I live on an Island and all the most beautiful spots are over sea.  I have gotten used to flying my Phantom and really wish to fly over sea, but the other half of me says I shouldnt because of the added risk..  What do you guys think?  How big is the risk?

If you can learn the bird to swim, than no problem

What added risk would that be?  The phantom doesn't know what its flying over.  Seriously though I fly mine out of my boat and over water all the time.  A crash is a crash no mater what you are flying over.

I guess if I felt confident in my home point being set, failsafe and RTH were set, my Phantom was in good shape, good GPS and batteries all around, I would have no problem with it.

Anything can happen anywhere.  What is the sense of having a machine capable of doing something you are afraid to let it do?  My biggest concern over the sea/ocean would be wind.

I am just afraid of the risk of not being able to retrieve it if it falls...  At least on the ground, if it crashes you can collect it and attempt to repair it..

collection and repair is only really feasible for a low altitude flight.  my guess would be that if it fell 250ft over land there wouldnt be anything useful recovered.  so i agree with gary, a crash is a crash and unless the crash is low altitude, you are probably looking at a total loss either way.  not every single case is this true, but it is likely true for the vast majority of scenarios.  i plan to fly mine over water often now that the weather is warming up.  

Yes, weather is getting better here too.  Like I said, i am comfortable flying and its working great..  But I guess I have to agree with you that a crash on land over 250 feet would make it unrecoverable anyway..   

I saw a marker bouy that would deploy from the bottom of the bird if the Phantom went in the water.  I don't recall how long the line was. Perhaps you can find it online.

This might work or possibly 2.

I think he is talking about the getter back.  I have one on mine.  Have not had to use it though.  

http://www.amazon.com/GetterBack ... eywords=getter+back

yes, he is talking about getterback.  but that is only really any good for fresh water.  salt water will totally ruin the phantom so wouldnt be worth recovering in water unless fresh water.

Yes, that is the one I was origionally thinking about (GetterBack).  I stumbled on the one that floats the item.  Floating the item would assist if the water depths were deep.  With the waves and tides I would think that any water over 60 feet deep might not show on the surface. And, just think, an orange beacon when it's dark.

Flying over large bodies of water is definitely increasing the chances of total loss - BUT, those chances are fairly high even over land. All in all, you can consider it somewhat the same as with real aircraft - which work in this order:

1. Safest - above land within gliding or easy flying distance to airfields or landing areas - this is generally where even large commercial passenger planes try to fly.

2. Safer - Above water where you are relatively close to land so that you can head back to or toward land when and if there are problems.

3. Above water with long distances to landing areas is probably the least safe of the 3 options.

It's always a matter of percentages - we have no way of researching the exact odds but I suspect that if we put the chances of a really good pilot at 20% per year of losing their Quad over land, it might be 30% over partial water and 40% over mostly all water.

Eric Cheng, who is the head of imaging at DJI, wrote one story where he mentioned that most all of his friends and contacts who regularly flew quadcopters over water have dunked them! Just like most of us who fly over land have crashed them.....

Heck, I crashed today - a little one! I was near some ponds and if it would have went into one it would be a repair bill...as it was, all is A-OK.

If nothing else, having a small boat nearby (rowboat, kayak) may help with retrieval.  If the wind is low, you may be able to put small foam noodles on the landing gear so that it can land in water.

Me? I won't fly more than a very small percentage above water (and I live in two places near lots of water) unless it's someone else's quadcopter and they tell me to do it and that I have no responsibility if something happens.

Let's all report back as the weather improves and we take our chances!

I fly over water all the time - if its going to go down its going to go down.
You pay your money you take your chance..


Buzz

gary.ok@hotmail Posted at 2015-3-19 04:29
What added risk would that be?  The phantom doesn't know what its flying over.  Seriously though I f ...

Yes I would and it is much like golfing (except the Phantom is worth a wee bit more than a Golf Ball!), the water is only in front of you if you think of it which can mess with your mind, the distances are still the same!...just think of nice big blue puffy pillows and make sure it is fully charged, TX, RC and Phantom...and test all your fail safes, RTH so that you are total confident....send pictures please! And check out....: http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?m ... ra=page%3D1&lang=en

Why not install the floats on the legs when flying over water.  If it goes down, it may stay upright if landing softly...

trrdesign@cox.n Posted at 2015-3-19 09:13
Why not install the floats on the legs when flying over water.  If it goes down, it may stay upright ...

That would be great for a pond or a small lake but pretty sure (and I am guessing) he is talking about an island surrounded by the Ocean...Pontoons on the Phantom or not,,,it would not be a case of all swells that ends well!

