Flying on the coast

[tezdrone]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to fly the Mavic on the coast, and over ocean/beach. I've read that VPS should be turned off for that, but is it necessary to do so if flying with 50+ feet altitude from the water?

I'm new to drones so rather not turn off any position ing system unless I absolutely have to...

Thanks in advance!


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[cardplayer71]

Most people recommend turning off downward VPS when over water. I have not had any issues with it turned on, at the height you reference (50+ feet). However, I would prefer to be conservative with this and turn it off. I also noticed during one flight where I was low over the water (5 feet or so) with downward VPS turned off, that the Mavic kept having problems maintaining altitude, so that without my intervention, it would have simply sank. I thought this was not fun!

The bigger issue is to maintain that line of sight and connectivity! I recently learned this first-hand by using Course Lock along the shore, after my Mavic was already 800 feet out to sea. It flew in a nice, straight line along the shore, as it should have. Unfortunately, this line took it past a promontory on the shore, which became a mountain between me and the Mavic. This resulted in a connectivity loss, and an attempt to "Go Home" (RTH). I did not plan properly for this, and the destruction of my Mavic was the unfortunate result. So, have fun on the shore, just remember at all times that your view, and the Mavic's view, will be two different things once that bird is out to sea! Unlike a field, you cannot simply run 100 feet into the ocean to rectify this situation.

See here:
Mavic Destroyed - How can I get my log analyzed?

Here is the comical view of the flight log from my phone (the little deviation on the right was not an actual northeast move on the part of the Mavic. Rather, it is DJI's app "filling in the blanks" for 28 seconds of disconnect time. The Mavic did its job and turned toward the home point. This was revealed later in the flight logs from the copter itself.

Phantom Log Viewer - PhantomHelp.com - The Fatal Flight

 

[Cyberpower678]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to fly the Mavic on the coast, and over ocean/beach. I've read that VPS should be turned off for that, but is it necessary to do so if flying with 50+ feet altitude from the water?

I'm new to drones so rather not turn off any position ing system unless I absolutely have to...

Thanks in advance!


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

Nope. Flew mine without issue.

 

[Bzzz]

Nope. Flew mine without issue.

I fly over water every weekend. My experience is that up high there is no problem. But, down low, it should be off. I am in northern ca and with our deluge of water bridge flying makes good video. I fly under bridges 10 - 15ft above moving water. I have had my drone slowly lose altitude twice. Then i clued into downward sensors. Now when very low i turn them off and no trouble. But I only turn them off when I plan to be down low for a good period of time.


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[Cyberpower678]

I fly over water every weekend. My experience is that up high there is no problem. But, down low, it should be off. I am in northern ca and with our deluge of water bridge flying makes good video. I fly under bridges 10 - 15ft above moving water. I have had my drone slowly lose altitude twice. Then i clued into downward sensors. Now when very low i turn them off and no trouble. But I only turn them off when I plan to be down low for a good period of time.


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

Agreed. I flew close to the water and could see the Mavic drifting down into the water. I compensate by raising my stick a bit. Up high however, it flies fine.