Flying Close to Water

[Zaiforce]

Hi All,

Just wondering how confident you all are when it comes to low flying over water with the Mavic 2 Pro?

What is the lowest you would fly to the water's surface?

I have yet to fly the Mavic 2 Pro over water but I will be flying it over a river this weekend as my friends want to take some footage of them wake boarding behind their boat.

Some of the shots I think would look cool are travelling in the opposite direction to them at a low altitude over the water as they go past (not on a collision course but off to the side of them).

Are the sensors reliable enough to get within say 6ft or less of the water surface?

Thanks for any guidance.

 

[ChrisOutdoors]

I fly in the open ocean routinely to find schools of bait. I've done my share of hovering to ID fish and I keep it above 15'. Don't trust the sensors to keep you safe, they spaz out with water; I turned mine off a year ago and haven't had a need for them, haven't had any incidents either since I'm forced to concentrate more.

 

[msinger]

What is the lowest you would fly to the water's surface?

I've flown inches away from the surface of water. The secret is to ensure you can clearly see the drone with your eyes. It's quite tough to judge the distance when looking at the live view in DJI GO.

Are the sensors reliable enough to get within say 6ft or less of the water surface?

The sensors won't prevent you from crashing into the surface of the water if that's what you had in mind. When flying that close, it would probably be better to turn the sensors off. That'll at least prevent Forced Landing mode from accidentally kicking in -- which could be fatal since you won't have much time to figure out it has been auto enabled.

 

[ZX14-R]

Your Drone your risk.

But it SHOULD be fine.

 

[Zaiforce]

Thanks guys for the responses, I might try to keep it at least 10ft off the water surface to be safe.

Cheers.

 

[THE CYBORG]

I am in the coward camp, don't like the idea of all that money floating away

 

[Bob1956]

I am in the coward camp, don't like the idea of all that money floating away

You don’t have to worry about that at all. Mavic’s don’t float.

 

[billjohnsonstories]

I fly within a couple feet of rivers over rapids. The hint to turn off sensors to prevent auto-landing from kicking in is a good one. I'll try that. My biggest challenge is smooth movement of the drone in flight.

 

[RickinWaST]

As a new drone owner the thought of flying over water is nerve racking! I’ve read how to do it, seen a YouTube video or two, but smart enough not to try it yet! Someday...

 

[Harold Morgan]

DJI recommends that your turn off the visual sensors if you are closer than 2 meters from the water. The wave reflections will screw up the altitude estimates.

 

[SFSOC]

Or....get what I got an Arris Raptor for Mavic Pro...wind resistance is affected but it's not going to go "deep six" on you.

 

[Mordor]

3km inside ocean to catch a big boat....just a little disappointed because signal wasn`t very strong, so, not so different from my P3A....
Also, on P3A, VPS was always OFF....ehehe

 

[roadapple]

Remember it wont bounce off water.take my word for it.don't down fast in sports mode...

 

[dwolfe002]

I fly anywhere between 2 ft. and 200 ft. I keep my sensors on all the time but I usually go pretty fast when flying very low over water. I did fly low and slow one time with the sensors off and my M2P kept dropping very close to the water before having to give it some more power to lift. I haven't had that problem with the sensors on.

 

[TyCool]

Hi All,

Just wondering how confident you all are when it comes to low flying over water with the Mavic 2 Pro?

What is the lowest you would fly to the water's surface?

I have yet to fly the Mavic 2 Pro over water but I will be flying it over a river this weekend as my friends want to take some footage of them wake boarding behind their boat.

Some of the shots I think would look cool are travelling in the opposite direction to them at a low altitude over the water as they go past (not on a collision course but off to the side of them).

Are the sensors reliable enough to get within say 6ft or less of the water surface?

Thanks for any guidance.

I’ve flown the mavic pro two weeks ago multiple times over water at around 2 foot distance at high speed backwards & forwards
The downward sensors don’t work correctly over the water, it was sea water I was flighting over, got some brilliant 4K 24 footage
Aslong as your battery IMU And compass are correctly charged/calibrated you should be cool. Go for it and don’t let it get to low to the water

Good luck

 

[GadgetGuy]

I’ve flown the mavic pro two weeks ago multiple times over water at around 2 foot distance at high speed backwards & forwards
The downward sensors don’t work correctly over the water, it was sea water I was flighting over, got some brilliant 4K 24 footage
Aslong as your battery IMU And compass are correctly charged/calibrated you should be cool. Go for it and don’t let it get to low to the water

Good luck

Just watch out for the waves and the swell!

 

[TyCool]

Ha ha inside the harbour wall plenty of Lea from the weather

 

[DMJPix]

I fly over open water a lot, Long Island Sound mostly. When I get down low, all sensors off and eyes on the aircraft. Adding strobes also makes it easier to see.

I crafted my landing pad to sit in the bow of my boat and land in TRIPOD MODE. found the clever landing gear on - DJI Mavic 2 zoom hand catch landing for boat use by alessandropasqualotto
makes hand catching on a moving vessel sooo much easier.

 

[Nudgesmate]

I always use the cropped in view (can't remember what dji calls the views) it gives the illusion that you're closer than you are, same when flying near trees etc

 

[GadgetGuy]

I always use the cropped in view (can't remember what dji calls the views) it gives the illusion that you're closer than you are, same when flying near trees etc

HQ mode is actually more dangerous around trees because of the narrower field of view. It's like flying with blinders on, restricting your necessary peripheral vision!