Does anyone else get that pit in their stomach...

[Ianbickerton]

... when flying over water? And/or do you get nervous the moment you can no longer see your quad (even though it's techincally in LOS)? It has just occurred to me that one of the reasons for flying is to be able to capture things from a perspective that no other traditional method has been able to (economically) do until now. So while one can totally avoid those circumstances, it doesn't make any sense to as those scenarios are a large part of why we get drones in the first place.

I suppose I haven't become that seasoned yet to fully trust the technology or even fully understand what the camera is showing me- or can't show me. Does anyone else get hyper-alert to the point of nerves as soon as you take off? I think all these rules, regulations, ordinances, authorities ready to pounce make me a bit apprehensive as well.

So, what is your level of anxiety or plain ol' matter-of-fact attitude when you take off, whether it be over water, when your drone becomes no more than a spec in the sky- somewhere up there?

I do each time I fly as my first MA2 lasted two weeks. Hovering at 100 met and filming, there was a click noise and the next thing the drone tumbled out of the sky into pieces. Supposedly a propellor broke( faulty manufacture) thankfully my insurance replaced the drone. Now I am nervous at any height above 1 meter ?

 

[Duds]

I think having butterflies is good. Keeps you focused. I also have learnt to trust my instruments because line of sight is a fallacy more often than not.
Stay safe. Stay airborne.

 

[ArcTenTen]

I get a bit "anxious" when it's a new aircraft or when I'm flying in a technically difficult area/situation especially with Search & Rescue. But for the most part I don't get anxious at all for flights and it's 2nd nature.

I flew in a "difficult" situation this past weekend for a client. I was there to document their new property for their Architect (they have never seen the property in person). The property was HEAVILY wooded with the only canopy opening barely larger than the UAS itself and I had to ascend through this narrow opening for several feet with fairly strong winds trying to push it off course. I had to pass through this "green leady/branch" column 8 different times and each time it was "Laser Focus" intensity.

I gotten nervous several times while flying. Once, while flying near a bluff just west of Fort Collins, a couple of very large birds (hawks?) flew over to investigate my M2 Zoom. Thankfully they left it alone after a bit. The other thing that makes me nervous is flying from my front yard because I am in a local airport zone. It's easy to get FAA authorization to fly up to 400 ft but I worry about the potential of a flyaway situation. Thankfully, I've never experienced a flyaway! (fingers crossed).

 

[vindibona1]

My location is surrounded by tidal marsh and I have been involved in several searches over very difficult terrain.

Those searches over any terrain is what I'm trying to avoid. Were they drone failure or operator failure (in one way or another)?

 

[Mazdaman323lx]

... when flying over water? And/or do you get nervous the moment you can no longer see your quad (even though it's techincally in LOS)? It has just occurred to me that one of the reasons for flying is to be able to capture things from a perspective that no other traditional method has been able to (economically) do until now. So while one can totally avoid those circumstances, it doesn't make any sense to as those scenarios are a large part of why we get drones in the first place.

I suppose I haven't become that seasoned yet to fully trust the technology or even fully understand what the camera is showing me- or can't show me. Does anyone else get hyper-alert to the point of nerves as soon as you take off? I think all these rules, regulations, ordinances, authorities ready to pounce make me a bit apprehensive as well.

So, what is your level of anxiety or plain ol' matter-of-fact attitude when you take off, whether it be over water, when your drone becomes no more than a spec in the sky- somewhere up there?

Oh man , I got it today , big time !

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

Flying over water does not make me nervous except one it is flying lower than 10 feet above the water and the drone tends to slowly dive lower and lower and would go right in the water

Exactly... experienced that today at Eagle Harbor, Michigan! Kept my thumb on the underside of the left stick ready to push up. Whew!

 

[BigAl07]

Oh man , I got it today , big time !

You probably should go buy a LOTTERY ticket or two!!

 

[Drbobk]

I copied models like the marine one pictured below with red on the right, green on the left thinking that it was correct. What I hadn't realized is that marine and aircraft nav light positions are opposite of each other! Isn't that interesting? Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps I should reverse them.
View attachment 113631View attachment 113630

Maybe you’re joking and I’m missing it. But your diagram for the plane is just wrong, and the one for the boat is correct but upside-down. Naturally, planes followed the same rules as ships: anyone approaching from the right has right of way. Therefore, you see a red light, telling you to “stop”. The red light is on the left, or port side. (Think “Port wine is red.”)

 

[WDKZoom]

I’ll probably never fly over water.

