Tips for When flying Over Water

[MRomine]

I will be traveling in Ireland the next few days and I am looking for any tips, either dos or don'ts when flying over water. Hoping to get some decent cliff footage on the western cost of the island.



thanks

 

[BigAl07]

Don't fly anywhere you can't afford to lose the aircraft

Have insurance that covers in the case it goes deep and you can't recover the airframe.

Look into a GetterBack just in case. https://www.getterback.com/

Fly OUT with a headwind and try to return with a TAIL wind.

Turn around and head home well before you "need" to.

Don't fly beyond VLOS.

Know and follow the rules where you're flying.

Share your videos and pics when you return.

 

[Porky]

And to add to the list,

have a 2nd landing area just in case you get into problems

Don’t fly to close to the water

Keep a close eye out for our feathered friends, gulls/seas birds etc, they take a liking to our drones

The wind, as BigA107 has mentioned, very important..

Make sure the home point has been activated before takeoff

And the most important part, enjoy yourself?

Flying over water is really no different to flying over land just a bit wetter?

I fly over water 99% of the time with no problems.

 

[zocalo]

Mostly you just need to keep in mind that water is one of the surface types that DJI specifically mentions as being problematic for the drones to establish altitude (shiny and reflective), otherwise as Porky says it's no different to land, only wetter (and usually with fewer obstacles). Make sure you make allowances for sudden gusts of wind (which can be much stronger over open water than ashore, especially if you are on the Atlantic coast and even more so near cliffs like Moher because of updrafts) and wave height when you decide on how close to the surface you are willing to get based on the conditions.

I'd also do a full-preflight check, especially making sure you have a good GPS lock before takeoff and RTH is set, and don't push your luck with the battery - be sure give yourself plenty of time to get it back over dry land. Maybe start with a shorter flight to get your confidence up; there's nothing special about it really, but it's nice to give yourself a bit of assurance of that before going anything more adventurous. Above all have fun; I was a bit nervous on my first few over water flights too, but now have no compunctions about going beyond VLOS when local laws permit.

 

[MRomine]

Thanks everyone for you suggestions, reminders and tips! Mucho appreciated!

 

[Barnes_de]

See this info by DJI:

How to Fly Safely Over Water - DJI Guides

Check out these essential tips for keeping your drone safe while flying over water.

store.dji.com

 

[MRomine]

See this info by DJI:

How to Fly Safely Over Water - DJI Guides

Check out these essential tips for keeping your drone safe while flying over water.

store.dji.com

It seems that DJI recommends turning off VPS (Vision Positioning System) when flying below 2 meters above water.

 

[zocalo]

It seems that DJI recommends turning off VPS (Vision Positioning System) when flying below 2 meters above water.

Yeah, it gives you a little extra protection against the drone getting confused by reflective/uniform surfaces and thinking it's OK to descend - it would apply to things like featureless deserts or grass as well. In practice, since the West coast of Ireland is on the Atlantic, if you're below 2m you're probably going to get hit by a wave top sooner or later, but it wouldn't hurt as an extra safety net.

 

[Deleted member 94307]

You have to except the fact that you may loose your drone.. the chances are slim though.. I fly over water all the time . Flew my phantom until the motors were going bad and it still didn’t crash but sounded horrible until I got new ones.

Don’t fly closer than 3-5 feet above water unless you turn off sensors. When flying into the wind at fast speed the UAV will dip or lose some altitude .. I usually stay 10 feet or more. Plus you don’t want water or just in drone.

I am extra careful to hover and look for any errors before flying.

Buy firehouse strobes in civil twilight they extend vlos by thousands of feet.. i Velcro them so I can still fold up drone.. put them facing backwards or they will mess up your pics.

 

[Porky]

@Gord Nice tips but love your pics? no I’m not a poet?

 

[CanadaDrone]

I fly over water with the exact same precautions I take over land (VLOS, 12+ satellites, freshly charged battery, etc). The only difference is that once over water, your drone is toast if you crash it (especially in salt water) and most likely non-recoverable - you just need to get comfortable with that.

