asking for any tips and pointers on flying over water and beaches.. planning on getting on some great shots of the beaches and sunsets.. please share your pointers and tips i would gladly appreciate it thanks and stay fly !!!!!!

First you have to acceptt the fact that you might loose your drone. If that is ok with you than here we go.

* I use UAV FORECAST APP. it's free and you can downloaded. It gives you all kind of data especially wind speed and at what height. Fight the urge to fly when you are NOT supposed too and take off 80% of the risk.

* Beside the obvious, checking RC, AC (props, battery etc.), force close all apps, CHECK your environment, LIKE BIRDS, CELL TOWERS, ETC...

* Know your wind and elevation, might be nice at 20' to 30' but id you go higher it is different story you might have wind gust that can effect your flight, battery and drone.

* PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE with ATTI in case you got stuck against the wind or lost GPS and you need to bring back your drone manually.

* Keep an eye on exposure and where the sun is. I usually use AUTO look at the result and then use manual setting and adjust. You can still cut overexposed section with post.

Last but not least, SAFETY FIRST, FUN SECOND. and post your vids... Good Luck..

You might wish to use a landing pad, when flying from & landing, near or on a sand covered beach.

Turn the VPS off when flying over water.

Please share your videos, we love a beach scene...

Above all else. have plenty of fun. ;-)


RedHotPoker

agree on landing pad away from sand..
sand in motors is sure fire problem

can also learn how to hand catch.
works well at beach sites

good luck and have fun flying!

Stay away from seagulls.

Beux Posted at 2017-2-19 11:08
Stay away from seagulls.

Yes, and be careful where you step. Haha


RedHotPoker

RedHotPoker Posted at 2017-2-19 11:11
Yes, and be careful where you step. Haha

Dont fly near planes llol

And keep calm



Have fun

dronist Posted at 2017-2-19 10:42
First you have to acceptt the fact that you might loose your drone. If that is ok with you than here we goes.

* I use UAV FORECAST APP. it's free and you can downloaded. It gives you all kind of data especially wind speed and at what height. Fight the urge to fly when you are NOT supposed too and take off 805 of the risk.

These rules are more general rules and apply to ALL flying, not only flying over water.
My flying is 90 % over water and I never had any problem, height  2 m to 50 m, VPS on or off (but I read the recommendation and switch off VPS most of the time over water but I forget often).

So, I wouldn't be too worried. Yes you can loose your drone but the chance of loosing it over water is, in my experience, not much bigger than over solid ground.

PhanFran Posted at 2017-2-19 13:03
These rules are more general rules and apply to ALL flying, not only flying over water.
My flying is 90 % over water and I never had any problem, height  2 m to 50 m, VPS on or off (but I read the recommendation and switch off VPS most of the time over water but I forget often).

"EDITED POST"

Phan,

My mistake I did not pay attention at who posted to my reply and I thought it was the OP so I was wondering why he is asking since he does 90% of flying over water.

But I would never encourage someone to fly over water without knowing the risk and the risk of flying over water is higher because you will loose the drone at the bottom of the ocean,lake etc with no recovery. On land you can still recover and fix.

SAFETY FIRST, FUN SECOND and I will add, if you don't mind loosing your drone to "JAWS"...

Know your proximity to local airports! Download the FAA B4Ufly app. shows airports and airspace class. Do not fly directly over people.Other than that, post cool beach videos! Safety first. Ken.

Ensure your takeoff point (recorded home point) is more than 20 meters from the water. If the aircraft is within 20 meters of the home point and you get a low battery or select RTH, the aircraft will land at its current location.  

dronist Posted at 2017-2-19 13:10
Enlighten us on what was the point of your post since you are such a pro and do 90% of flying over water...

If you need 'enlightening' on my post ; well it is actually very simple.
The original poster asked specific tips for flying over WATER.
Your tips are absolutely true and important but most of them are tips that are just specific to flying drones, not specifically drones over WATER.

So, I'm not a 'pro' at all. I'm a frequent user with 4 Phantoms that, indeed , do 90 % or more of their flying over water, for about two hours each on every suitable day, weather and wind permitting. And I just wanted to mitigate the original poster's fears telling him that, if you indeed, follow the general rules you posted so eloquently and were so enlightening, flying over water is not much more risky than flying over land.

I went for a fly at a local beach on the weekend.

The tide was out so I launched from the damp sand as it minimised any loose grains flying up. Did some video but the main aim was some pano shots.

On the return I hovered and the hand caught the aircraft.
The attached image is the result of a crop of the stitched pano.

PhanFran Posted at 2017-2-19 13:41
If you need 'enlightening' on my post ; well it is actually very simple.
The original poster asked specific tips for flying over WATER.
Your tips are absolutely true and important but most of them are tips that are just specific to flying drones, not specifically drones over WATER.

