Gear to use when flying M2 over water?

[PC1134]

I have to agree, and I own Arris Raptors. Good point you make.... sigh.... more gear I need to get.

And this is also my point, we are always buying MORE gear, but how much ever actually gets used, and how much sits idle? I have too many of the latter items at home.

 

[Thomas B]

Yes, well my over water flying in on the coast where the big Great Whites swim, so like you, I'm not too keen to go for a swim to retrieve either!!!

I guess the only thing (if I fly from my small boat 15 footer) is if I had the pontoons, as long as it wasn't rough water, I could potentially do a water landing and then retrieve the craft, instead of doing a hand catch on the boat. That's another thought for the pontoons. But maybe I need to learn how to deploy and retrieve my drone by hand from the boat, and then it isn't an issue?

Be careful the swell likely will affect relative height of the drone more rapidly than it can adjust creating a moving target. I have scars to show. I was relying on the pontoons mostly to be visible.

 

[PC1134]

Be careful the swell likely will affect relative height of the drone more rapidly than it can adjust creating a moving target. I have scars to show. I was relying on the pontoons mostly to be visible.

You introduce an excellent point; swell. So if swell would create a moving target when trying to land on the water, what effect would it have when trying to hand catch? Surely that would make hand catching pretty tricky, possibly bordering on dangerous?

 

[SpitFire]

Does water get into the Easter eggs? Like the looks of the pontoons with them.
Not wild about the narrow base for the bird. Prefer this for more stability once landed and greater clearance from the water. When you take off the bird will kick up some spray and that could potentially ruin your day.
View attachment 64664

Does water get into the Easter eggs? Like the looks of the pontoons with them.
Not wild about the narrow base for the bird. Prefer this for more stability once landed and greater clearance from the water. When you take off the bird will kick up some spray and that could potentially ruin your day.
View attachment 64664

I own the Arris Raptor pontoon's for my Mavic Pro. And, only use while flying over water, for emergency's only. The Skids are very useful when not flying over water, very useful to attach extra lights. Extra Cameras, I use the skids to attach a home made telescoping pole when doing video, or still shots indoors if its to dangerous to fly. Also, use telescoping pole in areas where its forbidden for a drone to fly, I can still photograph from 10 feet high without propellers on. And, it looks like the drone is flying, I only use it in areas where signs say No Drone flying Allowed. Skids, are great when landing in tall grass. Pontoons are only good in very low wind, another disadvantage using them in winds over 5 miles an hour. Difficult to control flight, with strong winds. Set up Skids and pontoon's is around $80.00 plus shipping.

 

[tleedom]

If you use this style of Pontoon mounts gluing 1/2 of those plastic easter eggs on the front and rear can be helpful and more athletically pleasing. Similar to this
View attachment 64654

BDOG;
Who makes these floats? Will they work with the M2?

 

[Thomas B]

BDOG;
Who makes these floats? Will they work with the M2?

They are Arris Raptor

 

[Meta4]

That said, I am now wondering the merits of purchasing this kit as a further level of protection. Not necessarily to land it on the sea (apparently has to be really calm to do so), but more to make it easier to retrieve in case of a downing.
Has anyone else had experience with this rig and can advise whether it would be worth the expense or just end up with my other 'bought it but useless' pieces of junk?

These contraptions pop up in the forum frequently and attract a lot of interest from timid new flyers but they probably aren't a great idea for a few reasons.
Here are a few points to consider.

The big question is: How much do they interfere with the flying ability of your drone?
The weight and wind resistance are going to reduce your flight time, speed and ability to deal with wind.
I've asked many times but can't get anyone to give any actual tested numbers to answer that question.
It would be ironic if they contributed to the loss of a drone rather than saving it, but I could see that happening.

A fall-from-the-sky incident is unlikely to see your drone gently landing upright.
The camera and electronics are probably going to get wet (which means dead in seawater).

Having a dead drone floating on the surface isn't going to be much help unless you have a way to get out to it or you only fly very close to shore.

How much do you really need this anyway?
I've flown a few thousand kilometres over the ocean without incident.
There's no way I'd handicap my flying machine with that much added weight and wind resistance.

 

[tleedom]

They are Arris Raptor

Not those, I was asking about the set pictured in BDOGs post.

 

[PC1134]

These contraptions pop up in the forum frequently and attract a lot of interest from timid new flyers but they probably aren't a great idea for a few reasons.
Here are a few points to consider.

The big question is: How much do they interfere with the flying ability of your drone?
The weight and wind resistance are going to reduce your flight time, speed and ability to deal with wind.
I've asked many times but can't get anyone to give any actual tested numbers to answer that question.
It would be ironic if they contributed to the loss of a drone rather than saving it, but I could see that happening.

A fall-from-the-sky incident is unlikely to see your drone gently landing upright.
The camera and electronics are probably going to get wet (which means dead in seawater).

Having a dead drone floating on the surface isn't going to be much help unless you have a way to get out to it or you only fly very close to shore.

