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Why would I crash over water?

Gsxr150

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I'll be flying over a lot of water...isn't it true that catastrophic failure would be the only reason I could lose a drone? Never had ano issues with my P34k.
 
I've heard that as long as you're not using VPS over water, you should be OK. VPS and water/other kinds of reflective surfaces don't seem to play well together.
 
I think my P34k had VPS, correct? Humm...what would happen if I don't shut it off??
 
So of I turn off the VPS, it will only rely on GPS? How do you turn them off?
 
It's okay to use VPS over water. Just don't fly close to the surface of the water with it enabled. Also, you should refrain from pulling the left stick (throttle) to the full down position over water since it might engage Forced Landing mode. If that happens, you can cancel the landing.
 
Wow, thanks for the heads up! Last question then, so what could happen if I fly too close to the water? Sorry I am still a rookie.
 
If you're within range of the downward sensors, your Mavic might not hold its altitude as well. Also, it'll report an incorrect VPS altitude in DJI GO. Neither should cause a crash. Well, unless your Mavic is very close to the surface water and Forced Landing mode activates.

In short, it's not a good idea to fly close to the surface of the water (or the ground). It's one of the biggest obstacles you'll encounter.
 
Would you tell us please what you think is too close to water. How many feet off water might trigger the forced landing mode?
 
VPS = Vision Positioning System
 
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It's okay to use VPS over water. Just don't fly close to the surface of the water with it enabled. Also, you should refrain from pulling the left stick (throttle) to the full down position over water since it might engage Forced Landing mode. If that happens, you can cancel the landing.

By pressing up on the left stick. Thought that needed to be added in there. ha

This happened to me but from a higher altitude and ground was black (dark). Pressing cancel on the screen will not stop force landing.
 
Ok, I've read the thread referenced by msinger several times. It is rather confusing to say the least. It would seem something was wrong with the sensors or the software. Would someone with knowledge of the systems please give a brief review of how best to fly over water. What are the various limitations over water in the different flying modes? What modes are best used when doing so? Do the sensors get tricked only when the water is glass smooth? Other issues?
 
Thanks. Well, that advise is pretty obvious and doesn't address the question. There is a problem fling over water in certain situations. That is clear from several posts. I can be incredibly careful at 3 feet over the water but I'm guessing that could be trouble if we're talking a lake with glass smooth water. On the other hand if there is slight wind with ripples, possibly not. So do I just experiment and hope for the best or does someone have an answer to my question, either from experience or from specific knowledge of the sensor function?
 
I don't know, why would you crash over water? What are you going to crash into?

Have flown many times, over ocean, over lake, over pond.

Why would you not crash over water? Because the signal is awesome as there are no line-of-sight issues with your aircraft. There are no obstacles to impede your signal.
 
Because the signal is awesome as there are no line-of-sight issues with your aircraft.

Water is often a source of multi-path interference in analog radio applications. If the all-digital OcuSync protocol is able to weed out the noise and packet collisions and still get a clear signal, then that's a great step up.

As old pilots would say, your engine sounds twice as loud over water. It's not really any louder, but the risk of total loss psychologically enhances the perception.
 
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