Although consumer drones nowadays “fly themselves” there are still quite a few risks while launching that you need to take care of. As with any risk assessment, you will get better with time. You will find more and more risks each time you fly 🙂 not necessarily something you want, but that’s just how it is!
Even if you have all your drone settings right, there are still things you have to watch out for . The list below covers main risks during launch (although a lot of them apply also for flying and landing).
Trees and ceilings
When taking off, make sure you have clear space above you. This is particularly important when flying “intelligent” drones that use visual positioning in auto launch mode. The way visual positioning works is that the drone camera takes a shot and uses s as a point of reference. Normally, the drone needs to be couple of meters above the launch position in order to cover big enough area. Auto launch can disabled when flying indoors, forests, park and other areas where space above is limited.
People (especially children), animals and objects
There are limits as to where you can launch drone. This refers to distance from people as well as weight and size of drone. I’m not going to cover the whole legal aspect. I’m just going to assume that you know what you are doing. Even small drones have props that can give a nasty cut. Children and animals get curious and may approach the drone and try to touch it. Make sure you are prepared to react in time. If necessary, hand launch your drone.
Payload handling
If you attach anything to your drone (like camera or a fishing line) – give yourself plenty space at take off. If top payload (such as camera) is not centrally balanced, your drone will tip. You may need to adjust the position or hand launch your drone (assuming that your drone can actually handle the payload…). If you are attaching fishing line, it is absolutely critical to take of slowly and make sure the line does not tangle in the propellers. Practice over grassy land!
The list above is by no mean exclusive. I missed something very critical , let me know in comments! Before you fly – always check your surroundings, position on the map, wind direction and do a pre-flight check on your. This will help you to establish majority of the risks.
Balconies, patios and boats
Balconies are bad… the roof just appears out of nowhere and attacks you, haha. If you can, avoid taking off and landing on balconies. If chose to however. make sure you can hand catch and hand land your drone and that your grip is strong. You may want to switch of the bottom sensors, otherwise the drone may not “want to” land in your hand and you will have to force land it (this is where strong grip helps).