Will pontoons save your drone if it crashes in water?

[PC1134]

I have a Mavic2 Pro and regularly fly over water. I attach a Getterback in case of crashing into the water, but have often wondered if pontoons such as on the Arris Raptor or landing mat like on the Wetsuit might be a better option? Just to clarify, I'm talking of a flyaway, loss of power or other catastrophic failure occurring where the drone falls out of the sky, e.g. 100m altitude and perhaps at speed as is often the case with flyaways.
My question is, in this type of scenario, would these flotation devices save your drone, or would they just rip off as the drone strikes the water?
Appreciate any insights as to the value in investing in some extra level of protection.

 

[old man mavic]

they would possibly keep the drone afloat so you could retrieve it if as you say they stayed attached to the drone on impact the downside of such devices is the added weight,plus wind resistance affecting performance in the air and flight time, in theory you could fit pontoons plus a parachute system to your drone and hope it slows it down enough to let it land on the pontoons without tipping over,but really it would be so compromised by all the additional weight it would not be worth the cost

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Define 'save your drone'.

If you mean land it upright, you'd have to be VERY lucky if pontoons (or just about any flotation device) will allow and uncontrolled landing that doesn't see the drone tip.
Water generally needs to be very calm even when landing on a very controlled descent with these devices, no drone movement in any direction, or wind to affect water or drone movement etc.

If you mean just keep the drone floating near the surface for recovery, then if the pontoons were affixed VERY well to the Arris Raptor legs, say with sikaflex urethane, then yes they probably would save it from sinking quite well, and not have to depend on Getterback and hand reeling it in without reef / rock etc tangles & loss from broken retrieval line.

I was about to mention lower (much lower) performance with pontoons fitted, omm beat me to it.

 

[Vue D’Oiseau]

I have a Mavic2 Pro and regularly fly over water. I attach a Getterback in case of crashing into the water, but have often wondered if pontoons such as on the Arris Raptor or landing mat like on the Wetsuit might be a better option? Just to clarify, I'm talking of a flyaway, loss of power or other catastrophic failure occurring where the drone falls out of the sky, e.g. 100m altitude and perhaps at speed as is often the case with flyaways.
My question is, in this type of scenario, would these flotation devices save your drone, or would they just rip off as the drone strikes the water?
Appreciate any insights as to the value in investing in some extra level of protection.

I wouldn’t recommend the Arris Raptor. First I had difficulty receiving a replacement that would fit, waited 7 months to finally get it and I tried the pontoon kit and the M2 was struggling.

 

[Meta4]

I .. have often wondered if pontoons such as on the Arris Raptor or landing mat like on the Wetsuit might be a better option? Just to clarify, I'm talking of a flyaway, loss of power or other catastrophic failure occurring where the drone falls out of the sky, e.g. 100m altitude and perhaps at speed as is often the case with flyaways.
My question is, in this type of scenario, would these flotation devices save your drone, or would they just rip off as the drone strikes the water?
Appreciate any insights as to the value in investing in some extra level of protection.

Many of the floatie contraptions out there would likely break up to some extent in a crash situation.
None are going to float your drone high and dry in a crash situation, the drone would come down upside down.

The assumption with these devices is that you would somehow be able to get out to the floating wreckage and retrieve it.
Maybe possible in a small river or pond but not really feasible in any sizable water body (who has a boat available when they are flying?)
If it's seawater, the drone is going to be toast anyway and not worth the effort of recovery.

Most will have a substantial performance penalty, reducing your drone's flight time and speed, and could contribute to the loss of a drone rather than enhancing safety.
Most of my flying is at sea and I'd never handicap my drone with this stuff.

 

[PC1134]

Thanks guys, your comments have been really helpful. Idea was ability to retrieve the drone so it could be sent back to DJI under Care Assist. But wasn't aware how much the flight characteristics would be diminished by flying with floats.
Seems I will just have to take the risk and hope the Return to Home button works if I ever experience a Fly Away.
Thanks for your advice!

 

[Drone-Retriever]

Folks,
Check out www.drone-retriever.com

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I like that product for recovery at surface level.
It looks big though (1st vid).
And sounded heavy dropping it in the container of water . . . what is the weight of this ? (gms or ozs)

 

[Drone-Retriever]

I like that product for recovery at surface level.
It looks big though (1st vid).
And sounded heavy dropping it in the container of water . . . what is the weight of this ? (gms or ozs)

Product weight: 4.8oz/136g

 

[SpitFire]

It will keep it from sinking to the bottom, more then likely drop in upside down. If you follow water recovery procedure, you may save your drone.

 

[Drone-Retriever]

Some insight on Pontoons.
During the early investigation and concept stage of developing our product we researched and procured all competitive product at that time.
We found that pontoons could be used to land a drone on a flat water surface but the drone would need to land vertically with very little lateral movement due to the pontoons catching the water and tipping the drone. Pontoons could work on flat water but the prop wash would get water on the outside of any camera lens located at or below the drone body. It would not be recommended to try and land on salt water due to the effect of prop wash getting salt spray into and onto everything. The salt spray may not pose any issues initially but over time the salt residue most likely would result in mild corrosion performance issue.
When it came to crashing into a water hazard we found a friend of a colleague, who summed up the performance during his pontoon water event as: "The only thing the pontoons saved was the pontoons" It seem that they were ripped off at impact.
An acceptable application is for the DJI Phantom with its flat bottom legs that would allows for a swimming pool noodle to be cut and mounted around the horizontal leg and attached with zip ties. Just make sure that you select a length that will support the weight of the drone. The disadvantages is aerodynamics while flying and once in the water after a crash, there is no vertical profile as the foam material sits flat on the surface making it difficult to find unless you are visually within a short distance.
Hope this helps

 

[Porschemann]

If it's seawater, the drone is going to be toast anyway and not worth the effort of recovery.

The drone is ALWAYS worth recovering so you can send it in on DJI Refresh and get a new one, especially in the car where this was a new drone and a new flier.

 

[old man mavic]

if as you say you regularly fly over water, there is a product made by splash drones that is able to land on and take off from water,if you look on the web you will be able to see what i mean,it might be a solution to your concerns i have no affiliation to the company i just came across their products by chance