Any guidance? I'm getting adventureous and want to fly my P3A over water. I have read that I should turn off the Vision Positioning and I have also read that I don't need to do anything special...except maybe have my mermaid close by and rested.

I would advise to start with a fully charged battery and wait until the battery has warmed to more than 25 degrees before flying over water. When you're over water, keep a close eye on your battery voltage. If it drops too low, bring it back in. Personally I also have a minimum battery charge of 40%, after which I'll bring it back over land.

Oh, and watch out for birds, they're not your friend!

Happy and safe flying.

Set your homepoint on a reasonable distance from the water, so the P3A won't accidentally land in water when RTH is used.

Golden rule (in my opinion): keep checking your battery all the time and don't push it. Bring the P3A back well in time. As always, first check the wind direction. In offshore wind, take into consideration that you will need more battery power to fight the wind when you bring the Phantom back.

Here are some useful links:

http://forum.dji.com/thread-36171-1-1.html

http://forum.dji.com/thread-47933-1-1.html

I'm getting a little braver over water, this one was about 200' out over water. But heed the warnings above, I brought it back early
https://stebon.smugmug.com/Drone-Videos/i-p4xpZnx

Just think that there is really no difference between water or dirt. if it crashes from 300 feet it's basically going to be unrecoverable, whether it lands in water or dirt.

MrPinaColada Posted at 2016-5-6 11:17
Just think that there is really no difference between water or dirt. if it crashes from 300 feet it' ...

You're totally right!

MrPinaColada Posted at 2016-5-6 11:17
Just think that there is really no difference between water or dirt. if it crashes from 300 feet it' ...

It's a different scenario when - say - lo batt or signal loss forces your bird to perform emergency landing. Note that you can tell her what to do when such things happen ...

UFO,

DON'T GO IN THE WATER!

Jerry

JtrJr-UAV Pilot Posted at 2016-5-6 16:29
UFO,

DON'T GO IN THE WATER!

Lakes too...(turn off the VPS)

Jerry

MrPinaColada Posted at 2016-5-5 23:17
Just think that there is really no difference between water or dirt. if it crashes from 300 feet it' ...

Not if you have DJI Care, it'll be covered on the ground no matter where it falls from, unless it lands in water. DJI care doesn't cover water damage