How to hand launch / toss lanch an FPV drone (the least-unsafe way) 

Quick note! If you disable Air Mode, then the PID loop will not permanently activate when pid_at_min_throttle=off. If Air Mode is disabled, then every time you lower the throttle to zero, the PID loop will disable.

I originally recorded this back in September, and thought I had published it, but apparently I didn't. ENJOY!

Set eat_face_at_min_throttle =maybe

I love the magic trick at 1:30

I usually just launched mine from a falconer's glove. First I whisper to it to go catch me a rabbit then I remove the hood and let it fly.

man joshua, your yard looks super pretty, but the video is actualy super helpful

Great video JB! I've been in this hobby over 3 years and I'm still learning something today! Cheers!

Your channel never fails to entertain and educate me regarding Rc equipment, and so, thank you very much. Ps I am from England and your command and pronunciation of English is as good as, if not better than a lot of English people. Yours sincerely Vic

I always hand launch with a disabled accelerometer (no need for angle). This way I can feel the stabilized PID loop in my hand without the quad spazzing. Then, giving it a little thrust to lift off in a slow forward climb. This feels way more controlled than tossing the quad and then needing to quickly react.

please don't, i still have scars on my hand from 2 weeks ago not hand launch but props do cut pretty good

Very interesting indeed! Thanks, Joshua! 😊 Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊 And happy holidays!

Super helpful video bro keep up the good work 🍻

Great Video as Always

I am hand launching planes with pushers for over 15 years. And now I am doing so with my quads to. Never head a scratch! Maybe not being clumsy and having a good body awareness helps quiet bit in that regard. 😂 One of my RC friends saw me hand launching my quad for the first time and was terrified, I didn't even gave it a second thought.

You should do a hand landing now. Lets see it Bardwell!!! Cool video. I'm glad you did something different like this.. Thx

Thanks!

I am sorry Joshua, I have been watching 👀 you for a while now, I am a patron and I hold you and your content in the highest esteem, I arm the drone in my hand however tossing it is the maddest thing I have seen you do 😅

Well done sir!!!!

Also if to hand launch. Ill just arm it bring throttle up very slow and let her float away, away from me slowly drop goggles than air mode. Screw chucking a flying blender lol. Hope all has happy holidays and merry Christmas and a good new year to the fpv community . Thanks Josh for the years of ur hard work.

Thanks for this crazy video and information 😂🤘🔥

I think this is technique a no-go for me at the moment, although the disable pid at throttle 0 seems _relatively_ safe. But, it was a very interesting video and it's good to know it's here if I ever feel like I really, really need to learn how to do it.

Nice video. 👍 Additional safety measure is to disable permanent air mode and assign switch for it. With that you can assign angle mode without air mode on. Quad will not freak out as badly in angle / stable mode if it hits something. I also prefer whoops behavior without air mode when in angle. They seem more predictive and they certainly don't freak out as much when I hit something. Oh, I almost never hand launch (quads) and I NEVER hand catch. I would rather disarm from 2 meters.

Hey! It's your first (quad) video outside in a while! This will be a good one 😊

1:29 😳You're a wizard JB!

Very cool video actually. I was trying to do this a few weeks ago and now I know why it was not working. I forgot to let the gyro set. So small and silly to forget but thank you for reminding me haha! Greetings from Miami. When are you coming back to visit us :D

I saw the "oh, you're a youtuber?" lady going by in the background in the intro. Hahaha!

Always doing a toss-launch when flying on sandy beaches :)

I use acro mode tilted slightly away from me (which avoids any wiggle without disabling PID loop). Then raise throttle to the point it tries to lift and let go. Usually with goggles but else I'd simply turn angle mode after launching.

Numero 1 ❤

you should interview Quadmovr!

The best solution for hand launching is to get it added as a feature to betaflight, similar to how some other drones like DJI ones, or similar to how some RC planes can do it. Using the accelerometer it should be possible to tell when it has been thrown. So having a hand launch mode where it automatically starts in angle mode and calibrates the gyro when stationary in your hand and then goes into a waiting state where it waits until it detects it has been thrown and then arms and goes to a preprogrammed throttle value, ideally close to its hover value and waits until you take over with the radio, would be the best option. If the drone has an altitude (barometer) or distance (ultrasonic, ToF, etc) sensor then it should make it even easier, when held right it could detect when it leaves your hand, the peak of the toss and other key points and could settle into a stable hover at a set altitude. Obviously that requires features that aren't that useful for FPV quads and would just add extra weight in most cases, but when you are in a situation without a good place to take off then you are probably filming so having altitude or position hold features would be useful anyway. Also if you dont have a good place to take off you likely don't have a good place to land either, although landing is more forgiving. Edit: at this point it seems best to just not hand or toss launch, in most situations you would have something to put it down on, even your bag or anything. It would be a very unusual situation to have nothing but your quad, radio and goggles plus clothes, on you and there is nothing for a significant distance that you could set the drone down on, or modify, flatten, clear, etc, so that you could put the drone on it.

Definitely have abit of a play line of sight. 5 inch los is a wild ride

It's rare that someone can fly an FPV copter on sight, best regards from Germany 👍👍😎😎

Excuse me sir, your vtx is on fire.