I've never had an issue though (knock on wood), and I regularly fly very close to water without the sensors off - the drone's barometer controls the altitude, the bottom VPS/obstacle sensors do not.

 

[FormerMember07122019_2]

I fly over water with the exact same precautions I take over land (VLOS, 12+ satellites, freshly charged battery, etc). The only difference is that once over water, your drone is toast if you crash it (especially in salt water) and most likely non-recoverable - you just need to get comfortable with that.

I've never had an issue though (knock on wood), and I regularly fly very close to water without the sensors off - the drone's barometer controls the altitude, the bottom VPS/obstacle sensors do not.

This is my understanding as well. The bottom sensors have nothing to do with the flying height. Why does DJI and others recommend that you turn them off? I have flown many times above my pond at less than 5ft with nothing but normal behavior.

 

[Deleted member 94307]

I’d rather lose my drone in the water than have it hit someone on land.. if it were to malfunction..

I’m not sure about the sensors only been told that. You should avoid spray anyway so it’s risky being less than 10 feet about ocean water..

Thanks I love flying to the lighthouse which is 3000 from one town ...9000 from another location I frequent ..

 

[CanadaDrone]

This is my understanding as well. The bottom sensors have nothing to do with the flying height. Why does DJI and others recommend that you turn them off? I have flown many times above my pond at less than 5ft with nothing but normal behavior.

Probably just so people don't blame DJI when they lose their drones, saying that the bottom sensors did not detect the water when if they were to mistakenly descend into it. Of course, turning them off also means they will not detect anything at all, which is not a problem because a barometer is used for altitude not the VPS. My understanding is it would only be an issue if you were in a flight mode that relied on the sensors for positioning, which I can't imagine anyone attempting over water. I've seen dozens of threads where people have asked DJI reps to explain these scenarios in detail and they can't/won't. To the best of my knowledge there is no scenario in a normal flying situation (P mode, good GPS lock, etc.) where the drone would take an inaccurate reading from the bottom VPS sensors, ignore the barometer/GPS data, and plunge into the water. I can only speak for myself but I've flown very low over water (both still and moving) more times than I can count and have never had the slightest issue or altitude fluctuation. No reason to turn off the sensors in a normal flying scenario IMO.

 

[Porky]

Another very important thing I do and should have mentioned this in my first post #3

While flying over water, keep a constant eye on the battery level in the Go4 app.

 

[J Brown]

I just got back from Ireland and used my Mavic Air extensively. Be extra careful around all the cliffs due to high winds that constantly change directions. I would use caution flying at the cliffs and in the gaps and passes.

 

[dwolfe002]

I keep my sensors on when I fly over water. What I wonder about is speed when flying close to water. I fly fairly fast when I'm 2 to 3ft above the water and have no problems with the M2P dropping. I have only flown it over land at those heights with the sensors off and have crashed twice. Now I haven't tried either one while hovering that low over water. I think that is where the sensor come into play along with slower speeds but don't know that for sure.

 

[MRomine]

I just got back from Ireland and used my Mavic Air extensively. Be extra careful around all the cliffs due to high winds that constantly change directions. I would use caution flying at the cliffs and in the gaps and passes.

Which cliffs were you flying at?

 

[paulatkin73]

be aware that mavic 2 may go into an auto-landing mode during strong winds. it is not clear what is the exact threshold for this - but it may happen, so, be careful if it too windy outside where you fly. as a partial countermeasure it may help to have ATTI mode set so it could be switched to it to stop fighting the wind to let it fly toward land quicker - but, overall, you just need to keep an eye on what happens to the drone if it starts popping wind related warnings.

 

[dwolfe002]

be aware that mavic 2 may go into an auto-landing mode during strong winds. it is not clear what is the exact threshold for this - but it may happen, so, be careful if it too windy outside where you fly. as a partial countermeasure it may help to have ATTI mode set so it could be switched to it to stop fighting the wind to let it fly toward land quicker - but, overall, you just need to keep an eye on what happens to the drone if it starts popping wind related warnings.

Do you happen to know if hitting the pause button would stop this.