Mavic Air2 versus Wave - it didn't go well

[wanderer]

I'm kicking myself. My MA2 is now resting in Davy Jones locker due to my own foolishness. I was going for a low-altitude pullback shot of a large breaking wave. I misjudged the height of the drone and the wave clipped my poor MA2, disoriented it, and sent it plummeting. +1 for Pacific Ocean. Yeah, I'm an idiot. Here's the video from the cache.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

:-(
Were you watching the drone or the screen?

 

[Phantomrain.org]

That kind of flying is designed for the Wet Suit and the Rescue Jacket Package we offer.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Waves and Land on the Water. for the Air 2/S

 

[Deleted member 103366]

That kind of flying is designed for the Wet Suit and the Rescue Jacket Package we offer.

Meaning no offence but how would they have helped?
I can see that a float would have made the drone recoverable, as in holding it on the water's surface, but will either the wet suit or the rescue jacket protect the drone from the ingress of water approaching the drone from the front?
In fact I have to ask would the front edge of the float not have caught the wave more effectively than the drone did and perhaps of dragged it into the water?

 

[hiflyer201]

Oh...you should have flown down the tube instead of facing the swell.. kidding..I'm sorry that you lost your drone. That's a favorite photographic subject of mine too.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Meaning no offence but how would they have helped?
I can see that a float would have made the drone recoverable, as in holding it on the water's surface, but will either the wet suit or the rescue jacket protect the drone from the ingress of water approaching the drone from the front?
In fact I have to ask would the front edge of the float not have caught the wave more effectively than the drone did and perhaps of dragged it into the water?

As we have shown in Countless videos water in the gimbal , is not going to take down your drone, but Water in the Power Button or the battery will disconnect it. Thus this is where the Wet Suits shine like the Holy Grail.

I know its not a Submarine with the Wet Suit but its not to bad.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

but Water in the Power Button or the battery will disconnect it. Thus this is where the Wet Suits shine like the Holy Grail.

fair enough.

 

[Deleted member 84685]

Oh sad ,bummer,nearly done this a few times,well we do like to play in the water dont we
Good of you to admit your fault,many always blame the drone,sorry for your loss and hope replacement can be found so your flying again

 

[WyomingCB]

That really is a bummer Big Time!
Very Cool footage prior to the Suck though. Thanks for posting it.
Most of us don't ever get to see that unless we're on a boat. I've been splashed by some that came over the side of the boat, man that's a bunch of water in a short amount of time!

 

[Meta4]

I misjudged the height of the drone and the wave clipped my poor MA

The wide angle lenses of drones make things look further away than they actually are.

 

[Meta4]

As we have shown in Countless videos water in the gimbal , is not going to take down your drone, but Water in the Power Button or the battery will disconnect it.

Salt water in any electronics will kill the electronics.
Salt water on a gimbal is never going to end well.

 

[wanderer]

:-( were you watching the drone or the screen?

The City of Huntington Beach does not allow drone takeoffs/landings on the beach. So I launched from the bluffs which are about 30-feet above the beach. This makes judging the height of the drone above the water very difficult using VLOS alone. If I was allowed to control the drone from the beach level, it would have been much easier to judge the height above the waves.

Another factor contributing to my MA2's demise (besides my own carelessness) was that in my live view, the apparent drone height above sea level varied as the waves rolled in. Just before a large wave would come in, the sea level dropped making the drone appear higher than it actually was. Basically I learned that when flying close to the ocean's surface it's difficult to judge true height, using VLOS or FPV.

BTW, if anyone knows a good rule of thumb to ascertain (through the live camera view) if your drone is above or below an approaching obstacle, I'd love to hear it!

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

BTW, if anyone knows a good rule of thumb to ascertain (through the live camera view) if your drone is above or below an approaching obstacle, I'd love to hear it!

Turn grid lines on in camera settings . . . #
If the gimbal is dead straight to the front, the centre rectangle is where you can fly your drone without hitting things around it.
A bit of practice doing this is always prudent, there is still a lot of leeway over and below, so a matter of getting used to it for your drone model type . . . when you are testing this and riiiight behind the drone watching and checking screen.
OA has to be turned off.

PS. you can use the crosshairs + if it's an option on your drone (it is on my M1P).

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Now I just thought about this, did you have OA turned on for this flight @wanderer ?
If so, I wonder why it didn't pick up the largish fairly opaqueness of the wave ?
It's not like you are looking through shallow clear water, the wave has some 'body' to it.

 

[wanderer]

Not sure if I was in Sport Mode at the time, so OA might have been off.

>Turn grid lines on in camera settings . . . #

Ah, I hadn't thought about turning on the gridlines. Good suggestion @MAvic_South_Oz and should work if the gimbal is straight ahead.

Given enough lead time and practice I could probably setup a shot so my drone doesn't get pulverized. But most of the time I usually find myself flying with gimbal at some oddball tilt and digitally zoomed to get 'closer' to the action. I guess I'm a lost cause.

 

[Pallidin]

Throughout most of the video the drone seemed dangerously close to the water/waves.
Just sayin'

 

[DavidT_ NZ]

I'm kicking myself. My MA2 is now resting in Davy Jones locker due to my own foolishness. I was going for a low-altitude pullback shot of a large breaking wave. I misjudged the height of the drone and the wave clipped my poor MA2, disoriented it, and sent it plummeting. +1 for Pacific Ocean. Yeah, I'm an idiot. Here's the video from the cache.

My Physics teacher at school recommended not to mix water with anything electrical ……. It’s still good advice, today.

 

[DougMcC]

Flying in a cockpit, any cloud line ridge line or approaching aircraft that is rising on the cockpit window is going to be higher as you approach. At the end of the video the top of that wave is RISING. That still doesnt leave much time to climb.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Salt water in any electronics will kill the electronics.
Salt water on a gimbal is never going to end well.

Exactly. Any kind of protection will not help with salt water damage. Once salt water gets on electronic boards unless you can soak them in a solution to to stop the corrosion from the salt which has to be done right away. In most cases its not worth trying to save.

 

[Greatbonsai]

I believe the wet suit would have been a great idea, but only in fresh water.