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 However, the link to the form to be submitted is no longer active.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 ….

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