Hey all!
So I'm not doubting the functionality of the wetsuit. I believe it works and i believe it to be a quality product from what I've heard and read. My question is how purposeful it actually is. Has anyone really benefited from it? Are pilots really taking off in the rain or heavy snow? How does the lens not get drops on it causing blur? What types of footage are people capturing with this? Just so many unknowns for me. Hoping someone can give some input to justify getting one.
Thanks!
Let me start off by stating that I gain nothing from what I am writing here but rather sharing my experience with the Phantomrain products as I have used them thus far.
I have wet suits on all of my drones as well as rescue jackets and have flown in heavy snowfall and in cold temperatures down to -5°F. I am aware that this is below the manuf specs but if I only flew in specified temperatures, would only have about a 6mo season. This is a risk vs reward decision. The wet suit keeps the battery and electronics warmer which in my region is a good thing since it's colder here. I have not had the opportunity to fly in rain as of yet since it is still winter in Alaska and I am a relatively new drone pilot (Nov 2020 but have 100's of flights and nearly 70 miles of horizontal travel). I intend to fly over water this summer and am glad to have a way to retrieve my investment should something go wrong and the drone crashes or self-lands over the water. The rescue jacket maintains a low CG unlike the pool noodle products I have seen and also purchased prior to learning of Phantomrain products. The rescue jacket also produces less drag than the pool noodle style "floats" and increases the visibility of the AC.
Product quality and support is great as is response to questions/inquiries. The additional weight is negligible even on my
MM1 although either product does put the 1 over the weight limit to require it to be registered, not an issue for me since I have it registered anyway. I don't notice any flight characteristic differences with the wet suit for the
MM1 and certainly not my
M2P or
M2Z. The rescue jacket slows them down but drag is so negligible on the
M2P and
M2Z that you really cannot tell that its on in horizontal flight other than you can see it a lot further away. There is some increase in noise with the rescue jacket but that is to be expected with the additional vertical drag created which does reduce speed both up and down but again, worth it to me. The rescue jacket is also great for taking off/landing on snow.
I would highly recommend wet suits for anyone who plans to fly in rain/snow or flies in a region where the weather can sneak up on you quickly and/or in colder regions. I also would recommend the rescue jacket for anyone who flies anywhere near bodies of water. Keep in mind that the rescue jacket is designed to keep the battery and body of the drone out of the water and provides the minimum buoyancy required to do so. He has another product called the Sea Lander that is a bit heavier and bulkier but is intended for intentional water landings whereas the rescue jacket is more of a retrieval from water product. The Sea Lander isn't advertised on his website due to feedback from users of the additional weight and drag. I bought a rescue jacket for my
M2P and added his shapes that I modified to it to make a sealander which is approx 1oz lighter than the originally designed version according to Phantomrain. I do notice more pronounced drag with this configuration but am willing to sacrifice the reduced flight time/speed for the added security of knowing my $1.6k drone is going to remain high and dry in a water landing situation.
You cannot keep the weather off of the lens when flying forward in moisture laden air, although I haven't experienced issues with moisture collection on the lens even when flying in heavy snow. My experience has been at low speed in little wind as I was working to capture snowflakes as they passed by the AC so certainly doesn't reflect all potential weather possibilities regarding precipitation and/or wind.