Drone Flight Over Water Checklist?

[Nonprophet]

There's obviously an increased risk when flying your drone over water. I got my Mavic Mini mostly for recording my flatwater kayaking adventures, sunrises/sunsets by lakes, etc. so, I'm hoping I'll be flying near water a lot. I plan to almost exclusively fly on days with little to no wind as I really like the "glass-like surface" of lakes on flat calm days. I have a great solo canoe that I paddle, and for now I plan on hand launching and catching/landing.
I'd like to put together a "flight over the water safety checklist" that I can go through before each flight, and it'd be great if some of the more experienced drone pilots could give me some input on this.

Here's what I'm thinking so far:

1. Make sure all batteries, RC, and phone/tablet are fully charged.
2. Once onsite with all local maps loaded on phone/tablet, set phone/tablet to airplane mode.
3. Calibrate drone compass and IMU before each over water flight whether prompted to or not.
4. Check UAV app for optimal conditions.
5. Set RTH height high enough to clear any trees or other obstacles in my intended flight path.
6. Be sure to keep drone at least 10-20' above the surface of the water at all times.
7. If there's and wind, fly into the wind at the start of the flight so the wind can carry the drone back to the Home Port.

Ok, that's what I've got so far. I remember there being some settings in the RTH menu that needed to be adjusted so that the drone would not descend into the water if it lost connection with the RC/phone, etc, but right now I can't remember what those settings were/are.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Meta4]

3. Calibrate drone compass and IMU before each over water flight whether prompted to or not.

This is completely unnecessary and won't do anything to make your flight safer.

I remember there being some settings in the RTH menu that needed to be adjusted so that the drone would not descend into the water if it lost connection with the RC/phone, etc, but right now I can't remember what those settings were/are.

The only thing you can adjust regarding RTH is the RTH height.
What you are thinking of is the Loss of Signal options.
The default setting is RTH and unless you have changed that, it will be the LoS action.

 

[Vaideeshwar]

Since you say that you got the MM primarily for filming your water adventures, maybe invest in some water floats for the MM (you should find something now on amazon, considering how long the drone has been in the market for)?

Yes, increases weight by a small amount, but would atleast give you a physical artifact for a Refresh claim should there be an incident (god forbid).

 

[Meta4]

Since you say that you got the MM primarily for filming your water adventures, maybe invest in some water floats for the MM (you should find something now on amazon, considering how long the drone has been in the market for)?

Yes, increases weight by a small amount, but would at least give you a physical artifact for a Refresh claim should there be an incident (god forbid).

The Mini is underpowered and has trouble dealing with anything more than a gentle breeze without lumbering it with additional weight and wind resistance.
Floats are more likely to cause the loss of the Mini than make it safer.

 

[Otisangb]

Hi
I fly a zoom so not sure this will apply to you. I turn off the obstacle avoidance and landing protection. For the rth i enable the return at current altitude and i also set the rth altitude to whatever I feel comfortable with. I fly over open water so 50- 100 feet works for me. I have only do compass calibrations when prompted to. I have never received a prompt to calibrate the imu and don't plan to unless it asks me to.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Basically flying over water should have the same considerations and checks as flying over land.
Perhaps pay a little more attention to wind direction and flying out into the wind to assist return leg, especially with the mini lower tolerance for wind.
When flying over ocean or other such water from the shoreline, I usually set my RTH to a minimal number, usually 15m (50') is more than enough to play it safe.
If you have Care Refresh (and maybe a kayak or small boat at hand), you might want to invest in a Getterback.

 

[Vaideeshwar]

The Mini is underpowered and has trouble dealing with anything more than a gentle breeze without lumbering it with additional weight and wind resistance.
Floats are more likely to cause the loss of the Mini than make it safer.

True, I have owned a Mini before and I can tell you that the Mini does surprisingly well even in decent winds. Strong wind warnings pop up very frequently, yes, but I use my best judgment to decide if I should heed to or not.

I would never fly a drone over water because if something ever happens, it is game over. If I am forced to, however, I would use something like this https://www.amazon.com/Neigei-Extenders-Training-Expansion-Accessories/dp/B083J443RQ/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=mavic+mini+float&qid=1590284994&sr=8-4&th=1 .

It weighs 30gms (two prop guards together weigh 46gms), and, although your wind resistance is now lesser, you have some sort of insurance on your drone, should an incident occur. Without any floats, you risk the drone drowning and losing your money altogether.

I would specifically add floats to the MM because it has been known to do what is called the "uncommanded descent", where it basically starts to auto-land without the pilot initiating it.

 

[rehkram]

I have two very photogenic ponds on my property which I fly a lot. I've found the thing with the MM is on a good day you can skim low over the water whether it's mirror calm or with a chop, into the wind or downwind, at speed or real slow, and sneak up on wildfowl, fish and turtles, hover over lily pads, and so on. That's a good day out for me.

