Low flying over water?

CareyL · Feb 16, 2021

I would like to fly about 100m at an elevation of 1m above rippled water. I can use Litchee for the route. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Meta4 · Feb 16, 2021

CareyL said:
I would like to fly about 100m at an elevation of 1m above rippled water. I can use Litchee for the route. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Never use Litchi for flying within 1 metre of any obstacle

Cobra193 · Feb 16, 2021

My suggestion, don’t.

Duckhunter50 · Feb 16, 2021

Is it over open water or is it over a river and through the woods?

Late last year I took my drone out over some clear hard water to see if the Mavic pro 2 could fly full speed and maintain elevation. I didn't really notice it drift lower but I didn't like flying that low because there was so little room for error. I don't have Litchi so I can't say that it would be good or not. I can say that the Mavic pro 2 seemed pretty good at holding elevation with no obstacles in the sky. Just be aware that it is a risk flying that low. It would probably go off without a hitch but you might end up dumping it right in the water.
Edit: I forgot you said 1 meter. I was thinking in American (1 foot). I don't think 1 meter is too risky depending on the body of water.

Phantomrain.org · Feb 16, 2021

CareyL said:
I would like to fly about 100m at an elevation of 1m above rippled water. I can use Litchee for the route. Does anyone have any suggestions?

We do this all the time, the key is not to use Litchi or any other program but for you to be the pilot.

Dont start your height adjustment over the water rather fly into as you get lower down to the water once you reach your height go just a little bit lower than your Goal height and than fly up very slowly into the height, the key is to keep the stick up through out the entire flight very slowly gaining some alt , very slowly this will alow you to continue as far and as fast as you want to go.

This methods allows us to skim the water for about 1000 to 1200 ft within a 2 to 4 ft ceiling.

Since its your first time you might consider getting a Rescue Jacket for your drone to secure your DJI refresh plan.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your DJI in the Rain / Snow or land on Water.

lannes · Feb 17, 2021

Phantomrain.org said:
We do this all the time, the key is not to use Litchi or any other program but for you to be the pilot.

Dont start your height adjustment over the water rather fly into as you get lower down to the water once you reach your height go just a little bit lower than your Goal height and than fly up very slowly into the height, the key is to keep the stick up through out the entire flight very slowly gaining some alt , very slowly this will alow you to continue as far and as fast as you want to go.

This methods allows us to skim the water for about 1000 to 1200 ft within a 2 to 4 ft ceiling.

Since its your first time you might consider getting a Rescue Jacket for your drone to secure your DJI refresh plan.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your DJI in the Rain / Snow or land on Water.

Have you tested the rescue jacket with the AC hitting the water at high speed in sport mode ?
I suspect the AC would flip over and be upside down in the water.

boblui · Feb 17, 2021

Why do you want to use Litchi ? It wont help to maintain the altitude better. Whether you can fly close to the water safely depends on the ability of the sensor to detect the water surface reliably. I have the M2P and it's infrared sensor is quite reliable in this regard. When it is 1 meter above the water surface, it wont descend further even if fully-down stick control is applied unless the stick is held that way for more than 2 seconds. The Mavic Pro 1 uses ultrasonic sensor instead of infrared, I don't know how reliable it is.

My M2P flying at max speed at 1 meter over water surface :

A.O. · Feb 17, 2021

lannes said:
Have you tested the rescue jacket with the AC hitting the water at high speed in sport mode ?
I suspect the AC would flip over and be upside down in the water.

But it would be recoverable, he said to secure your Refresh, so I don't think he was talking about landing at high speed, just recovering the drone .

CareyL · Feb 17, 2021

Thank you to those that offered real world experience. to answer a few questions:
I want to use Litchi so that I fly the exact same path on four different occasions in the next six months. (A hazard on a river that changes between 5cms & 80 cms and is also tidal. Elevations can be set based on startup.
There are always ripples or small waves.
Mavic Pro 1 flying no faster than 30 kph. No need to go any faster except for higher elevation return.
Any more suggestions based on experience are welcome.