Phan,

My mistake I did not pay attention at who posted to my reply and I thought it was the OP so I was wondering why he is asking since he does 90% of flying over water.

But I would never encourage someone to fly over water without knowing the risk and the risk of flying over water is higher because you will loose the drone at the bottom of the ocean,lake etc with no recovery. On land you can still recover and fix.

SAFETY FIRST, FUN SECOND and I will add, if you don't mind loosing your drone to "JAWS"...  

Cabansail Posted at 2017-2-19 14:01
I went for a fly at a local beach on the weekend.

The tide was out so I launched from the damp sand as it minimised any loose grains flying up. Did some video but the main aim was some pano shots.

Really nice mate!

dronist Posted at 2017-2-19 14:19
Phan,

My mistake I did not pay attention at who posted to my reply and I thought it was the OP so I was wondering why he is asking since he does 90% of flying over water.

"But I would never encourage someone to fly over water without knowing the risk and the risk of flying over water is higher because you will loose the drone at the bottom of the ocean,lake etc with no recovery. On land you can still recover and fix."

I would suggest that over water flying is safer than on land.
There's no interference, no trees and no buildings - nothing to hit at all.
And flying on land, there are many locations where recovery after a crash is equally impossible.

Labroides Posted at 2017-2-19 15:39
"But I would never encourage someone to fly over water without knowing the risk and the risk of flying over water is higher because you will loose the drone at the bottom of the ocean,lake etc with no recovery. On land you can still recover and fix."

I would suggest that over water flying is safer than on land.

Labroide,

My point is that on land you can recover the drone over water you are done... You also have wind gust, lost of signal or not enough battery to come back, birds, "JAWS" jumping out of the water and woooof drone is gone.

Google: "video of drone crashing into the water". About 3,540,000 results

This is really a nice one: https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=2ef_1433894294

dronist Posted at 2017-2-19 16:34
Labroide,

My point is that on land you can recover the drone over water you are done... You also have wind gust, lost of signal or not enough battery to come back, birds, "JAWS" jumping out of the water and woooof drone is gone.

'Google: "video of drone crashing into the water". About 3,540,000 results'

And about 3,400,000 of those are 'video of drone crashing into the water cheap on eBay/Alibaba/Gumtree"

And that clip of the shark is 100% fake.

Cabansail Posted at 2017-2-19 14:01
I went for a fly at a local beach on the weekend.

The tide was out so I launched from the damp sand as it minimised any loose grains flying up. Did some video but the main aim was some pano shots.

Nice photo, dude.

Geebax Posted at 2017-2-19 16:43
'Google: "video of drone crashing into the water". About 3,540,000 results'

And about 3,400,000 of those are 'video of drone crashing into the water cheap on eBay/Alibaba/Gumtree"

Gee, you are really gullible mate . Everybody know it is fake... Just pulling your legs...

dronist Posted at 2017-2-19 16:34
Labroide,

My point is that on land you can recover the drone over water you are done... You also have wind gust, lost of signal or not enough battery to come back, birds, "JAWS" jumping out of the water and woooof drone is gone.

My point is that most incidents are due to crashing into trees, buildings and other obstacles which are not present out over water.

Unless you only fly 10 feet over your back yard, being able to recover your wrecked Phantom isn't necessarily much consolation.
Crash from a decent height and it's toast anyway and most of the on-land locations I fly, recovery wouldn't be an option anyway.
Over water flying is no more dangerous than over land - and in many respects it's safer.

Labroides Posted at 2017-2-19 16:58
My point is that most incidents are due to crashing into trees, buildings and other obstacles which are not present out over water.

Unless you only fly 10 feet over your back yard, being able to recover your wrecked Phantom isn't necessarily much consolation.

If you read my first post, know your environment which encompasses everything you mentioned on land.

So when you take this into account and coupled with a tracking device then you would have better chance then flying over water.

On land, worse case scenario you can use the drone for PARTS but over water your drone is gone for ever... "Adios Amigo", "R.I.P"., "A dieux","Sayōnara", "I love you baby I am gonna miss you", "Ya minyah",  "Toodle-oo", "Zàijiàn", "Alavida"...  {:4_157:} ... {:4_117:}... ... {:4_177:}

KevDrones Posted at 2017-2-19 12:30
Dont fly near planes llol

Don't fly near people either.

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-2-19 17:56
Don't fly near people either.

or Mermaids

Wow i didn't know i would get a big reaction out of this question.. but i will consider taking all your tips  consideration in mind thank you very much !!!

And dont eat 30 mins before flying

of course !! your right not good for my stomach !!!{:4_177:}

Turning off Vision Positioning is a good idea.. Sometimes the reflection can impact the sensors.

yeah thanks for the tip everyone was telling me to turn them off.. while turn off will the drone will keep its attitude?

Labroides Posted at 2017-2-19 16:58
My point is that most incidents are due to crashing into trees, buildings and other obstacles which are not present out over water.

