Mavic Air + Salt Water =

[Moving Zen]

Sunday was a sadly expensive learning experience. The only good news I have is that what I'd hoped I would be able to do and view with my Air worked perfectly as far as I could tell.
I do a lot of fishing/exploring in the inshore waters around Charleston. I like to explore as far back as I can get into creeks just to see what's back there. I have an older flats boat so I can get into really tight areas where I can't turn around and it's tricky because if I get stuck I could be there for hours until the tide comes back enough for me to back out. I figured with a drone I could explore areas without having to risk my boat or my time on the water. I have a few areas I go back into to purposely get grounded so I can fish my way back out. It's been a very productive tactic. What I can't do is move around in the shallowest areas at low tide (no water, even for a flats boat). That's the best time to see what structure there is in the creek that might hold fish when the tide is higher, or if it's even worth it to fish. That's what the drone is for, to check out areas I can't get my boat into at low tide. Well, the Air is perfect for that. On Sunday I was able to check out areas I couldn't have normally gotten into. I was able to find flats, and how to get back to them with the Air. I was ecstatic and it got the better of me.
On the end of my last battery(fly more combo) I was cruising the drone down a creek just to get video. I'd explored most everything I wanted and was only a few hundred yards from the boat in an area that was easily deep enough for the boat. The screen view I was getting was beautiful as I cruised the middle of a large creek about 10 ft above the water. As I drifted the drone through a turn in the creek the video feed took a tumble and lost connection. Oh ****, that's not good.
My buddy thought it might be on the bank but I new it was gone. If it had just been on the bank I'd still have a connection. We hauled *** over to the spot and my fear was realized. No drone to be seen. Sitting in the turn, I could see the overhanging limb I'd flown into. It was over half way out into the creek. Despair. Then I see bubbles coming up, releasing smoke at the surface. Nasty acrid smell. Then even more bubbles, so I pull out my cast net and give it a toss. I actually got the drone on the first toss but as I pulled it into the boat it fell back out and sunk again. I spent another 45 minutes trying to get it with my cast net with no luck. I knew the drone couldn't be saved but I didn't want to leave it or the battery in the creek water. I feel pretty bad about not being able to get it.

So, the pro's of my experience were-
excellent scouting ability
precise flying, I was able to get into a broken down building I found on the shore a half mile away
drone RTH before low battery because of how far away I was flying
launch and recover from bow of flats boat
con's-
piss poor operating
not a submarine

I lost a lot of what looked like really good footage. I can't wait to get back out there and check out even more areas. The Air proved itself to be so awesome I'm waiting for my second one to be delivered. I am more than hooked.

tl/dnr - don't be like me, fly carefully. The drone is only capable of so much.

 

[Maineiac]

I’m sorry for your loss. At first I thought it was a random disconnect and you lost signal but that really sucks you missed that branch.

 

[RayOZ]

Sorry for your loss. I assume it hit the branch flying sideways? I hope DJI puts side obstacle avoidance sometime soon. I am always wary flying backwards and sideways on my Mavic.

 

[Travisimo]

Sunday was a sadly expensive learning experience.

I too am sorry for your loss, but I must say that you are a great story-teller. Do you at least have the live feed footage on your phone?

 

[Moving Zen]

Sorry for your loss. I assume it hit the branch flying sideways? I hope DJI puts side obstacle avoidance sometime soon. I am always wary flying backwards and sideways on my Mavic.

Yeah, it was sideways-ish. The bend in the creek was greater than 90 and I tried to slide through it to make the video look cool. Almost like being on the boat but a little higher. It didn't work out.

 

[Moving Zen]

I too am sorry for your loss, but I must say that you are a great story-teller. Do you at least have the live feed footage on your phone?

I have a flight record and maybe a picture? It says the video is 12 minutes long but it's only a map view. Is there something I'm missing? I appreciate you saying something. I usually use my phone but I was using my wifes ipad this time. I thought I had cache off. I really like looking at the flight record. It helped me figure out how I was going to mark structure way back in creeks. I'll see if I can pull anything off the ipad.

 

[Hack]

I am sorry for your loss as well.

