After reading all the posts about people losing their drones in water, and since Getterback and Waterbuoy systems don't seem to be either available or any good, thought about designing my own system.

You can buy a cheap automatic lifejacket on eBay for about £15 (e.g. this one - although high vis and camo?) and I reckon with some seam sealant and heavy duty stitching, the envelope could be reduced. A 16g cycling CO2 cartridge should fit which will reduce weight and bulk.


I know there are pool noodle/bottle type attachments you can buy/3D print, which can allow you to actually land on water but if the drone is falling uncontrolled out of the sky, I don't know if these would survive.

Edit: I've now seen these - worth a shot

Cool! Thanks for sharing!

Actually, those key things look a bit weedy - OK if you could rig them up to a spool of kevlar fishing line, I suppose.
Currently printing some pool noodle legs as an interim measure - went for these ones - better than nothing if I were to plummet into the water, not that I'm planning on it

This may not be your exact circumstance as you may be flying from land over water and not from a boat, I do both, but if you end up in the water, you're going to need a boat or to go for a swim.  I've had my Getterback's for a couple years now.  Have used them on the Mavic Pro, Spark, and Mavic Air when flying over water...usually only when my wife is watching because it keeps her from chirping in my ear the entire time I'm flying.  Interesting that they are no longer available, guessing demand went crazy when people started getting them for drones.  I have been fortunate in not having to rely on them for a recovery to date.  Over time, I have become more lax in my usage of them and have become more comfortable with my piloting skills to get the shots I want and get the drone back when over water.  I find that a handle on the MP is more helpful than anything to launch and retrieve from a boat.  I also fly without obstacle avoidance because it acts weird over water (MP).   Admittedly, I have cut up some finger tips and sliced finger nails on more than one occasion retrieving either the Spark or Mavic Air from a boat when conditions were not favorable for landing on or in the boat and I am not aware of a handle system that either of them can carry.  I tried my MP handle on the MA and it did not like it at all.  I don't mind spilling a little blood to get the shot/retrieve the drone.  I usually can get the safe side grab and flip over to kill the motors but there are instances when wind and waves just are not cooperative and you have to commit to a full on snatch out of the air to make sure you grab it and just take the hit.  I have not tried any of the drone fixed float ideas because they all seem to create a whole lot of drag.  I used to worry about it a whole lot when I started with a P2V+ but just worked on flying skills, doing repeated launch and retrieve practice runs, not pushing the shot to the end of the battery, and putting in flight time to gain trust in the equipment to get more comfortable with flying over water.  
In my investigating of the Key Buoy, if I recall correctly, it didn't have the lift capacity needed to float a MP.  I do not recall what it will lift.  I also saw a balloon version but decided the balloon would not last very long before degrading.

Hi, thank you for sharing this information with us. Still, we recommend avoiding obstacles, crowds, high voltage power lines, trees or bodies of water when flying your drone Please try to fly the aircraft in open areas to avoid any issue. Should you have further question, please let us know. Thank you.

maihem.rc Posted at 1-22 10:24
This may not be your exact circumstance as you may be flying from land over water and not from a boat, I do both, but if you end up in the water, you're going to need a boat or to go for a swim.  I've had my Getterback's for a couple years now.  Have used them on the Mavic Pro, Spark, and Mavic Air when flying over water...usually only when my wife is watching because it keeps her from chirping in my ear the entire time I'm flying.  Interesting that they are no longer available, guessing demand went crazy when people started getting them for drones.  I have been fortunate in not having to rely on them for a recovery to date.  Over time, I have become more lax in my usage of them and have become more comfortable with my piloting skills to get the shots I want and get the drone back when over water.  I find that a handle on the MP is more helpful than anything to launch and retrieve from a boat.  I also fly without obstacle avoidance because it acts weird over water (MP).   Admittedly, I have cut up some finger tips and sliced finger nails on more than one occasion retrieving either the Spark or Mavic Air from a boat when conditions were not favorable for landing on or in the boat and I am not aware of a handle system that either of them can carry.  I tried my MP handle on the MA and it did not like it at all.  I don't mind spilling a little blood to get the shot/retrieve the drone.  I usually can get the safe side grab and flip over to kill the motors but there are instances when wind and waves just are not cooperative and you have to commit to a full on snatch out of the air to make sure you grab it and just take the hit.  I have not tried any of the drone fixed float ideas because they all seem to create a whole lot of drag.  I used to worry about it a whole lot when I started with a P2V+ but just worked on flying skills, doing repeated launch and retrieve practice runs, not pushing the shot to the end of the battery, and putting in flight time to gain trust in the equipment to get more comfortable with flying over water.  
In my investigating of the Key Buoy, if I recall correctly, it didn't have the lift capacity needed to float a MP.  I do not recall what it will lift.  I also saw a balloon version but decided the balloon would not last very long before degrading.

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In terms of distance flown most of my flying is over water and I have never felt the need for floatation but I fly over salt water with waves so any water landing is going to be assumed to be fatal to the drone. The memory card and plastics should survive but I doubt much else will.

Bear in mind the added wind drag of anything you add to the drone.

Cool! Thanks for sharing!