I always get the "nerves" but like in my prior work as a high voltage electrician and as Old Man Mavic says, the moment you get complacent is the moment you get hurt or do something stupid. I will never say a crash is inevitable but should it happen I don't want to cause harm or damage to anyone or anything, I want to be able to recover my drone no matter how many pieces its in and lastly, I don't want it to be pilot error.

WDK

 

[Chip]

Oh man , I got it today , big time !

Its a miracle! A lifetime of piety, kindness, good deeds, and so forth finally paid off for somebody!

 

[Chip]

I would nominate that flight for TOP GUN 2020 AWARD. You flew out of the tree and never missed a beat. Plucky little Mavic and pilot with nerves of steel and the hands of a surgeon...

 

[vindibona1]

Maybe you’re joking and I’m missing it. But your diagram for the plane is just wrong, and the one for the boat is correct but upside-down. Naturally, planes followed the same rules as ships: anyone approaching from the right has right of way. Therefore, you see a red light, telling you to “stop”. The red light is on the left, or port side. (Think “Port wine is red.”)

The boat is intentionally upside down so the left and right would be oriented the same as the plane. Of course I may have picked the wrong model to use...

 

[bottomsup]

I have a total of 1hr 30mins flight time on my first ever drone that I bought last Saturday.

It was pretty nerve-wracking taking off from the roof of my 30-storey apartment building for the first few times. But I did quite a lot of research before I bought my MA2, so I am fairly aware of what it can and cannot do. After my initial jitters, I am pretty confident that my drone won't randomly drop out of the sky. And at that height, if it did drop out of the sky, the result would be the same whether I was over land or water. So flying over water does not add any additional anxiety for me.

I am however completely terrified at this point of flying at an altitude where I could hit trees/buildings/power lines... which is why I stay so high up. So far, I can't wrap my head around the directions when I am not facing the same direction as my drone. I wish the front and back of the drone was more distinctive, it's quite hard to tell sometimes.

would love to see some footage from your flight situation

 

[BirdzEyeView2020]

I wish the front and back of the drone was more distinctive, it's quite hard to tell sometimes.

All the advice about strobe lights is Very beneficial, but one more piece of advice is something built right into the DJI Fly app. When connected to your drone, look on screen - bottom center. Orientation and direction of your drone is wonderfully visible with this icon. You are the circle dot in the bottom center, the drone is the arrow (point being front/camera) on the outer radius.

 

[julius13]

It’s natural to be anxious when 1st starting out. I would get that way whenever I lost connection and had no idea where aircraft was located. Happened frequently with the Mavic Pro. Both of my P4P’s have gone freakazoid a couple of times and crashed...imu issues I believe. You will get over it I promise. Last year my Mavic 2 pro fell out of the sky from 372 ft. agl and luckily landed in a tree 115 up. DJI determined it was a propulsion issue and replaced it at no cost to me. Surprisingly, I didn’t get too bent out of shape when it was happening. I chalk that up to years of flying now and accepting something’s are out of my control. I assume you have DJI refresh? That eases my anxiety. Good luck and happy flying.

 

[Mazdaman323lx]

I would nominate that flight for TOP GUN 2020 AWARD. You flew out of the tree and never missed a beat. Plucky little Mavic and pilot with nerves of steel and the hands of a surgeon...

Tree surgeon more like

 

[GB1Yorkshire1]

I copied models like the marine one pictured below with red on the right, green on the left thinking that it was correct. What I hadn't realized is that marine and aircraft nav light positions are opposite of each other! Isn't that interesting? Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps I should reverse them.
View attachment 113631View attachment 113630

I don’t know where you got your information on aircraft navigation lights, but PORT IS RED LEFT /STARBOARD AND IS FORWARD FACING your illustration is incorrect.
aircraft and ships navigation conventions are very similar except for the addition of white strobe lights

 

[GB1Yorkshire1]

I copied models like the marine one pictured below with red on the right, green on the left thinking that it was correct. What I hadn't realized is that marine and aircraft nav light positions are opposite of each other! Isn't that interesting? Why do you suppose that is? Perhaps I should reverse them.
View attachment 113631View attachment 113630

 

[vindibona1]

View attachment 113699

As I said, I think the ONE aircraft illustration that came up was incorrect. I had it right to begin with and got confused by the incorrect illustration.

 

[Heindrich1988]

would love to see some footage from your flight situation

Hey, I was a bit busy last few days. I haven't had time to learn how to edit my videos yet, so here is a completely unedited flyby of my neighbourhood. If you look very closely at the end, you can just about see the pilot and his landing/take off roof.