Additionally, I would like to commend you for your honesty and taking responsibility for the unfortunate incident. It is absolutely refreshing to read someone stepping up to the plate like this when so many others want to find someone to blame (most notably, DJI). The fact that you already ordered a second bird speak volumes on what you (and I) think about the MA's capabilities.

So I tip my cap to you sir. Thank you for sharing your story so that others may learn. Thank you for your honesty, and restoring just a bit of my faith in humanity

 

[Travisimo]

I have a flight record and maybe a picture? It says the video is 12 minutes long but it's only a map view. Is there something I'm missing? I appreciate you saying something. I usually use my phone but I was using my wifes ipad this time. I thought I had cache off. I really like looking at the flight record. It helped me figure out how I was going to mark structure way back in creeks. I'll see if I can pull anything off the ipad.

Check your DJI Go App in the editor and see if it has a cached video of the flight. If you didn’t have this turned on, you probably don’t but it’s worth a look. If you do have it turned on, it will save a 720p video (with audio recording on your mobile device too if you want) of the entire flight.

The setting will look something like this (I don’t have my Air with me right now so it might look a little different).

 

[Jameslavis]

This is refreshing. I firmly believe the vast majority of issues are user based. These things are highly complicated. We all push them to the limits but we gotta keep them safe.

 

[Moving Zen]

Yeah, I had turned the cache off so no video other than the flight record. I had hoped I hadn't turned it off on the ipad (I was usually using my phone) but apparently I already had it off. No big deal on the video, it was close to high tide at the time so I was going to redo the flights again anyway.
As far as being honest about my mistake goes, I'm not really sure what to say other than I knew exactly what happened when it happened. There was no doubt in my mind I had hit something and the drone was gone. My buddy was saying 'hey maybe it'll be on the bank' but I knew it was in the water. Sucks but that's the way it went down. I've got my second one and I'll continue to push my luck but I definitely learned something. Watching the record, I was doing 17 mph at about 8 feet above the water. I should have known I couldn't make that turn with the Air, I would never have even tried it in my boat. Drone is still awesome, my abilities as a pilot... not so much.

 

[robmacom]

Sunday was a sadly expensive learning experience. The only good news I have is that what I'd hoped I would be able to do and view with my Air worked perfectly as far as I could tell.
I do a lot of fishing/exploring in the inshore waters around Charleston. I like to explore as far back as I can get into creeks just to see what's back there. I have an older flats boat so I can get into really tight areas where I can't turn around and it's tricky because if I get stuck I could be there for hours until the tide comes back enough for me to back out. I figured with a drone I could explore areas without having to risk my boat or my time on the water. I have a few areas I go back into to purposely get grounded so I can fish my way back out. It's been a very productive tactic. What I can't do is move around in the shallowest areas at low tide (no water, even for a flats boat). That's the best time to see what structure there is in the creek that might hold fish when the tide is higher, or if it's even worth it to fish. That's what the drone is for, to check out areas I can't get my boat into at low tide. Well, the Air is perfect for that. On Sunday I was able to check out areas I couldn't have normally gotten into. I was able to find flats, and how to get back to them with the Air. I was ecstatic and it got the better of me.
On the end of my last battery(fly more combo) I was cruising the drone down a creek just to get video. I'd explored most everything I wanted and was only a few hundred yards from the boat in an area that was easily deep enough for the boat. The screen view I was getting was beautiful as I cruised the middle of a large creek about 10 ft above the water. As I drifted the drone through a turn in the creek the video feed took a tumble and lost connection. Oh ****, that's not good.
My buddy thought it might be on the bank but I new it was gone. If it had just been on the bank I'd still have a connection. We hauled *** over to the spot and my fear was realized. No drone to be seen. Sitting in the turn, I could see the overhanging limb I'd flown into. It was over half way out into the creek. Despair. Then I see bubbles coming up, releasing smoke at the surface. Nasty acrid smell. Then even more bubbles, so I pull out my cast net and give it a toss. I actually got the drone on the first toss but as I pulled it into the boat it fell back out and sunk again. I spent another 45 minutes trying to get it with my cast net with no luck. I knew the drone couldn't be saved but I didn't want to leave it or the battery in the creek water. I feel pretty bad about not being able to get it.

