DJI Mavic, Air and Mini Drones
Friendly, Helpful & Knowledgeable Community
Join Us Now

Flying close to waves in the sea

Carcamerarig

Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2017
Messages
5
Reactions
1
Age
52
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: arckphoto
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carcamerarig
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.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carcamerarig
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 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).
 
  • Like
Reactions: Carcamerarig
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.
 
Lycus Tech Mavic Air 3 Case

DJI Drone Deals

New Threads

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
131,089
Messages
1,559,733
Members
160,074
Latest member
SkyTechDji