How much do you really need this anyway?
I've flown a few thousand kilometres over the ocean without incident.
There's no way I'd handicap my flying machine with that much added weight and wind resistance.

I think you've helped crystallize my thinking on this and given me some comfort on the concept of flying confidently over water. Initially I had been thinking the floats would provide an extra level of protection over my tiny Getterback, however I'm to the point of realization, like you say, that a fall from the sky is going to be catastrophic anyway, regardless of whether pontoons are attached or not. And in the case of a crash landing over the sea, I'm pretty sure the pontoons are just going to rip off on contact with the water, especially at Terminal Velocity. The whole craft will sink, in which case I will still need the Getterback to deploy so I can recover the craft! Therefore, why add more 'junk' to my kit which may, not only impede my ability to fly, but also fail to do anything tangible in improving my recovery prospects in case of a crash over water - especially if that drop is from max height of 120 metres (400 feet)! So, thank you for helping me see this. I think I will save my money.

 

[Skychs]

This is what I use. Works for me. I land it in the water all the time.

 

[Wipster]

How do you buy adds for this forum?

 

[ScubaBob]

I guess for me I see both this and your tether solutions to be counter productive.

The drone is going to fly better without these things attached and less likely to crash. I kinda feel like the tether especially is a recipe for disaster. You might be able to get them back if you crash with those tools but what if they cause the crash in the first place?

The floaty is better but I don’t think it’s gonna survive a wave in the ocean.

It’s up to you and I understand the desire to do this but I would reccomend practicing your flying and gather the confidence to fly over water without these things. To the drone water is just the same as land. Maybe easier because it’s mostly flat. As a veteran flyer I have no reservations about flying over water but would be extremely uncomfortable with either of these things attached to my drone especially the tether. If it makes you more comfortable then get the floaty

Practice, practice, practice on land first. Then go out a little bit over the ocean and practice some more. I live on the beach and fly all the time over the ocean capturing images of surfers, kite boarders, para-sailers, etc. To keep from crashing into the water, if I am shooting surfers, etc., I first hover my drone at what visually appears to be about 15 feet above the highest wave crest. I wait for 7-8 waves to go by to make sure that the waves never get any higher. I will then descend my drone to what I think is a comfortable altitude and then will look at the altitude as shown on the RC. I never, ever will take my drone below that altitude and, therefore, I have never crashed my drone into the water. Practice and use your noggin.

 

[ScubaBob]

This is what I use. Works for me. I land it in the water all the time.

Now that is a cool idea. Are those just styrofoam balls that you painted?

 

[DJI DelBoy]

The vast majority of my flying to date has been around beaches and over water. Yes I do have DJI Care in case it ends up in the drink, and yes I always attach a Getterback with its 100 ft of Kevlar line to rescue the drone so I can send it back to DJI for replacement.

That said, I am now wondering the merits of purchasing this kit as a further level of protection. Not necessarily to land it on the sea (apparently has to be really calm to do so), but more to make it easier to retrieve in case of a downing.

Has anyone else had experience with this rig and can advise whether it would be worth the expense or just end up with my other 'bought it but useless' pieces of junk?

A Mavic on a leash? Not a bad idea

 

[DrRobin]

I don't have anything like this and fly over water quite frequently. I do however, employ a fairly simple device, don't crash either over water or land and you will be fine.

 

[bobj151]

The getterBack for those confused like I was

I have this on my MPP whenever I fly near water .

 

[Meta4]

A Mavic on a leash? Not a bad idea

A leash would be a bad idea ... but that's not what was originally suggested.

 

[Thomas B]

A leash would be a bad idea ... but that's not what was originally suggested.

The GetterBack would be essential to use of DJICare as they would want the drone carcass and not a bad idea anyway as I have seen at least one successful recovery, extensive freshwater rinsing in plus out and drying which restored one member’s drone. Here’s the link:
MPP Saltwater swim and recovery.

 

[mig25]

The vast majority of my flying to date has been around beaches and over water. Yes I do have DJI Care in case it ends up in the drink, and yes I always attach a Getterback with its 100 ft of Kevlar line to rescue the drone so I can send it back to DJI for replacement.

That said, I am now wondering the merits of purchasing this kit as a further level of protection. Not necessarily to land it on the sea (apparently has to be really calm to do so), but more to make it easier to retrieve in case of a downing.

Has anyone else had experience with this rig and can advise whether it would be worth the expense or just end up with my other 'bought it but useless' pieces of junk?

I bought one of those 23$ floats for a mavic pro. Its purpose for me was to give dji something incase it quits over water. It is affected by wind. I would cut your wind limit in half as getting back to base in the wind is tuff. I do not takeoff or land in the water. If you do i would stay with a calm pond. Im thinking for a beginner it would help a-lot with some simple mistakes. May just save the camera

 

[pwmullins]

Be careful on the float system you buy. There are several on Ebay that only have 2 attachment points which makes the drone unstable when landed..I learned the hard way after my drone turned upside down..I was lucky and was able to dry it out and recover it..flys perfectly now.