Unless you only fly 10 feet over your back yard, being able to recover your wrecked Phantom isn't necessarily much consolation.

Flying over water is something that's in your manual as an unsuitable environment to fly in.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-2-26 10:38
Flying over water is something that's in your manual as an unsuitable environment to fly in.

And there's no reason for that note in the manual.
Flying over water presents no additional or special risks and on the contrary is am environment that is free of many hazards that are common on land.
Whether you fly on land or water, there are many locations where recovery after a crash is not going to be possible but if that was important, you'd only fly in your backyard.

Labroides Posted at 2017-2-26 13:34
And there's no reason for that note in the manual.
Flying over water presents no additional or special risks and on the contrary is am environment that is free of many hazards that are common on land.
Whether you fly on land or water, there are many locations where recovery after a crash is not going to be possible but if that was important, you'd only fly in your backyard.

I agree with your point about no special risks flying over water,

But if you use the analogy of travelling by plane is a lot safer than travelling by car, but there is a much better chance of you surviving a car crash than a plane crash.

JayOne Posted at 2017-2-26 09:06
yeah thanks for the tip everyone was telling me to turn them off.. while turn off will the drone will keep its attitude?

Just to add to this, I have flown over water numerous times. Note that the manual suggests you 'fly with caution' over water, and Not that you shouldn't do it. The only real issue is VPS, and only if you're flying below 10m. I leave it on, as I'm typically flying from ground, over water, and then back again - so I want it on - but then I'm typically flying 20-30m above the surface...
But if you're flying very low over water (or snow, for that matter), turn VPS off so it doesn't struggle finding the ground and making poor altitude decisions. The ultra-sonic sensors are only useful if it's flying over solid (non-sound absorbing) surfaces.

Punchbuggy Posted at 2017-2-26 15:17
Just to add to this, I have flown over water numerous times. Note that the manual suggests you 'fly with caution' over water, and Not that you shouldn't do it. The only real issue is VPS, and only if you're flying below 10m. I leave it on, as I'm typically flying from ground, over water, and then back again - so I want it on - but then I'm typically flying 20-30m above the surface...
But if you're flying very low over water (or snow, for that matter), turn VPS off so it doesn't struggle finding the ground and making poor altitude decisions. The ultra-sonic sensors are only useful if it's flying over solid (non-sound absorbing) surfaces.

Alas Punchbuggy the Manual says avoid bodies of water not fly with caution, we may not agree with this but I'm afraid that's what it says..

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-2-26 15:34
Alas Punchbuggy the Manual says avoid bodies of water not fly with caution, we may not agree with this but I'm afraid that's what it says..

Yes, we may not agree.
My manual very clearly states 'Operate the aircraft with great caution in the following situations: ... d) Flying over water or transparent surfaces' - it doesn't say 'avoid'. Unless, of course, that's stated elsewhere in the manual. Hey, it wouldn't be the first time...

Here's a photo of flying over water - a beautiful day flying over and around Lake Jindabyne in Australia (note that I'm more that 10 metres up, and home point is the peninsular in the distance):

Punchbuggy Posted at 2017-2-26 16:15
Yes, we may not agree.
My manual very clearly states 'Operate the aircraft with great caution in the following situations: ... d) Flying over water or transparent surfaces' - it doesn't say 'avoid'. Unless, of course, that's stated elsewhere in the manual. Hey, it wouldn't be the first time...

Can you see the old town from above?

Cabansail Posted at 2017-2-26 16:21
Can you see the old town from above?

Hi Cab. And great question! It's underwater somewhere to left of photo (100-200m away?), but I actually didn't think to try. I was using a polarising filter at the time, so would have had a reasonable chance too, I reckon.

Edit: and I was using my P4. Not sure if the camera on my P4P would have had any more luck with that, but just saying...

Punchbuggy Posted at 2017-2-26 16:15
Yes, we may not agree.
My manual very clearly states 'Operate the aircraft with great caution in the following situations: ... d) Flying over water or transparent surfaces' - it doesn't say 'avoid'. Unless, of course, that's stated elsewhere in the manual. Hey, it wouldn't be the first time...

P53 FLIGHT ENVIRONMENT REQUIREMENTS, avoid bodies of water..

Hey Punchbuggy, I dont agree with it, maybe if someone claims malfunction while flying over water, dji may just point out this page in the manual, hope not.

Anyway that's a great shot, good job,
you wouldn't put your nose outside the door where I live on West coast of Ireland , winds today 105km...

Punchbuggy Posted at 2017-2-26 16:25
Hi Cab. And great question! It's underwater somewhere to left of photo (100-200m away?), but I actually didn't think to try. I was using a polarising filter at the time, so would have had a reasonable chance too, I reckon.

Edit: and I was using my P4. Not sure if the camera on my P4P would have had any more luck with that, but just saying...

So it that Mcevoy Island in the foreground?