Flying at the Beach: Any risk to drone

[astrohip]

I have an Air 2S, and normally fly it at my ranch, well inland. I'm a fairly experienced pilot. We're going to the beach next week (30A area of Florida), and my kids and grandkids really want me to bring it. Both for fun (they have all flown it before at the ranch), and to look for sharks in the water. We will be beachfront, and have a good sized deck to take-off and land on. No sand landings (hopefully!). It will never be flown without me being right there.

I baby my drone. I keep it clean, don't abuse it, etc etc. Any risk from flying at the beach for a week? Does the salt air damage it? Any sand risk (again, assuming no sand landings)? How about the wind, there's almost always a decent breeze at the beach. I know not to fly in strong winds, but I'm not familiar with how the beach winds may vary as you go up & down, and over the water.

I'm looking for possible problems, and if there are things I can do to mitigate them. I'd like to bring it, but don't want to unnecessarily risk it either.

Thanks for any and all feedback!

PS: I did a search, and didn't see any threads related to beach flying and associated risks. Apologies if I missed one.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Sand. Do not take off and land directly on the sand. It WILL get grit in places you don't want it.

Get a one of those collapsible circular landing pads.

 

[rexster1505]

Salt air and electronics don't mix. My original Phantom II Pro suffered an early end from flying over the Caribbean I got some great footage then and since then, I'm just more aware and wipe down with a clean damp cloth after every flight.
One more thing. Flying over clear water can confuse the bottom sensors and can possibly get dunked if your flying low.

 

[astrohip]

Sand. Do not take off and land directly on the sand. It WILL get grit in places you don't want it.

Get a one of those collapsible circular landing pads.

I mentioned in my post "I have a good sized deck to take-off and land on. No sand landings (hopefully!)."

But your post does remind me to make sure the landing spot is (no pun intended) spotless. No sand, no nothing. Maybe get a landing pad just to be dbl safe.

Thanks.

Edit: Landing pad ordered!

 

[astrohip]

Salt air and electronics don't mix. My original Phantom II Pro suffered an early end from flying over the Caribbean I got some great footage then and since then, I'm just more aware and wipe down with a clean damp cloth after every flight.
One more thing. Flying over clear water can confuse the bottom sensors and can possibly get dunked if your flying low.

Thanks, I will make sure and wipe down after each flight.

I had already thought about the water, and not getting too close to it. I'll confess I sometimes go BVLOS at the ranch, but it's wide open land with little to no risk. But I intend to make sure any drone flights at the beach are 100% VLOS, and a safe height.

Thanks.

 

[MS Coast]

Check for flight restrictions. Many beach communities and towns have enacted prohibitions for drones over the beaches. And if you're in the panhandle of Florida, you're probably near a military base.

I fly near or over salt water often and have never had a problem. I never make takeoffs or landings from sandy surfaces and never fly low over breaking waves, to avoid salt spray.

Share your shark photos if you get some good ones.

 

[rexster1505]

I mentioned in my post "I have a good sized deck to take-off and land on. No sand landings (hopefully!)."

But your post does remind me to make sure the landing spot is (no pun intended) spotless. No sand, no nothing. Maybe get a landing pad just to be dbl safe.

Thanks.

Edit: Landing pad ordered!

Wooden deck or concrete balcony? If concrete, steel rebar will influence your drone's compass

 

[Cafguy]

Just keep the sand out of your drone and I would wipe it down after each use in the area just to be finicky. lol
Check the local law and be aware of those around you ( drones attract kids ) you should be fine

NOW to the REAL Question.....Will you ship BLUE BELL to Cali lol ??!!!

 

[astrohip]

Check for flight restrictions. Many beach communities and towns have enacted prohibitions for drones over the beaches. And if you're in the panhandle of Florida, you're probably near a military base.

I didn't think cities could enact local drone ordinances. Why am I thinking only the FAA has drone authority? But I will check.

We're a pretty good distance from Pensacola, should be good to go.

 

[astrohip]

Wooden deck or concrete balcony? If concrete, steel rebar will influence your drone's compass

Good point. I think it's tile, but that's usually over concrete. Will remain aware.

