Flying at the Beach: Any risk to drone

[astrohip]

I looked at AutoPylot. It appears our rented beach house will be within a "Special Flight Rules area". Valparaiso FL Terminal Area. No person may operate... unless that person has permission... yada yada.

 

[MS Coast]

wait for a nice, high satellite count

Wait until the satellite icon turns white, indicating that there's a good GPS position. The number isn't the indicator to watch. I've seen 15 satellites without a good GPS position.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

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.

very good point

 

[old man mavic]

there is one thing that has not been mentioned when flying over the sea ,and that is if the drone should happen to end up in the water, then you can pretty much kiss it goodby, as salt water ,and internal electronics, do not good bedfellows make
so have some sort of insurance cover for replacement ,should the worse happen

 

[astrohip]

I looked at AutoPylot. It appears our rented beach house will be within a "Special Flight Rules area". Valparaiso FL Terminal Area. No person may operate... unless that person has permission... yada yada.

Based on this^^^, it appears I'm not allowed to fly.

 

[MS Coast]

Based on this^^^, it appears I'm not allowed to fly.

That whole area around Eglin AFB and Duke Field, as well as areas to the west and east, is highly problematic for drone operations. I was considering a trip over that way last year and read about a process that was available in 2018 - 2022 by which you could get authorization via Eglin AFB to fly drones in some nearby areas. I haven't found anything more current.

That discussion is here. However, the link to the form to be submitted is no longer active.

Flying a Drone (sUAS) at 30A in Florida

My family just went on a trip to the 30A area of Florida. This area is a combination of small towns in South Walton County, FL, between Destin and Panama City. I wanted to take my DJI Mavic Pro on …

danwatt.org

The email address for submission of the form was [email protected]. You might try it or contact the public affairs office at Eglin and ask. Please share what you learn.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Based on this^^^, it appears I'm not allowed to fly.

You should consider getting a Wetsuit and Rescue jacket for all beach flying .
The Wet Suit will protect your drone from the Salt and Moisture and the Rescue jacket will allow you a bigger target to see in the sky and allow you to float the drone on the water . It will make flying a lot more stress free.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain, Land on the Water,

 

[JimWest]

Great point!!

The New York Times today has a story about American Oystercatchers going after drones at Jones Beach on Long Island that lifeguards use to spot sharks and swimmers in distress. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/...rones-angry-birds.html?searchResultPosition=1
The story, of course, is concerned with the safety of the birds, and not so much about the drones.

 

[MS Coast]

The New York Times today has a story about American Oystercatchers going after drones at Jones Beach on Long Island that lifeguards use to spot sharks and swimmers in distress. See: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/13/...rones-angry-birds.html?searchResultPosition=1
The story, of course, is concerned with the safety of the birds, and not so much about the drones.

Let's note that there were absolutely no reports of drone-bird contact.

The article seemed pretty well balanced to me. It considered both the substantial benefits of using drones and the potential harm to nesting birds.

Ms. Toal said the goal was to operate the drones “for human safety and for bird safety, too.”

 

[mikey201]

You've never flown at the beach before?! It's the best place to fly. But ya just I wouldn't take off from the sand. Do a hand take off and hand catch to land. If you don't want to do it from the hand take off from parking lot or something other than that get some good shots! And if it's windy and the battery is getting low make sure you come back so the wind doesn't take your drone out and it die like what happened to me in Hawaii. So now I always listen to the battery warning lol

 

[Capt KO]

Most of my flights are over saltwater, landing pads a must on sand. If launching on the deck you're warned to do a compass calibration try elevating to a table or hand launching to see if the warning goes away. Panhandle is tough to find areas to fly but sometimes a short drive will put you in good standing but usually limited to 200'. There's a lot of air traffic off the Florida beaches..but lots to see from up there too.

 

[Donald Hill]

When I was a kid and wanted to experiment with magnetism and iron filings I would go to the beach or local sand box playground. I would drag a magnet through the sand and collect the iron filings and then place the filings on a piece of paper and place the magnet under the paper to see the magnetic force lines. Often we talk about the grit from the sand in the moters, that can usually be blown out with a can of air-in-a-can but the magnets in the drone meters grabs those metal filings and holds onto them where they can do the most damage.

 

[Squidinc]

I fly my Air 3 around 95% over the Australia surf beaches and coast. Apart from all of the excellent advice, I would add not to fly pre-planned waypoint flights over water with 180 degrees turns. The formula DJI (currently) encodes for these types of missions can see your drone lose altitude between waypoints unbeknown to you. I nearly lost my Air 3 because of this. Hitting RTH at the last moment just, and I mean JUST saved me. Take a look ….

Dropbox

www.dropbox.com

 

[akdrone]

The "beach" will have one of three conditions. On shore wind, off shore wind, no wind. It won't be hard to tell so if the wind is coming from land toward the ocean or there isn't much wind at all there will be little concern about salt in the air if you're not fly very far out. If you stand and look out at the ocean and have wind in your face there would be some meaningful concern if you choose to fly for hours. A half hour flight? Probably no huge concern but that's just me talking. It certainly isn't going to kill the drone so treat the kids to a little fun is my vote.

 

[Dangerly]

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.

My Air 1 met its end when I was sitting on a log, watching the waves roll in for a while, and I thought it would be a fine idea to put my drone down on the flat sand and take off from there. I powered up the drone, put it down, and was powering up the RC when the rogue wave came and filled the Air with seawater. It never recovered.

Seagulls have chased my Air 2 at the beach - they seem to be the most aggressive of the birds I encounter at the beach.

If you have cliffs or other land features like that that you're flying around, be mindful of strong wind currents and also your drone suddenly losing connection as it goes on the other side of a land feature.

I've been at the beach when a fast, low-flying Coast Guard helicopter appeared with no warning and I would have done an emergency CSC power shut off and dropped the drone into the sea if I knew how to do it; I was lucky though and the helicopter did not hit the drone.

 

[Jafo28]

Be mindful of people flying kites. chances are slim, but obstacle avoidance sensors will not pick up a kite string.

 

[Avocet]

As has been allueded too .. my state prohibits flying from or to state or federal parks (without a waiver or similiar). You can, however, take off from outside park boundaries, fly in and around the park (wildlife disturbances and people fly overs are usually not permitted) and land outside the park boundaries. Moreover, don't forget VLOS rules in this regard. No matter how you cut it, its still and "iffy" proposition methinks. Noone I know of controls airspace in the US except the FAA. Sometimes, LE does not now how to E the L.

 

[baronkb]

Illegal to takeoff/land in a Florida state park. Also, many local parks have restrictions on drones.

 

[Riteguy]

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

I've flown Huntington Beach, Seal Beach and Long Beach without any problems at all. Not sure which beaches you're talking about.

 

[Jason_M]

I fly my Mavic 3 Drone extensively at the beach. Typically filming migrating whales. I always hand-launch it so it's not near any sand. However, it's flying in the salty wind and salt air every single day for 3 months of the year. After 2 years some of the screws are corroded and there is visible surface rust appearing. I've tried to wipe it clean, store away when not flying in zipped bags between flights, but it's not looking good and I don't think the gimbal is as smooth ....Recently I have been receiving "battery communication errors". I cleaned the terminals between the battery and the ones in the drone but it's not good. A few days on the beach won't hurt it but consistent exposure to the elements will result in your DJI drone falling out of the sky. Same conditions with a Mavic 2 and it's condition is a lot better.