Flying close to waves in the sea

Carcamerarig · Oct 28, 2017

Anybody got experience or some good advice for flying close to waves in the sea?
I noticed on the shoreline the waves push the mavic back with each wave, would this be forward sensors or bottom cameras? I’d like to turn off only the sensors that are reacting.

QuadKid · Oct 28, 2017

How close above the waves were you flying. Large waves will push air up in front of them and suck air down behind them. The OA should not be a problem, I would kill the downward sensor when flying of water as it is highly reflective and can cause issues.

msinger · Oct 28, 2017

If you were flying within about 42 feet of the ground, the downward sensors will detect the ground and help the Mavic holds its position. If the ground is moving (e.g. waves in the ocean), it'll be tough for the Mavic to hold its position. Try disabling the downward sensors.

Carcamerarig · Oct 28, 2017

I would say maybe 4m above the waves, the largest waves about 1.5m but even at the shoreline the waves rolling up the beach were making the mav move backwards more than the actual waves. Only small waves being realistic but Big when your mav Is close lol. Looks awesome as the waves are cresting and rolling, just a bit unnerving as the mav is unsettled and the video looks naf with all the movement, great otherwise in tripod mode.

KDog · Oct 28, 2017

Carcamerarig said:
I would say maybe 4m above the waves, the largest waves about 1.5m but even at the shoreline the waves rolling up the beach were making the mav move backwards more than the actual waves. Only small waves being realistic but Big when your mav Is close lol. Looks awesome as the waves are cresting and rolling, just a bit unnerving as the mav is unsettled and the video looks naf with all the movement, great otherwise in tripod mode.

I've flown around this height with slightly larger waves, with all sensors on and had no issues. If you're flying in GPS mode, then that should be the primary means of location control and shouldn't be using the bottom cameras to adjust position.

My first thought is whether you put it up before it had GPS lock and you were flying in atti mode? Second thought is whether it was actually wind and the wave movement was a coincidence. If you've isolated these as issues, then I'd switch off downward sensors and see if the issue persists (remember to land with much more than when flying with sensors on).

Carcamerarig · Oct 29, 2017

KDog said:
I've flown around this height with slightly larger waves, with all sensors on and had no issues. If you're flying in GPS mode, then that should be the primary means of location control and shouldn't be using the bottom cameras to adjust position.

My first thought is whether you put it up before it had GPS lock and you were flying in atti mode? Second thought is whether it was actually wind and the wave movement was a coincidence. If you've isolated these as issues, then I'd switch off downward sensors and see if the issue persists (remember to land with much more than when flying with sensors on).

Thanks KDog
I was thinking along those lines but definitely was gps mode, could have been wind but last night was lovely and calm. I’ve not flown enough to have tried various scenarios with sensors off yet but I think I need to do some learning with them off, might try some indoor flying too in a car park so I’ve plenty of room.