Reluctant to fly over water?

[Cafguy]

I'll bet Dji somehow makes this lol I fly over water sometimes but im not tempted to land on it

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Anyway how do you get to it once it's in the water and many meters from shore, it will just float away taken by the current ?
Best not take the risk if your worried about loosing it

I would swim for it. On second thoughts if the waters were infested with Salt Water Crocodiles or bull sharks, I might need to swim considerably faster during that drone retrieval operation.

 

[3rdof5]

I fly over water (ocean) regularly. The key is to be prepared, and to do all your pre-flight checks thoroughly.

I check the batteries, make sure they are charged, healthy and tightly attached. I check the props for nicks & scratches and that they are securely attached. I check GPS signals are strong. Most importantly, I hover over the take-off point until the app gives the message that the RTH point has been updated. Then I fly.

A few days ago I had some minor signal interference while I was 800 metres out taking photos of a ship, and the video started to break up. I tried to return manually, but it was difficult to tell which direction the Mavic was facing, and I inadvertently flew further out to sea (revealed when I checked the log in Airdata afterwards). The signal returned intermittently along with the video feed, but still not enough to be able to fly back manually. Ended up using RTH function, which worked perfectly.

The problem was some sort of signal interference even though it was 800 metres off-shore and the only ship around. Without the RTH function working I would have almost certainly lost the Mavic.

Exactly! Well said! Flying over water is probably the safest you can fly, clear line of sight and transmission, little to no obstacles, expect for maybe abit more birds, but with a proper and thorough preflight check and proper RTH settings you should never have to worry about losing your bird to the water. That being said though, it still gets into your head, my first flight over water my hands were shaking so bad I could barely fly lol.

 

[MS Coast]

it was difficult to tell which direction the Mavic was facing, and I inadvertently flew further out to sea (revealed when I checked the log in Airdata afterwards).

The map feature in DJI Fly provides a straightforward and accurate way to navigate the drone without reference to the camera. Did your video problem prevent using it?

 

[Walleye Hunter]

This looks like as good a place as any to park this. A friend and I are going fishing in AK's Inner Passage this summer and he's going to bring his drone along. He wants the safety of some sort of floatation so we're having a contest to make something. He's going that pool noodle route but I have my own direction. I've always been on the cutting edge of things so here's my V 1.02. V 1.01 was only two tubes and it was unstable but this one looks promising. Additionally, we can make this one on site and we need to minimize luggage on the flights.

I have read through this thread and see that the consensus is that it's not necessary but it's his drone, not mine, so we carry onward. Don't laugh, it flies, it floats and it's extremely stable.

 

[MS Coast]

This looks like as good a place as any to park this. A friend and I are going fishing in AK's Inner Passage this summer and he's going to bring his drone along. He wants the safety of some sort of floatation so we're having a contest to make something. He's going that pool noodle route but I have my own direction. I've always been on the cutting edge of things so here's my V 1.02. V 1.01 was only two tubes and it was unstable but this one looks promising. Additionally, we can make this one on site and we need to minimize luggage on the flights.

I have read through this thread and see that the consensus is that it's not necessary but it's his drone, not mine, so we carry onward. Don't laugh, it flies, it floats and it's extremely stable.

View attachment 162930

I've always been an admirer of home-built aircraft, and DIY mods.

For the Mark II version, you might replace the center can with a popsicle stick strut or two and save a little weight.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

This looks like as good a place as any to park this. A friend and I are going fishing in AK's Inner Passage this summer and he's going to bring his drone along. He wants the safety of some sort of floatation so we're having a contest to make something. He's going that pool noodle route but I have my own direction. I've always been on the cutting edge of things so here's my V 1.02. V 1.01 was only two tubes and it was unstable but this one looks promising. Additionally, we can make this one on site and we need to minimize luggage on the flights.

I have read through this thread and see that the consensus is that it's not necessary but it's his drone, not mine, so we carry onward. Don't laugh, it flies, it floats and it's extremely stable.

View attachment 162930

This drone has a decidedly Ukrainean look to it that could induce PTSD in Russian combat veterans should they ever spot such a rig above them after returning from the front.

 

[Walleye Hunter]

This drone has a decidedly Ukrainean look to it that could induce PTSD in Russian combat veterans should they ever spot such a rig above them after returning from the front.

LOL I have gotten several suggestions on how to paint those cans up.

 

[Aairon]

I fly miles out over water here in the Puget sound it's probably the safest flying I do,
there is nothing to crash into unless you decide to trash your drone and land it in the water. I land mine on the shore, unless I'm kayaking then I hand land it back in my hand.
I think it's insane to mount a bunch of crap to the drone lol, just hand land it in your own hand!
Once you strap all that crap to it you'd be lucky to fly over a bath tub without crashing.