Flying over water

[SNS]

Hi all,
I have been asked to takes some photos of an old wreck which is partially beached but also partially still in the water. Is there a safe 'height' to do this? I am worried as I have read about people having sensors confused when over water. I DON'T want to lose my Mini and have it drop into water! Any advice/safeguard suggestions would be gratefully received.

 

[PhantomFandom]

Hi all,
I have been asked to takes some photos of an old wreck which is partially beached but also partially still in the water. Is there a safe 'height' to do this? I am worried as I have read about people having sensors confused when over water. I DON'T want to lose my Mini and have it drop into water! Any advice/safeguard suggestions would be gratefully received.

You will get all sorts of opinions and advice on a question like this. Some will tell you they fly a few inches above calm water and never have issues. I see it as a problem flying that close to the surface. I fly over water A LOT !! I don't have a MM but the VPS should be fairly similar to my drones. I have never had any problem flying 10 feet or so above the water's surface. I once flew my MA at about 3 feet over the surface with no ill effects but I was nervous the entire time.

In any case, I would recommend making sure that you always have direct VLOS with the drone in such a fashion that you see the gap between the drone and the water clearly with your own eyes. Don't fly at an angle where you are above the drone for instance, since they you cannot judge the actual distance between drone and water.

If you need to focus on the subject you are filming have a VO with you to watch the drone.

 

[SNS]

Excellent thank you. Stand close to water level to accurately judge height above the water surface. Keep at 10 feet or little more. Have another set of eyes on the job to keep checking drone height leaving me more free to make the necessary passes to get the shots. If it a bit windy I'm going to skip to another day. You have given me a mental picture of setting things up, may thanks to you.

 

[EyesWideShut]

In addition to the good advice from @PhantomFandom, is that if you you Litchi with the mini you have the option to turn off either or both of the lower sensors. If you turn off the visual sensor (used to hover in one spot) but you don't need that function when moving and being turned off, the mini won't be confused with the moving and reflective surface of the water and SHOULD stay at the same altitude. Keep your eyes on it but try at your own risk...

 

[FlyoverDRN]

I have the Mini, and the above advice's are right on. I found out that under 10ft, my MM will react in strange ways, but above about 10ft, I have full control of it. Don't forget to share the video of you MM going swimming , or not.

 

[lannes]

As per DJI

How to Fly Safely Over Water - DJI Guides

Check out these essential tips for keeping your drone safe while flying over water.

store.dji.com

 

[boblui]

.... I have read about people having sensors confused when over water.....

Those people have never been able to put forward a sensible explanation on how the "confusion" can cause the drone to go into the water. Of all the substantiated cases ( ie, flight log provided ) reported in this forum, I have never seen any that supports the theory. Drones go swimming because of other reasons, not the bottom sensors being "confused".

My M2P flying at full speed 1 meter over the water surface . Some local pilots have done the same at a lower height :

 

[boblui]

As per DJI

How to Fly Safely Over Water - DJI Guides

Check out these essential tips for keeping your drone safe while flying over water.

store.dji.com

I believe that's a rather outdated guideline because the recommendation to disable the VPS cannot be done on some drones such as the Mini and Air 2

 

[rehkram]

The analog solution is duct tape over the sensors, or so I have read and, admittedly, not tested for myself.

I have flown my MM over our ~1 acre ponds at <6 feet many times, both in a chop and when glassy calm. That's no guarantee that one day it won't take a bath so I watch it like a hawk. And I make sure the props are in tip-top condition so there's less chance of encountering the uncommanded descent issue.

 

[lannes]

I believe that's a rather outdated guideline because the recommendation to disable the VPS cannot be done on some drones such as the Mini and Air 2

Other than not being able to disable VPS on the newer drones, it's still advisable to fly 2m above water.
What else is not relevant, it's all common sense ?

 

[EyesWideShut]

With the beta Litchi app you can turn VPS off on the mini. You can fly real low over obstacles or thru openings like a fence or over furniture without the mini rising up when it senses an obstacle below. If you fly without enough satellites (maybe indoors) it's similar to putting it into ATTI mode with a lot of drift and no auto braking when releasing the sticks.

This info from the Litchi guide hasn't been updated for the latest beta version but the two yellow points marked do work with the mini.

 

[SNS]

In addition to the good advice from @PhantomFandom, is that if you you Litchi with the mini you have the option to turn off either or both of the lower sensors. If you turn off the visual sensor (used to hover in one spot) but you don't need that function when moving and being turned off, the mini won't be confused with the moving and reflective surface of the water and SHOULD stay at the same altitude. Keep your eyes on it but try at your own risk...

