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Fly Mavic Pro over ocean

MavicPro

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Let me start off by saying.....
I SCARED.
Is it me or does it seem alot of mavics like taking the plunge into the big ocean? More than any other DJI Drone. Or is it more likely that owners of mavics are more likely to fly over the ocean?

I'm going camping for a week next to the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I'm pretty terrified to fly my mavic over it, as I've read alot of reports of mavics getting lost out at sea.
Any tips for a first time Mavic over the ocean flyer? Thank you fellow Mavic Owners!
 
Let me start off by saying.....
I SCARED.
Is it me or does it seem alot of mavics like taking the plunge into the big ocean? More than any other DJI Drone. Or is it more likely that owners of mavics are more likely to fly over the ocean?

I'm going camping for a week next to the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I'm pretty terrified to fly my mavic over it, as I've read alot of reports of mavics getting lost out at sea.
Any tips for a first time Mavic over the ocean flyer? Thank you fellow Mavic Owners!

mate you dont have nothing to worry about.
Look > 80% of my flights have been over the ocean.

If the Mavic will suddenly fall it will do it regardless of its on the ocean or not. So my best advise is only keep an eye out on the battery, ensure that you the props are properly secure and check the wind direction. Do not fly against the wind to return and come back home early, dont over extend and land with plenty of battery.

Just relax have fun and believe me is much more scary to fly on land than over the ocean.
 
mate you dont have nothing to worry about.
Look > 80% of my flights have been over the ocean.

If the Mavic will suddenly fall it will do it regardless of its on the ocean or not. So my best advise is only keep an eye out on the battery, ensure that you the props are properly secure and check the wind direction. Do not fly against the wind to return and come back home early, dont over extend and land with plenty of battery.

Just relax have fun and believe me is much more scary to fly on land than over the ocean.
Thank you for that! ;)
I'm mainly worried as if I crash over land, I can retrieve and claim dji care refresh. ;) But I definitely hear ya! No trees, no people, no powerlines. ;) Do you have any videos of you flying over water? I would like to check them out ;)
 
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Watch battery, distance from shore, wind direction and wind speed. You may want to turn off your ground positioning sensors if flying low over the water (not recommended flying low).
 
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Let me start off by saying.....
I SCARED.
Is it me or does it seem alot of mavics like taking the plunge into the big ocean? More than any other DJI Drone. Or is it more likely that owners of mavics are more likely to fly over the ocean?

I'm going camping for a week next to the beautiful Pacific Ocean. I'm pretty terrified to fly my mavic over it, as I've read alot of reports of mavics getting lost out at sea.
Any tips for a first time Mavic over the ocean flyer? Thank you fellow Mavic Owners!
Out of piloting cleverly for ocean purposes, the extra safety is to use floats and have a boat to rescue in case of water emergency landing...
 
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U can have a look at mine..

Ahah, nice, Malaysia, my place, Pulau Redang. Nice video, interesting scenes of the yacht and following the moving boat and vertical ground views. The twin beaches a bit repetitive but for those not living there it's endless pleasure viewing I'm sure.
 
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Ahah, nice, Malaysia, my place, Pulau Redang. Nice video, interesting scenes of the yacht and following the moving boat and vertical ground views. The twin beaches a bit repetitive but for those not living there it's endless pleasure viewing I'm sure.

Thanks bro..[emoji106]
 
Water flying is no different to land flying. Just be sensible - be aware of the wind speed and direction and don't push battery life. Fly conservatively. If you're below about 30ft maybe turn downward sensors off. Otherwise no difference at all in procedures.
 
Water (read: ocean) flying I think is the most fun. You can fly real low and fast without worry that you will hit anything. Even if you do something crazy, the worst that can happen is that you'll lose your drone. You won't hurt other people or causing damage to other's property. Just turn downward sensor off if you will fly real low.
 
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I fly over water all the time. You probably have less chance of crashing because there is little to no radio interference and nothing to hit. The only recommendation I can give is to stay at least 10 to 15 feet off the surface just to be on the safe side.
 
I have flown low over the waters at Waikiki in Hawaii many times where there is plenty of wave activity. I truly believe as long as the MAVIC can "see" the waves it can determine it's distance to the water surface. If not due to inability to fly, most swimming Mavics become that way when flying over still waters where the down sensors cannot get a good reading of the surface. So be very careful flying low over still waters.
 
Downward sensors can get confused with reflections off the water and fail to hold altitude (in either direction randomly). Also hard to get a stable hover REALLY low for the same reason. Off is best
It uses barometric altitude to actually work out how high it is without these. This means it has no concept of actual height above wave or surface.
 
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Just curious, what exactly is the point of the downward sensors for landing? I feel like 99.9% of the time I feel a heck of a lot safer bringing the drone down to the ground on my own vs. that auto land it does.
 
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Most of my flights are over ocean or lakes. Key is, if it is going to crash, it will be difficult to recover even when over land.

  • Watch your wind, as too much of it could cause issue. Remember, over the ocean the wind is stronger than on land.
  • Watch for birds. Seagulls have been known to attack Mavics. Just watch out for them, if they start to follow it, put it into sport mode and get the heck out of there.
  • Know your limits. Make sure you understand your aircraft. Fly it on the beach around yourself to see how it reacts to the wind.
  • Don't fly too low. Remember, there are waves and swells. If you are trying to fly right along the water, realize a larger swell could take you out.
  • Watch your battery. Figure out which way the wind is blowing and realize if you fly out with the wind, coming back will use 2-3x you battery fighting against the wind. Don't try to get down to the last few % of battery. Come back early while you still have plenty of battery.
  • Watch you signal. You should get a decent signal as there is not a lot in the way to interfere, however, if you start to see any signal issues, bring it back in closer. Don't take risks.
  • Make sure you set a good homepoint. This should be with any flight, but with the ocean, you really want to make sure you do this. If it does loose signal, this gives it a great place to come back to.
 
Just don’t fly out with the wind and you will be good man. Go slow at the coastline and move out from there. Don’t fly lower than 30 feet above the water and be safe. You’ll do fine.
 
Just curious, what exactly is the point of the downward sensors for landing? I feel like 99.9% of the time I feel a heck of a lot safer bringing the drone down to the ground on my own vs. that auto land it does.

2 types of sensors. The VPS (ultrasound) determine actual height above ground once you're within about 30ft. (As opposed to barometric which is altitude relative to take off point and nothing else). These will help with auto land and slow or hover the last 02-3ft or so if needed.
You also have the vision system which is responsible for remembering what the take off site looks like so helps with precision landing and also used to improve hover stability by using optical sensors (indoor and outdoor).

They're both useful in their own right but can be unreliable over water or snow.
 
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