Hi, I was wondering if it was okay to take off and land on a beach. I’m worried about sand getting into the motors is all.

Here are some things you can do to protect the motors from the sand:

• Take off from a large landing pad
• Hand release/catch your drone so it does not have to touch the ground
• Take off from an area that is damp, so the sand will not kick up into the air
• Take off from a nearby street and then fly over the beach
  

If I take off and land on a table, I assume it would be safe?

Isn't that the reason to buy the Spark: Palm launching and landing?

djiuser_jaX37usKfqBx Posted at 2018-3-30 08:13
If I take off and land on a table, I assume it would be safe?

As long it is not a concrete table or any other table which may have steel under the surface.

I second this:
Hand release/catch your drone so it does not have to touch the ground

But: You have the box or the bag with you, probably also a backpack.
I see lots of options for you to start the drone without placing it in the sand

I third hand launching at the beach.  I do it every time.  Makes my friend with a Mavic Pro very jealous... for about 5 seconds.

Thank you.

I travelled by plane, land and 29KM of sea to get to an island beach last Dec 2017 with my Spark.  Take good care not to get any sand into the camera and gimbal motors area. I had several Gimbal Overload during my short stay at the beach and I only had 2 batteries with me for that day and I had to deal with Gimbal Motors Overload issues. I'm pretty sure it was sand getting inside.

I always hand launch and hand land. Even there is something safe to land, i still opt to palm. That's what it advertises for

Hi, we would not recommend you take off from sand. Here are some tips for you to avoid things that have a bad influence on VPS.

If you don't want to hand launch use the wet sand area near the water but beware of waves.  I've done this with a Mavic Air.

You could always use a landing pad or large piece of old carpet to take off from. I do that myself, as I find hand launching too risky for me.

If you get sand in motor, like we did, we cleaned by using this method