote landing and launchings were successful so far. My observations are as follows:
1) Always keep the drone in VLOS. Make sure you always have a good signal. And always start with full battery
2) Landing zone may look OK from a distance but it may not be suitable for landing. Thus, when you get close to it scan the area for suitability.
3) It may be hard to judge the slope of the landing area. Thus, before landing, I always take a few shots from different angles to make sure that the landing area is flat and obstacle free.
4) Check ground clearance of your drone. My P4P and MP has very small amount of ground clearance which is not enough for a safe landing. I alway use landing gear for this purpose.
5) Goggles may help but I've never used them before.
Do you have any other suggestions?

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

What exactly the purpose of the remote landing and take off? I fail to see a need to practice this, except to ditch land and manually recover, in which case you only incur the risk once, and not repeatedly. You should always have preplanned safe ditch areas like flat concrete or known flat ground nearby, if you can't safely make it all the way back. In this case, the rain would be just as bad on the ground in a remote landing, as while flying back, so simply turning around would have been a better option. If you want to do a close up ground inspection, you don't need to land completely to accomplish that. Be safe!

Jammer · Mar 10, 2018

We are doing remote landings inside prison facilities and secure sites to demonstrate current UAV technologies to Government agencies. The answer to the question “why do it” for us is a commercial one. The reason we have to demonstrate the capability is because it’s possible.

GadgetGuy · Mar 10, 2018

Jammer said:
We are doing remote landings inside prison facilities and secure sites to demonstrate current UAV technologies to Government agencies. The answer to the question “why do it” for us is a commercial one. The reason we have to demonstrate the capability is because it’s possible.

I meant the OP's need. Clearly, there are specialized circumstances like yours and those of bad dudes using the technology for nefarious drops. However, not clear why the OP would need to practice this for use in the wilderness.