Flying Low Safely
- Thread starter Flyfish
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I’ve flown mine over I’d say 2ft above water and waves lots. I’m pretty sure it’s sensors were still on as I’ve never turned them off.
It’s pretty stable so I’ve never been concerned with it going into the water. Just give it a go I did and didn’t have any issues so kept doing it
View attachment 12169
That’s a screenshot of it flying just over the water from a video. I can’t upload the video to show you because I don’t put them on YouTube or anything. But no issues
It’s pretty stable so I’ve never been concerned with it going into the water. Just give it a go I did and didn’t have any issues so kept doing it
View attachment 12169
That’s a screenshot of it flying just over the water from a video. I can’t upload the video to show you because I don’t put them on YouTube or anything. But no issues
Keep an eye on the Spark when flying that low as the bottom camera / sensors may not "see" the water as well as land.
If you let the Spark hover, it may lower itself right into the water as it is trying to see the ground / water.
Just be ready to push the left stick up if it it gets too close.
Keep an eye on the Spark as spark317 stated. It's also my experience that during hover the Spark goes slowly down and it also drifts to left and/or right. I tried to fly underneed a small bridge, and just going straight backward and forward didn't work. I think the vision sensor at the bottom cannot function correctly above water which is understandable.
Hmmm I don’t know that’s the way I normally attach photos through Tapatalk unless it’s changed on here?
I checked my flight logs and the lowest I’ve gotten according to the gps over water is 2ft, average around 3ft
^^^ what he said.
Lost my Phantom 3 Advanced flying across San Carlos (Mexico) Bay about 5 foot above the water. Suddenly dropped into the water before I could react. Destroyed the camera and gimbal, but managed to fly it back to me visually. Cost to repair was far too great.
floridabeachbum
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I do it pretty regularly.
Fair warning though - everything everyone has said so far is spot on.
Don't trust sensors at all. In fact, trust them to malfunction and try to turn your drone into a submersible!
Even with a totally solid GPS lock, etc, I've still seen my indicated altitude wildly fluctuate by as much as 15 feet.
Instead, use your eyes (and/or someone else's too), and always be ready to immediately gain altitude.
I have found that having a consistent speed helps some.
I may have to try turning off the sensors sometime and see if that helps.
Fair warning though - everything everyone has said so far is spot on.
Don't trust sensors at all. In fact, trust them to malfunction and try to turn your drone into a submersible!
Even with a totally solid GPS lock, etc, I've still seen my indicated altitude wildly fluctuate by as much as 15 feet.
Instead, use your eyes (and/or someone else's too), and always be ready to immediately gain altitude.
I have found that having a consistent speed helps some.
I may have to try turning off the sensors sometime and see if that helps.
The bottom sensors remain active even when you turn the OA off, to insure a safe landing.
The Spark will fly a little faster with the OA turned off on the forward sensors, but the bottom sensors remain active to ensure a safe landing.
Third party apps such as Litchi, may allow the option of disabling all of the sensors, but if you try to land the Spark with the bottom sensors off, it may be a rough landing, unless you're good with the sticks, since the Spark can't see the surface with the bottom sensors off.
Sport mode may disable the sensors, but the Spark is too jerky if trying to capture video.
floridabeachbum
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Good point!
Generally, I hand launch and recover, but I was toying with the idea of turning off the sensors. Guess that's a no-go now!
floridabeachbum
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I dug through some older footage and bodged together this edit. Much of this is shot at really low altitude (5 feet or less), so it might give you some idea of the capability and possibility.
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Thanks everyone, you have answered my question well. In summary, it can be done as the video from floridabeacbum illustrate, but be very careful as the sensors are not a guarantee the drone will not dip down into the water and finally, the sensors may not recognize the water surface as Mother Earth.
A crazy idea would be to attach some floating material to the bottom of the legs and turn it into a floating fortress, just in case it wants to land on the water.
A crazy idea would be to attach some floating material to the bottom of the legs and turn it into a floating fortress, just in case it wants to land on the water.
Tentoes
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I find the visual positioning wants to follow the waves, mistaking them for stable features on the ground.
Barbara
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You can buy styrofoam floats to put on the Spark's legs. However, one review I watched, when the pilot tried to land on the water he had lateral movement which resulted in the two low side floats contacting the water first and the Spark rolling over. So be careful if you try floats.
It was enough to for me to decide against them.
It was enough to for me to decide against them.
Think of the floats an emergency life preserver. An upside down in the water Spark is better than no Spark. I'm planning to do some surf videography this winter and get up close and personnel with some bombs and the guys riding them. I'm still trying to decide whether floats would be good insurance or just get me in trouble in some other way.
Barbara
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I B Spectre
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You might be better off with the Getterback recovery system. It won't keep your drone afloat, but most so-called solutions I've seen don't either. It can be attached to anything you fear might go into the water (drone, fishing rod/reel, etc.) and it will deploy and float to the surface from depths up to 100 ft. If you've got Care Refresh you can then send the drone to DJI.
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