Flying over water is only a problem if you crash, or auto-land kicks in for some reason.
I fly over water a lot, but do most of it very early in the flight and once the battery gets to 50% or less I fly the remainder of the flight overland.

Short clip of last flight.

And yes always over sea water

adrianmizzi1983 Posted at 2015-3-19 16:12
https://vimeo.com/122575981?utm_ ... TI5MDB8NzcwMQ%3D%3D

Short clip of last flight.

What a beautiful place...I would love to see the coast from the sea side...

I learned a saying in the mountains when I was younger which goes like this, "No guts, no glory!"  Do your pre-flight checks and you should be fine.  Everyone in the history of the earth that wanted something cool had to take a risk.

Get comfortable flying until you're ready for this and those shots you're imagining will be there when you're ready!  I like the getterback idea though being here in SD because I fly over water all of the time! https://instagram.com/p/0QbOeBmE4Q/?taken-by=financingandfun

I can't afford to lose it to the sea.  At least I have a chance to recover and repair it if it goes down on land.  If it goes down in the drink, it's gone.  And destroyed by salt water even if you can get at it.

kjkisatsky Posted at 2015-3-20 07:24
I can't afford to lose it to the sea.  At least I have a chance to recover and repair it if it goes  ...

That chance of repair from a fall out of the sky is directly related to its height should it fall from the sky so a possibility to repair for sure. 10'..maybe just a bandaid...200'..a good cry, a few G&T's and a good nights sleep and order another one..
Either way, next time I am out at the coast I will sea (pun intended) how far I can go, only because I am confident enough in the technology and my preflight routine to ensure that it will be a success!..Can't wait!

Yes... I'm getting braver as time goes by.. These phantoms have been very stable for me so far and I'm feeling more comfortable flying blind and will eventually fly over water..

kjkisatsky Posted at 2015-3-20 07:24
I can't afford to lose it to the sea.  At least I have a chance to recover and repair it if it goes  ...

i like your corvette. Do,you own one?

rdc, yup, my first real big boy toy, picked it up at the National Corvette Museum last May.  That pic is from the drive home through the Blue Ridge Mountains.  Can't wait for weather to break and roads to be fixed to break it out again, been dormant since November.

Hey guys i have flown over large bodies of water several times, its always a risk especially with the possibility of battery failure, check your flight times with every battery and number them.  do your self checks after take off making sure it is stable with full GPS lock and keep it close for about a minute. If everything is good then proceed, make sure you make a note of wind speed and direction as if it takes you two minutes with a tailwind consider it may take six minutes to get back. whatever happens start coming back once you reach 60% battery (if you have flown far away, i have flown 1 mile with FPV). That been said some of your best shots are over water..


robin

i live in the island too   

yes I have flown over the sea!

What about saltwater sea splash? This is the primary reason I ordered my Phantom 3: for coastal Hawaii shots.

I love this 8 minute clip.

I show it to people who say the Phantom looks fragile.



Shows how strong the motors are.

rdc4444@hotmail Posted at 2015-3-20 11:52
i like your corvette. Do,you own one?

I don't care who ya are, that's funny right there!  I was thinking the same thing.

buzzcbr@gmail.c Posted at 2015-3-19 06:22
I fly over water all the time - if its going to go down its going to go down.
You pay your money you ...

Dude, do you have video when the tide is in?  that is scary.

Yes, I fly over water.  Here is a recent clip, and, I was flying at the same place but down on the shore tonight, so more video of flying over the sea soon.  Our video quality on either the vision+ or the vision 2 w/gopro is better than the drone you can fly out of the water.  image quality is worth the risk, and i know that someday i may lose one in the water and probably salt water.

which is why i fly it with a getterback whenever i am over water.

i also think that if i retrieved a drone from the ocean, i think that i could remove the data card, rinse it, dry it, and still be able to retrieve the data.  if not, that makes the p3 with a dvr even more attractive.  just sayin'.

HermosaDrones Posted at 2015-4-21 13:14
Yes, I fly over water.  Here is a recent clip, and, I was flying at the same place but down on the s ...

clip missing....

Here's one clip:

This one was over the harbor:

And oen more.  I have more.  Still editing last night's footage:

And here is last night's footage.  This location is becoming one of my favorite sites to fly when i want something close to home and scenic.  Especially when plans change and i can sneak out and fly.  Most of this was over water.  I do fly more carefully when over water but water itself will not stop me from flying.

HermosaDrones Posted at 2015-4-22 12:20
And here is last night's footage.  This location is becoming one of my favorite sites to fly when i  ...

tight shots