But... I've also experienced uncommanded descents which would have resulted in total loss over water. They've never occurred over water so far but I'm totally attuned to the possibility that they could.

You really need to know your aircraft, the wind conditions, and trust your gut feelings. Some days I'm very careful and film the ponds from above solid ground, other days I'm skimming. So far so good, could all change tomorrow.

Equipment failure (e.g. losing a prop, colliding with a dragonfly, etc) are the jokers in the pack when you're pushing the envelope with the MM, or any other aircraft for that matter.

 

[Meta4]

I would never fly a drone over water because if something ever happens, it is game over. If I am forced to, however, I would use something like this ...
It weighs 30gms (two prop guards together weigh 46gms), and, although your wind resistance is now lesser, you have some sort of insurance on your drone, should an incident occur. Without any floats, you risk the drone drowning and losing your money altogether.

That looks like a disaster in the making.
It's going to slow the Mini significantly in flight and act like a big sail to catch any wind.
Strap that to your Mini at your own risk.

 

[Andy Mac 230]

Reading lots of posts about the mini....don’t do it!!!

 

[rehkram]

Reading is not the same as flying...

 

[Vaideeshwar]

That looks like a disaster in the making.
It's going to slow the Mini significantly in flight and act like a big sail to catch any wind.
Strap that to your Mini at your own risk.

I understand there may be drag, but it is 8 bucks. I would buy it and test it over land to see how it would really perform before saying anything for cerain. My guess would be that it is going to be okay. If not, make a DIY foam floation kit even without the central frame.

 

[Andy Mac 230]

True I try not to read and fly at the same time...lol
but seriously the amount of posts about minis crashing over water would suggest it’s not a good idea.

 

[Nonprophet]

True I try not to read and fly at the same time...lol
but seriously the amount of posts about minis crashing over water would suggest it’s not a good idea.

Yes, but, I think a lot of that is because minis are almost always bought by first-time drone users that really don't know what they're doing. I mean even DJI's promos for the mini show it flying over water, the key problem seems to be how high over the water you fly, making sure you have good props, fresh batteries all the way around, etc.

 

[Andy Mac 230]

Yep totally agree but didn’t want to infer that MMs are flown by newbies....there for the grace go I
But I fly MPP so more forgiving until you switch in sport mode....gulp
would love to try drone racing

 

[Meta4]

I understand there may be drag, but it is 8 bucks. I would buy it and test it over land to see how it would really perform before saying anything for cerain. My guess would be that it is going to be okay. If not, make a DIY foam floation kit even without the central frame.

That sort of contraption is very atttractive for nervous new flyers and posts about them always get a lot of attention.
But you won't find any posts recommending them from people who have tried them and continue using them.
I wonder why?

 

[Dakarenduro]

Ok, that's what I've got so far. I remember there being some settings in the RTH menu that needed to be adjusted so that the drone would not descend into the water if it lost connection with the RC/phone, etc, but right now I can't remember what those settings were/are.

Any help is greatly appreciated!

As others mentioned, calibrating compass is useless in your scenario (unless asked to do so).

Because I live right on the western most point of Africa (Dakar) and have ocean to the east about 300 meters from the house and to the west about 600 meters, I fly 80% of flights over water. 100+ flights over water. I have done it with my Mavic Air and my Mavic 2 Zoom, but mainly the M2.

A few pointers. RTH - if I am flying from a boat, then setting Loss of Signal to HOVER is my advice. You would rather it hover in place and regain control than have it go back to the take off point which will not be where your boat currently is. Manual return and landing required.

The Mini (and other drones, mine included) will get a little flustered with holding altitude when very low over the water. You can do a search and read about it. Yesterday I flew out and hovered over the water at about 15ft high, I could watch it as it bounced maybe 1 to 2 ft in altitude for a few seconds until it stabilized. I've been told it is something about the optical sensors or ultrasonic sensors, no idea but it happens. So be prepared if it starts to lose altitude to fly it out.

Now the Mini specifically seems to have a software bug of uncontrolled descents. Personally I would not trust that drone over water but up to you. Just seems to be too many complaints about the Minis suddenly descending into the abyss.

Good luck. Here is my flight from yesterday. This was 1 mile off shore.

 

[Dakarenduro]

That sort of contraption is very atttractive for nervous new flyers and posts about them always get a lot of attention.
But you won't find any posts recommending them from people who have tried them and continue using them.
I wonder why?

Agreed. If you fly your drone over water you have to come to terms with the idea of a complete loss and weigh the risks vs rewards. Attaching anything to a 249gram aircraft will significantly impact flight characteristics in a bad way.

I do like the one video of the guy with his Mavic (or was it a Phantom?) testing the floats in his backyward above ground pool. Only to watch as it lands, floats, and then does a full flip upside down because they are so unsteady.

 

[Dakarenduro]

Another uncommanded descent report-
Strange behavior of the mavic mini

 

[gnirtS]

I cant see any difference over water to over land. I dont want it crashing onto either.