So this summer we do alot of wateractivities, and thought about recording some. But then i read some post of dropping out of the sky during a flight. So do you trust your phantom enough to do so?

Hi used to fly over water with my phantom fc40, now the proud owner of a p3p and no way is it ever going over any water, there is no way i could afford to replace it at the moment should the worst happen, ask yourself can i afford another and if you can the footage you get will be worth the risk, good luck.  Hawk

My Phantom 3 Professional just went dead over water 2 weeks ago and plummeted to its death. 90% battery, calibrated before flight, hovering at 154 feet, then it just went down into the water. Luckily no person was directly underneath the aircraft. This was my first negative experience with DJI in 5 years and I am very disappointed in the result that happened. All in all, I think they make quality aircraft, but unless it can be trusted 100%, it's tough to put the aircraft over the water if that is your primary goal. Good luck.

I fly my standard low over water all the time, Never had a problem with it!

I fly over trees, land, water or whatever is around except people and buildings. Not sure what difference flying over water makes. It isnt like the water grabs quads out of the air. Does make them harder to recover though.

wingover2016@ou Posted at 2016-7-8 20:13
Hi used to fly over water with my phantom fc40, now the proud owner of a p3p and no way is it ever g ...

good answer, i'm not gonna fly at all over water now!

joey.frolfware Posted at 2016-7-8 20:14
My Phantom 3 Professional just went dead over water 2 weeks ago and plummeted to its death. 90% batt ...

stories like this makes me scared of even flying... no warranty on these cases??

It really does not matter if you fly over water or land, if the Phantom drops from 10 or more feet you will have severe damage. From 30' a total replacement most likely, unless you luck out in a soft bush or tree.

I have often flown $12,000.00 MRs over water and never worried about it. Same with my P3P. I have $5,000,000.00 production insurance with $1,000.00 deductible, so I see the P3P as expendable. And any other MR that is more expensive will just mean an upgrade if I loose it.

So far in 5 years of flying MRs I have never had a bad crash, a couple small ones with less than $100.00 repair cost. But I have never had any problem at all with Phantoms when I fly them. I have fixed a number of them for others though...

Rigworker Posted at 2016-7-8 20:24
I fly over trees, land, water or whatever is around except people and buildings. Not sure what diffe ...

the chance of saving crucial parts may be somewhat higher over solids i guess ..

Westside Osprey Posted at 2016-7-8 20:34
It really does not matter if you fly over water or land, if the Phantom drops from 10 or more feet y ...

great to hear you dont experience crashing so often! 12 grand... wow

I have been flying mostly over water with no issues using my P4.

I figured the odds of full working recovery if I fly it over land or water are about the same!

I make sure I always calibrate compass before every flight, I make sure the props are on correctly, the battery is clicked in, and off it goes.  I also do not fly it low over water, since the VPS may get "confused" looking at constant blue image.

The only close call I had recently was at about 1 mile away over the ocean at about 150 feet I lost Connection.  But it recovered after about 90 seconds.  Although not certain, I think the cause was I was using a single transmission channel, instead of Auto mode.

just went on a boat on monday and took my P3P out. Was a bit nervous but it worked fine.

Just like 'Westside Osprey' said, if it completely dies up in the sky and free falls to the ground or to water, you'll have significant damage either way.

How much do you trust your Phantom? The way I think about it is, dropping out of the sky over water or land doesn't make a difference for me. It's gonna get wrecked either way. There's a chance things could go wrong anytime you get in the air. It doesn't matter what you're flying over. I got this thing to get cool videos, so why not use it for that? I just flew over a lake with my P3S last weekend. Took some high shots and low shots over the water. No issues.

Mariuss Posted at 2016-7-9 02:33
stories like this makes me scared of even flying... no warranty on these cases??

I am trying to work on it right now. Here is the forum if you want to follow how this all shakes out: http://forum.dji.com/thread-57641-1-1.html

Less damage over water.

Mariuss Posted at 2016-7-9 02:33
stories like this makes me scared of even flying... no warranty on these cases??

Those kind of determinations are done on a case by case bases. Some have had warranty replacemtents, many have not. It ultimately depends on the information that is provided to DJI in order to properly validate the warranty claim.

Mariuss Posted at 2016-7-9 02:35
the chance of saving crucial parts may be somewhat higher over solids i guess ..