With the beta Litchi app you can turn VPS off on the mini. You can fly real low over obstacles or thru openings like a fence or over furniture without the mini rising up when it senses an obstacle below. If you fly without enough satellites (maybe indoors) it's similar to putting it into ATTI mode with a lot of drift and no auto braking when releasing the sticks.

This info from the Litchi guide hasn't been updated for the latest beta version but the two yellow points marked do work with the mini.

View attachment 112690

The analog solution is duct tape over the sensors, or so I have read and, admittedly, not tested for myself.

I have flown my MM over our ~1 acre ponds at <6 feet many times, both in a chop and when glassy calm. That's no guarantee that one day it won't take a bath so I watch it like a hawk. And I make sure the props are in tip-top condition so there's less chance of encountering the uncommanded descent issue.

Many thanks, Feeling a bit more confident now.

 

[SNS]

I have the Mini, and the above advice's are right on. I found out that under 10ft, my MM will react in strange ways, but above about 10ft, I have full control of it. Don't forget to share the video of you MM going swimming , or not.

Thankyou all, I'll leave the sensors alone but keep at 10 feet or so just to be on the safe side.

 

[Jaspar]

They just discovered a unknown species of fish on Great Barrier Reef with an underwater drone better get one of those if you want to look at wrecks.

 

[icesailr]

The biggest concern "seems" to be that you will be over a mirror like, calm surface that the drone can not easily detect and react to.
If you are hovering, or flying slow at low altitude, I have found the prop wash will be disturbing the surface so that helps the drone.
I found that out while having some fun trying to photo water lilies in a pond. The drone messed up the shot every time.

 

[Sandwich]

Hi all,
I have been asked to takes some photos of an old wreck which is partially beached but also partially still in the water. Is there a safe 'height' to do this? I am worried as I have read about people having sensors confused when over water. I DON'T want to lose my Mini and have it drop into water! Any advice/safeguard suggestions would be gratefully received.

a few beers will help

 

[LA 2020]

Hi all,
I have been asked to takes some photos of an old wreck which is partially beached but also partially still in the water. Is there a safe 'height' to do this? I am worried as I have read about people having sensors confused when over water. I DON'T want to lose my Mini and have it drop into water! Any advice/safeguard suggestions would be gratefully received.

I am in the middle of studying for the FAA part 107 license and there is a lot of the test that is based on weather and hazardous weather. Flying over water is especially subject to wind shears, down drafts, etc. that aren't necessarily visible so your drone can be suddenly slammed into water when you did nothing wrong. It's advisable not to fly too low so you have a chance for correction if the altitude shows a sudden drop. Basically keep you eye on the altitude on your screen and if the weather is unstable don't fly over water.

 

[In The Zone]

Hi all,
I have been asked to takes some photos of an old wreck which is partially beached but also partially still in the water. Is there a safe 'height' to do this? I am worried as I have read about people having sensors confused when over water. I DON'T want to lose my Mini and have it drop into water! Any advice/safeguard suggestions would be gratefully received.

From what I understand in my personal experience calm water can confuse the bottom sensors, if you stay 20 to 25 feet from the water you should be safe.

 

[DavidBlezard]

I did read of teh opposite situation. A gent in London area flew on a very foggy day. He flew above the fog and took some video. When he tried to decend, the drone woudl not drop. Actually, it decended very slowly because the drone thought it was very close to the ground. Mistook the fog as hard surface. This was with a DJI Spark.

I am waiting for my Mavic Air 2 to be delivered tomorrow. My current drone, a Spark, I fly over water all the time. Never had any issues with the drone "getting confused". Landing on the boat, the drone is about 4-5 feet above the water. Flying over salt water so it is never mirror like. I don't understand the thought process that mirror like water makes it so the drone cannot figure what is below, while maintaining altitude or ascending. Altitude is barometric as I understand it. When Landing it might not determine still water as solid ground. This is a good thing.

 

[Den]

You will get all sorts of opinions and advice on a question like this. Some will tell you they fly a few inches above calm water and never have issues. I see it as a problem flying that close to the surface. I fly over water A LOT !! I don't have a MM but the VPS should be fairly similar to my drones. I have never had any problem flying 10 feet or so above the water's surface. I once flew my MA at about 3 feet over the surface with no ill effects but I was nervous the entire time.

In any case, I would recommend making sure that you always have direct VLOS with the drone in such a fashion that you see the gap between the drone and the water clearly with your own eyes. Don't fly at an angle where you are above the drone for instance, since they you cannot judge the actual distance between drone and water.

If you need to focus on the subject you are filming have a VO with you to watch the drone.

I purchased a set of water pontoons for my mini just in case it goes down in water but who is to say it would land right side up if it fell from the sky. If it were a controlled landing it might land right side up. One thing is for sure, you would at least have a chance to recover your mini. Also I intend on trying the pontoons in the bathtub or my friends swimming pool. Good luck.