So, the pro's of my experience were-
excellent scouting ability
precise flying, I was able to get into a broken down building I found on the shore a half mile away
drone RTH before low battery because of how far away I was flying
launch and recover from bow of flats boat
con's-
piss poor operating
not a submarine

I lost a lot of what looked like really good footage. I can't wait to get back out there and check out even more areas. The Air proved itself to be so awesome I'm waiting for my second one to be delivered. I am more than hooked.

tl/dnr - don't be like me, fly carefully. The drone is only capable of so much.

Bad luck so sorry for you losing your Wee Drone, I lost mine in 5 ft of snow recently through pilot error but luckily I got it back none the worse so i feel for you buddy. Good luck for your next Air

 

[roadkilt]

Like you I use my Air for scouting out from above, but i use it for gravel bars in streams that may hold placer gold. Its safe when high up, but these streams are in steep canyons (so no GPS when in one) and FULL of nasty branching overgrowth. So low flying is super tricky. Add moving water and waterfalls to freak out the OPTI vision system when GPS is off and you’ve got all the elements of a disaster. I’ve got lucky so far. and I know it, with no issues. But now that I have good footage I’m restricting further flights to safer conditions. If you want to see what the area looks like this is a youtube video I posted (I’ve posted this once before on Mavicpilots so apologize for redoing, but it fits this occasion)

 

[robmacom]

Like you I use my Air for scouting out from above, but i use it for gravel bars in streams that may hold placer gold. Its safe when high up, but these streams are in steep canyons (so no GPS when in one) and FULL of nasty branching overgrowth. So low flying is super tricky. Add moving water and waterfalls to freak out the OPTI vision system when GPS is off and you’ve got all the elements of a disaster. I’ve got lucky so far. and I know it, with no issues. But now that I have good footage I’m restricting further flights to safer conditions. If you want to see what the area looks like this is a youtube video I posted (I’ve posted this once before on Mavicpilots so apologize for redoing, but it fits this occasion)

Brilliant post about living on the edge

 

[robmacom]

Like you I use my Air for scouting out from above, but i use it for gravel bars in streams that may hold placer gold. Its safe when high up, but these streams are in steep canyons (so no GPS when in one) and FULL of nasty branching overgrowth. So low flying is super tricky. Add moving water and waterfalls to freak out the OPTI vision system when GPS is off and you’ve got all the elements of a disaster. I’ve got lucky so far. and I know it, with no issues. But now that I have good footage I’m restricting further flights to safer conditions. If you want to see what the area looks like this is a youtube video I posted (I’ve posted this once before on Mavicpilots so apologize for redoing, but it fits this occasion)

Loved your video

 

[David Hasselhoff]

That sucks @Moving Zen . I’m in Charleston as well and do a lot of inshore kayak fishing. Just got a MA and have thought about take it out on the marshes and creeks (not from my kayak, that would be a recipe for disaster). How’d you manage to find a branch?? They are pretty few and far between where I go, just a lot of grass and oyster beds for the most part!

 

[Sky1]

Curious, was obstacle avoidance disabled?

 

[z28lt1]

Curious, was obstacle avoidance disabled?

This is thread is 9 months old, so not sure if the OP will respond, but in the middle of the thread he said he was flying "sideways-ish", so obstacle avoidance would not have helped.

 

[Moving Zen]

Sorry about the late reply. The red X is where my crash happened. I was moving down the creek from the top down to the turn at 17 mph. I tried to make the turn but I drifted into the trees. It doesn't exactly look like it but they do hang over the water. Slipping sideways kept the obstacle avoidance from working but I don't even know if it would have helped at the speed I was going. My boat was out in the main creek almost at the Y in the picture. I could see the drone from where I was but was watching the video feed when the crash happened. Just above the top of the picture is MUSC Health Stadium and I526.

 

[Moving Zen]

That sucks @Moving Zen . I’m in Charleston as well and do a lot of inshore kayak fishing. Just got a MA and have thought about take it out on the marshes and creeks (not from my kayak, that would be a recipe for disaster). How’d you manage to find a branch?? They are pretty few and far between where I go, just a lot of grass and oyster beds for the most part!

So uh, you know, where do you fish? asking for a friend...