When you armed it, and props started to spinn, I tell you I flinched very bad xD..

I think I will skip this trend. Looks fun though. Thanks for sharing 🙏🏼

Today, I've learn something new! Now I want to know and learn if its possible to hand catch an fpv drone when there's no other options to land it.

Could you also enable MOTOR_STOP and put airmode on a switch?

Can we talk about the hdz reception bars? Why are you not getting full reception bars flying at arms length and a few dozen meter away from you? First I thought you had low power on disarm active, but it doesnt get better when flying. Even if you had it at 25mW you should get better reception than that when flying that close.

Could you not do the same thing with airmode on a switch? I used to try and perch back when I flew freestyle and I had airmode on a switch for that reason. It would then still be fully controllable just not react your shaking or throwing the quad.

I am subbed lol But very great info

Great video! I'd love to see this visited in more depth, with hand catch included. Thanks JB

I need the next video. I just hand launch and I only have 10min battery to hand catch. Hopefully you will release the catch video by that time.😂😂

I love how even after you take the time to set the pid to 0 at min, its still just inherently scary to hold an armed quad.

Hey Josh, i am using the pid at min throttle off for many years now, there is a throttle position (1300 i think) when the PID gets active and stays active. And i also think you can adjust it but i don’t remember the command for it.

Love the channel. I don’t know if this video is a good idea. Simply because I’ve seen janky setups where the receiver values hop around. Imagine thinking you are “safe” after doing this and your throttle value on your jank transmitter comes above throttle min. I’m not the safety police. Just sharing a thought.

Next video: catch land! Yeah I like my fingers too much. I can always find a place to launch from, even if it’s just balancing for a couple seconds. But I always wondered how this was done. 😅

You found it!! The video I mean.

I find, that having throttle locked at 0% on a switch is required, of hand launching. Wouldn't accidently hit 100% throttle, by bumping the stick, while holding the quad in your hand. Also, i find the pid at min throttle = off,.to be a great way to check if you have any bent props.

Since ive bumped into my throttle cut switch when walking to the drone and launching the drone into my hand(almost cut through a tendon) ill never get close to an powered drone with my transmitter still in my hand or round my neck. Coming from the damage it did to my hand, my advice is be carefull mistakes are really easily made. Especially when hand catching or launching. Just set it on the ground youre eyes and fingers aint worth the benefit😁

Its like a KISS fc feature right?

Hold it above your head!

What about the GPS lock on the fancy drones?

What is the state of x class / beast class ?

What is the strap he has protecting the stack

It’s called hand launch because that’s what you launch when something goes wrong. If you could paint a picture of what it looks like when something goes wrong, it would be painted in blood. I’ve had some pretty challenging launch sites but still managed to not hand launch. I’m not saying never hand launch but probably best to consider if it can possibly be avoided.

was this recorded in front of the emv house?

I have no interest and probably never will hand/toss launch an fpv quad. HOWEVER.... I did learn something today.

😁...😬.. okay... Here we go!

How come, HD Zero VTX on 1W, the quad (literally) in your face and all receiving antennas showing half (or less) receiving signal??? 🙄🙄🙄🤔🤔🤔

I got bit grabbing a 5’ while wearing gloves. Hurt like crazy in the middle finger for easily 15 minutes. Got lucky no permanent damage

Good to know this is possible though don't play with this folks, especially if the quad has big props/powerful motors. Expect the best but prepare for the worst. Arm assuming the flight controller could randomly glitch at any point. Better be a safe distance away from it when that happens and not a few 10s of centimeters away from your face.

When you toss launch in idle (sleeping mode as you mention), does it need to be in angle mode, so when you raise the throttle angle mode activates automatically?

I noticed when I enabled this command the quad won’t auto level when I arm in angle mode. Kind of interesting. I think the other way if you didn’t want to have spinning props when you toss would be to disable runaway recovery which the Devs don’t recommend. Mr. Steel did a hand launch video back in the day running kiss but from what I remember was Kiss didn’t automatically enable the Gyro allowing him to move the quad around without the PID loop freaking out.

i always did hand launching on my old 5" 3s copter, its not that powerful, and i never had any problem. but i never do this on any other quad , because all my others are a lot more powerful. i did launch it by throtteling up until hover and than let go. i used also an very old btfl version because of the naze32 i used . i can upgrade this copter but i dont , its doing what it should. upgrading isnt worth it. just build an other copter...

And how do I catch it out of air again? (:

If you’re in a situation that needs a hand launch, what do you do when you want to land?

I like it.. but... I think most people that have this situation of the ground not able to launch... beach.. dirt... water.. is nog race pilots with a underslung lipo.. but cinematic quads with a gopro on top. And like a slower hand launch. Wish I still had my analogue to practise this without ruining my digital ones.

I usually toss launch one before I go fly 😮😂

Never.Hand launch.An Fpv quadcopter. Also I'm afraid that the settings suggested in this video,will mess up your Betaflight configuration.

