Flying low over water.

[lasikdr]

I am looking to use the tower app to fly a mission over lake water at about 4-10 feet. Does anyone have experience with this and do you thing it can maintain satellite lock at such a low height. Also has anyone tried flying this low over water without the tower app?

 

[PdxSteve]

I've flown over rivers, lakes and the ocean at about that level. Never had a GPS problem due to water. Trees/buildings that can block/obstruct signals....different story.

I haven't used Tower to do that, only manual flying....about 4-5 feet above the surface.

 

[Lon Snyder]

Are you sure you really want to risk your Solo over water? $649 gets you the Pro Splash Drone
http://urbandrones.myshopify.com?rfsn=137747.ac6b5

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[pyrate]

fly mine over water all the time, why wouldn't you

 

[GoodnNuff]

fly mine over water all the time, why wouldn't you

But you're a pyrate, the sea is in your blood.
The rest of us landlubbers are nervous around open water...

 

[Pogo]

I am looking to use the tower app to fly a mission over lake water at about 4-10 feet. Does anyone have experience with this and do you thing it can maintain satellite lock at such a low height. Also has anyone tried flying this low over water without the tower app?

Very good questions and I have the following advice about flying over water.

1. Understand that your altitude that you will see on the tower app and Solo app is based on your altitude from where you took off. This is important if your launch point is much lower or higher than the water level as you will have to take that into account. (I wish we could enter a soft "floor" level as a parameter that would give us a warning)
2. I recommend flying LOS (line of sight)so you can see how high above the water the bird is. And try to be in a position where you are close to water level so you can actually determine the distance between Solo and the water.
3. Make sure you have a clear landing spot and consider using manual landing. I have had the experience of many others of my bird suddenly tracking sideways and crashing just as I was landing
4. Plan you flight, take your time, record everything.

Here is a video I did of my son over water.

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[DattaGroover]

Are you sure you really want to risk your Solo over water? $649 gets you the Pro Splash Drone
Splash Drone Waterproof Quadcopter at Urban Drones

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I'm very tempted to get one of these, as I've had 2 Phantoms crash into water. I know the Solo is less likely to go nuts, but still. . .
I also like the idea of flying in the rain.

 

[DattaGroover]

Very good questions and I have the following advice about flying over water.

1. Understand that your altitude that you will see on the tower app and Solo app is based on your altitude from where you took off. This is important if your launch point is much lower or higher than the water level as you will have to take that into account. (I wish we could enter a soft "floor" level as a parameter that would give us a warning)
2. I recommend flying LOS (line of sight)so you can see how high above the water the bird is. And try to be in a position where you are close to water level so you can actually determine the distance between Solo and the water.
3. Make sure you have a clear landing spot and consider using manual landing. I have had the experience of many others of my bird suddenly tracking sideways and crashing just as I was landing
4. Plan you flight, take your time, record everything.

Here is a video I did of my son over water.

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Great advice!

 

[Marich]

Yep, I fly over water all the time using Tower. Had an "accident" a couple days ago - completely unrelated to water - that 3DR is looking at now.
Four or ten feet is fine as long as you're able to assume manual control instantly.
Remember, water is as bad as land... if a leg dips into the water, oh crap! Your Solo is gonna be at the bottom! No two ways about it.
For this reason I think low-altitude overwater flights should be done by experienced pilots only.

 

[Lon Snyder]

This is low:

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[Cosber]

I agree that any kind of "dangerous" flying should be done by experienced pilots. I'm feeling more confident in Solo itself, not so much in my flying. I've had my Solo since August and am just now starting to stretch my limits. Today I flew the farthest I'd ever flown, 4000 ft to get pix of a damn. I was sweating bullets the entire time it was gone. Experience trains your brain to react correctly in that split second when something goes wrong. I still find myself pushing the stick up when I want to go down, or left when I want to go right, and that's flying away from me. I would love to fly really low across the water, but I fear my fingers might not do what my brain wants them to do in the moment. Hopefully after another few months of flying, I'll have my brain trained to fly more bravely.

 

[DattaGroover]

I'm very tempted to get one of these, as I've had 2 Phantoms crash into water. I know the Solo is less likely to go nuts, but still. . .
I also like the idea of flying in the rain.

Upon further investigation (checking out the Spash Drone forum: My experience with the Auto to date- and height problems. | Splashdroneforums.com) it looks to me that this is a great idea, butwith a lot of bugs to iron out.

 

[Maddog]

Upon further investigation (checking out the Spash Drone forum: My experience with the Auto to date- and height problems. | Splashdroneforums.com) it looks to me that this is a great idea, butwith a lot of bugs to iron out.

I wonder what his flight logs said about that crash?...oh wait- they don't have that..

 

[DattaGroover]

I wonder what his flight logs said about that crash?...oh wait- they don't have that..

Exactly. And when I asked the manufacturer about the warranty, I got a fairly ambiguous answer. I've had 2 Solos covered by warranty, and while it was a little pain (as compared to DJI being a big pain), they followed through. For my first repair, they sent me a brand-new unit and gimbal. The 2nd is in process, but so far so good. The point is, 3DR stands behind their products, 100%

 

[DattaGroover]

Did you guys see my post that my Phantom 2 that drowned off the coast of New Zealand washed up months later? The guy who found it was able to see my videos, and he contacted the place I had stayed at 'cause he recognized the area. Long story short: I got my SD card and videos and I am MUCH more careful around water.

 

[DattaGroover]

Did you guys see my post that my Phantom 2 that drowned off the coast of New Zealand washed up months later? The guy who found it was able to see my videos, and he contacted the place I had stayed at 'cause he recognized the area. Long story short: I got my SD card and videos and I am MUCH more careful around water.

. . . and by the way, that was a fly-away. From the recovered video, the Phantom just flew way out over the ocean, and just hovered for a couple of minutes (at maybe 300'), when the video just died. I assume it just fell straight into the Tasman Sea at that point.