Fear of Flying...over water

[Transplant]

I have a P2 but haven't flown it in about 2 years (don't ask). One of my big fears was flying over water.... Just got a Spark and went out today to remember how to fly. I figured flying over ice, at least I have a chance of retrieving it!


Side note: OMG, Spark is so much easier right out of the box to fly than my P2 (non-vision). Looks like I'll may be selling it. (The P2, the Spark is a keeper!)

 

[Playthru]

I understand your fears but it looks like you got over them....I haven’t yet.

 

[Barennes]

Come on man, Spark is a blast over water !!
Check those videos I catched some days ago in Marseille, France:

 

[Transplant]

Yeah, just getting comfortable again. I'll be flying over water in the summer.... here's a shot form 4 years ago with my P2 and GoPro. Much better scenery than what I have now!

Thanks for the encouragement!

 

[MannyCAM2001]

I love flying over water, but some places are tricky. I fly here in Florida over the Hillsborough River. Very low sometimes, which plays tricks on the bottom sensors. So the Spark will drift up or down, mostly down to correct it’s position relative to what it thinks is the ground. Thats fine, a simple correction on the sticks, but what I didn’t see was a branch that was behind it. My lil gal took an unexpected swim, shorted out the circuit board. I retrieved it and sent it in for repair. I went on youtube to find some kind of safety measure when flying low over water and found it.

Bought it from Amazon.com and found piece of mind. Pretty **** cool. Don’t use them for flying high, but it sure works flying low.

 

[Barennes]

@MannyCAM2001 : I would personnaly never fly with such ball and chain, drastically reducing all flight ability (range, agility, autonomy,...) without giving me any ounce of security except landing into my garden morning puddles. Would never land with those even on a calm river...

 

[MannyCAM2001]

@MannyCAM2001 : I would personnaly never fly with such ball and chain, drastically reducing all flight ability (range, agility, autonomy,...) without giving me any ounce of security except landing into my garden morning puddles. Would never land with those even on a calm river...

I do appreciate your feedback and your sense of humor. Funny...and I will remember that, the next time I’m flying in your garden.
But it works for me perfectly fine. Some people don’t need a safety net. Thats cool

 

[Spark 317]

I figured flying over ice, at least I have a chance of retrieving it!

Certainly wouldn't want to walk on that ice pictured.

Remember the Pocket Fisherman?

That would be handy for retrieval.

 

[pmshop]

Ok, this is not a DJI Spark vid but it got me over my fear of water.
Home made F450 with APM 2.8 flight controller:

 

[Spark 317]

Absolutely stunning!

Well done.

 

[limesqueezy]

I'm deathly afraid to fly over MAJOR water. Not the Intracoastal Waterway here in Florida where I have an easy landing multiple places (including where launched), but off a boat, over the OCEAN. Yup, that's what I'm trying for the first time next week - billfishing. I am concerned that I won't be proficient enough to land on the aft deck, even with the boat stopped. Only way to know is to try it, right ("Hey, hold my beer...")?

But seriously, I too found the ball pontoons on Amazon, and am skeptical about performance. Oh, black and white don't work for me, it has to be International Orange. I bought a pair of "U" shaped landing gear for the Spark, they work fine on their own and might be modded with some foam insulation (painted orange), but it seems they are incompatible with the prop guards, which I'd like to have on when on the boat.

Go ahead, laugh on. I know... this story probably ends in me crashing the Spark off of Costa Rica. I'm good with that if I can mount a recovery (not rescue) mission, and for that the drone needs to float (in any configuration, upside down is fine) and be visible (hence the color requirement). Any suggestions greatly appreciated. And, where the heck is MacGuyver when you need him?!

 

[MannyCAM2001]

Chris, don’t sell yourself short. I think you’ll do fine landing it. Don’t underestimate the Spark ️ Hovering this lil marvel is the easiest part of flying it. As long as the compass, GPS, and sensors are working, you should not have a problem. But the floaties will give you piece of mind. So that your fishing adventure won’t turn into a scuba diving excursion.

 

[limesqueezy]

Thanks. I bought a pair from Amazon. If they look like they'll stay on upside down AND can be painted, I'll try it. I'll be twenty meters off the boat and twenty meters high at most. A little concerned about maneuverability, not worried they look dorky! I'm also going to try to zip-tie some flotation material between the landing gear I have, but in all truth with the tight landing tolerance, I think I need the prop guards more.

Appreciate you guys helping the new guy out! Very cool...

 

[limesqueezy]

Oh and BTW... I am only looking at recovery at sea scenarios. Not casual landing, takeoff, etc. If I dump it into the drink, I want to recover it. So I'm trying the balls (grin) and painting them International Orange. For $15 and free two day shipping, I don't mind if I look like an idiot. Thanks for the help MannyCAM2001!

 

[Spark 317]

Could have saved some paint...

 

[limesqueezy]

Could have saved some paint...

View attachment 3714

Yeah, but when I found them on Amazon, they were thirty bucks plus fifteen bucks shipping and no Prime. Thanks, though. Getting them in two days and saving the chang are worth it to me.