I've had my 4s 5 inch freestyle rig bite me pretty good. I landed line of sight in angle mode. When I bent down to pick er up my radio slipped out of my hand and hit my hand which I can as holding the radio with. Ihad the quad in my opposite hand with the Bottom side of the quad was against my leg and it armed.... Full throttle trying to right it's self. The lower props came up and munched my ring and pinkie away. I could see ligament and bone....... It happened SO FRIKIN FAST. I had no time to react. My nephew had to disarm it and unplug it for me. I dropped the quad my radio and my fatsharks. Twas a sad and painful day to say the least. Needless to say I don't do that anymore.

Cutting your fingers is nothing compared to slicing your eye open (so having goggles on is good idea after all?). Ideally you'd have disarm switch ready but even if a slow cinewhoop decides to freak out and flip at full throttle (which I've seen happening for no good reason) reaction time is just too slow to disarm before hitting yourself. Yeah if you know and trust your drone this probably won't happen and it's probably safe enough but still it's good to know if it does freak out and slip out of hand you won't be able to dodge it nor disarm it in time and consequences can be worse than just cut fingers. So if you need to do it better plan for unexpected cases. MATH: Just to put numbers to it. Let's say you have good reaction time of 0.2s (time from drone full throttling to you acting on it) and 0.05s to hit disarm switch. That's total time t = 0.25s. Let's say drone has 5:1 thrust to weight (racing drones might have ~10:1 and cinewhoops ~3:1). If drone goes straight up it will accelerate a = 40m/s^2. Putting all into displacement equation s = 0.5at^2 = 0.5*40*0.25^2 = 1.25 m. So at a time you disarm the drone is 1.25m in the air and flying at 10m/s which means it will reach peak height of ~6m and fall down. When launching drone from hand it's about 50-70cm from the face (remember 125cm distance before disarm?) even if you managed to disarm before hitting yourself drone is flying at ~7m/s into your face, good luck dodging that By tweaking numbers and taking into account that drone would need time to flip or it won't give full throttle etc you can get "safer numbers" but opposite is true if your reaction time is slower or you have fast racing drone especially if disarm switch is not right next to finger. Anyways, personally I feel safe enough hand launching cinewhoops with prop guards but would avoid doing same with 5inch racing drones

🥰🥰

Is there any downside to change the allowed arm angle in beta flight so it allows you to arm when the quad is not near level?

I can't imagine ever trying to hand-launch anything except my Pavo Pico. I don't even get within 5 feet of my 5 inch when I'm launching and I don't land within probably 20 feet of other people. Not worth the chance that someone gets acquainted with an out-of-control 4-bladed 40,000 RPM polycarbonate blender.

I carry my graduation cap n launch it from the top of my head. 😂

"bite" 😂

I just made my first fpv drone and completely cut my finger open like 30 minutes ago luckily not bad enough to need stitches

1:30 where did quad go? 😁

Acro preferred!! .. let go while its in a position to drift/fly away from you......then pull goggles down.... angle introduces unnecessary movements/changes in predictable flight

There have been a lot of good tips from Joshua, the best tip is don't do this unless you have as use case to. No matter how cool the 3d print for the pseudo replacement , Fingers are irreplaceable in a world were most of us make a living in programs with 299 shortcuts and the need to drive a mouse while left hand command. I need my qwerty hand just as much as my hjkl; hand. We in the land of stinky onions, and the land of you will shoot your eye out also have deep dish pizza boxes that are great disposable 18 to 30 inch wide landing pads, and if it seasoned correctly brings the rats running to the picnic.

Betaflight devs HATE this ONE WEIRD TRICK!

I always take off and land from my hand

Then we need a place to land. If theres a place to land, there should be a place to take off?

You forgot the most important part; to yell "drone out" as you toss the drone.

5in quads can make a great sushi chef to ur fingers. I know 1st hand but that was 5+ yrs ago. Wont make that mistake again lol.

That poor HD0 VTX. I didn't even know there was a lvl of hot beyond red

after hand-launching and hand-landing a matrice 300 i doesn't fear quad

I do not hand launch blenders unless they are unplugged.

The video you thought you already posted but never did?

You didn't want to talk about things like maximum arm angle and min throttle arming? If you have maximum arm angle set to anything other than 180 it will probably not arm after you throw it. I know most of us have it at 180 as a standard, but it's default is (can't even remember)....50-60 or something(?) so probably worth a mention. Also, probably should have mentioned the throttle protection. If your throttle isn't at zero when you flick the switch, the quad will not arm. I found this out the hard way after setting the max arm angle and, full of confidence, tossed mine into the air and accidentally bumped the throttle on my radio and the drone went splat.

I wonder if this video brings more fun or injuries to the hobby group🤣

Now how to hand catch my fpv drone so that it cant be damaged by sudden drop landings

Now show us the flip catch landing

he found the video :D

⬆↗

#HQS Humboldt Qwad Sqwad Worldwide

And now land to you hand 😁

Most of my flying time is with a 2 kg hex with 10 inch carbon fiber props and a total of 6hp. Can't help but be amused by the magnitude of your caution with those cute little plastic props.

😂😂 Im way too shaky to hand launch.. I always get 'calib' when I try😅😅