The real difference between hitting the ground and going into the water is that at least on the ground there is a chance that the main controller can be recovered to analyze the flight data to verify the warranty claim.


I fly over water all the time and have not ran into issues. I'm by the coast, so it would be difficult to avoid it. You just need to be more precautious of your surroundings and aware of your battery life to ensure it comes back safely.

mfojas430@insit Posted at 2016-7-8 20:42
How much do you trust your Phantom? The way I think about it is, dropping out of the sky over water  ...

you're absolutely right, the chance will never be higher flying over water compared to land...

DJI-Jamie Posted at 2016-7-8 22:10
Those kind of determinations are done on a case by case bases. Some have had warranty replacemtent ...

would be nice if you have a checklist for validation ;) !

I flew over a lake recently and was very nervous at first, but it flew beautifully and without problem. Of course I was ready to jump in if it started to descend.

I just flew the other day for the first time low over water. I'd flown over the ocean at higher altitudes with no problem but this time was over a calm river skimming about a foot off the surface. It flew perfectly and I didn't quiet at all. I bought this to get some cool footage, and that's what I'll be doing!

bmamalis Posted at 2016-7-9 19:02
I just flew the other day for the first time low over water. I'd flown over the ocean at higher alti ...

great to read some thumbs up!

I fly over water all the time.

Absolutely. I have over a 100 flights over water. Seems safer than over land. No trees to bump into..

coolmike699 Posted at 2016-7-11 07:37
I fly over water all the time.

that shot is fabolous!

I fly over the water often and have only had 1 incident which was due to user-error / poor piloting decisions (flying under a bridge - lost gps connection and control and ended up in the water). Then several weeks later just fizzed out mid-flight and was nearly a total loss ($724 repair). Since then I have been much more cautious while flying around water! Lol. Still pulling it tho!

Here's from my latest water adventures!

I flew my p2 over water all the time, I haven't found a time to fly my p3p over water yet (i've only owned it a week) but when the time comes i will not hesitate. If you crash from that height your drones cooked regardless. no trees in the water either. I would never risk missing an awesome shot by being afraid of plummeting into water.... Whats the point of owning these fine pieces of machinery and not using them to their potential? just my opinion though.

Above water is the only place where I fly usually for good footage. AS others have said, if its gonna crash, it'll be the same result on water or land. At that point, im not looking to recover the footage or salvage parts from it.

Adam Flurk Posted at 2016-7-11 14:21
I fly over the water often and have only had 1 incident which was due to user-error / poor piloting  ...

great vid Adam! sorry to hear the incidents tho, do you think the last "fizz" was due to user-error?

alekhoskins Posted at 2016-7-11 14:29
I flew my p2 over water all the time, I haven't found a time to fly my p3p over water yet (i've only ...

totally agree with you, even tho i'm still scared for no reason really!

leads me on to another question, does the warranty cover sudden dropouts from the sky? i've read quite a few regarding this, but cant conclude with anything as the situations are different.

Most of my flights are over water, otherwise, in my area, I would just be filming trees.
Flying with the seagulls

Flying over LI BEach

I have State Farm insurance on mine. $60 per year, no deductible, it doesn't matter what happens to it, it is FULLY COVERED!

Love flying over water...
]

mjlstudios Posted at 2016-7-11 09:38
I have State Farm insurance on mine. $60 per year, no deductible, it doesn't matter what happens to  ...

I called my state farm rep., and he told me that they  only offer theft insurance for $60.  It does not cover liability, injury, or loss while flying.  They directed me to the drone associations, which cost $700 - 1500 per year!

Please ask them to put it in writing; mine could not put it in writing.

Capt. Wild Bill Posted at 2016-7-11 09:41
Love flying over water...
]

Nice shots!

Do you recall the altitude you were flying over the river?

coolmike699 Posted at 2016-7-11 13:37
I fly over water all the time.

What Mike, you couldn't make it from one side to the other and back?

No way to pay the toll i guess.

So far I had only two close calls over water. The first it was way too windy to take it up on the coast so I reached out to grab it while I shut it off.

The second, i was trying to get shots flying through a natural archway over water when I must have disturbed a seagull nest. I'll just say the phantom certainly maneuvers well! I was running for my life!

MD_Icarus Posted at 2016-7-11 09:56
Nice shots!

Do you recall the altitude you were flying over the river?

1st pic - 300- 350 ft.
2nd pic - 250-300 ft.

Phantom knows no difference!