my brother keeps telling me i need a landing pad and i keep telling him the ground is fine. we've been going back and forth on this for weeks now. i mostly fly at parks and fields, occasionally gravel parking areas. mini 4 pro if that matters. he says dust and small rocks getting sucked into the motors is a real concern and i kind of get that but also ive been fine without one for like 6 months. im not saying hes wrong just wondering what people who actually fly regularly think ? is it one of those things you dont appreciate until you really need it or is it genuinely optional depending on where you fly

honestly the dust argument is real, especially on dry days. i fried a motor on my mavic air 2 and while i cant say 100% that was the cause, it happened after a lot of dusty field launches and the repair shop mentioned debris when they opened it up. landing pads are like 15 bucks for a decent one so for me the math worked out. the good ones fold up super small too, like thinner than a magazine, so its not even a space issue anymore.

i thought the same thing as you for ages. then i started flying at the beach more and yeah, sand in motors is absolutely not worth risking. got a hoodman one and it lives in my bag permanently now. the bright orange also helps me orient myself when im coming in to land from far away which i did not expect to be useful but it genuinely is.

for normal grass parks though? probably fine without it. your brother isnt wrong but he also isnt necessarily right for every situation if that makes sense.