Thanks.

 

[Dustydoug]

Seagulls!

 

[astrohip]

Just keep the sand out of your drone and I would wipe it down after each use in the area just to be finicky. lol
Check the local law and be aware of those around you ( drones attract kids ) you should be fine

NOW to the REAL Question.....Will you ship BLUE BELL to Cali lol ??!!!

I saw a drone at the beach a couple years ago, and people were congregating around the pilot. Everyone was curious, wanted to see what he could see, how it works, etc. That made me realize if I ever do fly, it will be from the house, where there's no public access, and you can safely fly with privacy.

Favorite flavor?

 

[Cafguy]

I didn't think cities could enact local drone ordinances.

They can and often do for public safety. In L.A. most of the areas around the beaches are a no go.. at least the busy beaches. If you are going to a popular spot your chances arent that good at least around here thats how it goes.
I too fly an AIR 2S as well as a number of FPV,s
and ANY as long as its Blue Bell lol

 

[astrohip]

Seagulls!

Great point!!

 

[astrohip]

They can and often do for public safety. In L.A. most of the areas around the beaches are a no go.. at least the busy beaches. If you are going to a popular spot your chances arent that good at least around here.

Off to check...

 

[MS Coast]

I didn't think cities could enact local drone ordinances. Why am I thinking only the FAA has drone authority? But I will check.

We're a pretty good distance from Pensacola, should be good to go.

Gulf Shores and Orange Beach, Alabama both have ordinances that prohibit operating drones from the beaches. They can't prohibit you from flying in the area, but they can prohibit taking off and landing in specific areas.

You might want to use Air Control of one of the other apps that offer B4YouFly services to check your specific location. Pensacola NAS is only one of many USAF and USN facilities along the coast.

 

[Cafguy]

Just looking at the map.....South of you between matagoda island and Texas city there are three huge wildlife Refuges and too many small ones too count! SO going South probably won't be good for flying. Anywhere near those anyway.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

most of my flying would be coastal, but not where there would be great amounts of spray in the air.
My concerns, wind blown sand and/or puddles of water ( salty ? ) where I set bags etc. down.
I have very occasionally landed-on/taken-from damp, hard sand, the thinking being that it's all one cohesive lump, but was only when I considered the wind too risky to hand catch ( Mavic 2 pro/zoom ), the P3 and mini would always be hand caught.
Normally it is hand catching and landing especially where the sand is loose, dry and being blown about by wind. Bags are never left unzipped and are opened only to take out equipment or put it back in and then immediately closed/zipped and the drone is never set down to do anything else, if it is not being flown etc. it is always in a closed bag.

 

[Droning on and on...]

I didn't think cities could enact local drone ordinances. Why am I thinking only the FAA has drone authority? But I will check.

We're a pretty good distance from Pensacola, should be good to go.

Local governments have legal jurisdiction over their territory (i.e. the ground surface), and what you do with a camera, regardless of where it's mounted.

So while they can't tell you where you can be in the air, they can tell you where you can take off and land, and to an extent what you can do with your drone.

 

[Felix le Chat]

TOAL from hard standing: before you send your bird up - wait for a nice, high satellite count and check the prevailing wind direction. Coastal gusts at ground level can be pretty strong and always unpredictable.

If there are any flags present, watch which direction they are leading in (land equivalent of a wind-sock). If no flags or pennants: buy yourself one of those little triangular pennants on a bit of wire to stick on the deck rail - use that to gauge ground level wind direction and force.

Make sure your drone is placed in a take-off position where any sudden wind shear will only take it towards empty space where the drift can be compensated for as soon as it gets airborne. Also make sure no-one is standing where the drone might be blown towards them on take off. A gust will shear the drone in that direction by about three feet before the bird compensates for it and finds a stable hover.

TOAL from beach or estuary sand: Practise hand-launch - hand-landing. Plenty of videos on youtube - most of them good primers... and take off with your back to the prevailing wind!

Last of all... make sure there is no-one within 30 feet of you when you take-off or land (uninvolved persons).

About 40% of my flights during spring & summer are coastal or estuary.