Water landing

[spark29]

Howdy Sparky's. I'm trying to make my Spark land on water. I Know the subject has been up many times but here is my suggestion. i got some foam pipe isolation tubes from the DIY construction marked
here in Denmark called Biltema.dk. I know these can be found in Home Depoes many places so not hard to get. I'll post som pictures of my project now and later this week a video clip of the Spark landing
in a lake. You'll need the https://www.pgy-tech.com/landing-gear-risers-for-spark for it to rize up the bird Oh, and flying with them went well Very little effect on the balance and i flew both slow and fast.

 

[Northern Bob]

Hmm, interesting project that might well work. I’d be afraid that the down wash of the props would splash water onto the Spark during takeoff. Maybe someone else has a bit of experience here and could chime in.
NB

 

[skipper420]

Im thinking as long as water smooth as glass mite work but id still be worried about spray from wash

 

[Spark 317]

Yes, it's been discussed before, but what hasn't?

Engineer, adapt, and overcome a situation.

You could of saved some paint and purchase some pool noodles in a variety of colors.

It's fun to R&D stuff.

 

[Speedmeister]

It is probably fun to do but for me, I would not take off or land on water unless my drone is waterproof. I dont even land or take off from wet blade of grass. Bottom sensors are blind on water surfaces. How does it affect the landing protection? This is a sensor that you cant turn off on the spark. It is an option on a phantom or a mavic.

 

[spark29]

I know the issues of the take off and landing. Maybe some kind of rubber sealed on the bottom like latex of some kind. But it was really a precaution when flying over waters But i can't help myself from trying taking off from a lake.
Didn't think of the pool noodles Would have made the work a lot faster.

 

[Kendallfordguy]

They may work in still conditions but that a lot of surface area for windy conditions.

 

[Andre Levite]

Howdy Sparky's. I'm trying to make my Spark land on water. I Know the subject has been up many times but here is my suggestion. i got some foam pipe isolation tubes from the DIY construction marked
here in Denmark called Biltema.dk. I know these can be found in Home Depoes many places so not hard to get. I'll post som pictures of my project now and later this week a video clip of the Spark landing
in a lake. You'll need the https://www.pgy-tech.com/landing-gear-risers-for-spark for it to rize up the bird Oh, and flying with them went well Very little effect on the balance and i flew both slow and fast.

I am genuinely interested as to why you would want to land on water intentionally.

I have seen posts for emergency landing floats but wonder what other purpose could justify the risk.

 

[graywoulf]

Another concern about your floats is their size. They could greatly affect the downward thrust from the props causing either deflected thrust or by blocking a significant amount of thrust. I have seen posts where the pilots have reported these problems. And that is even with the small round floats that are already on the market. If I were to fly over water, I would only use floats as a precaution to unavoidable water landings. Not for takeoff.

 

[charliespark]

Well done you. I have a purchased 'water landing gwar' and often land on water when I am out sailing. Why you ask? Because I can!

 

[Ted Schoenfelder]

Howdy Sparky's. I'm trying to make my Spark land on water. I Know the subject has been up many times but here is my suggestion. i got some foam pipe isolation tubes from the DIY construction marked
here in Denmark called Biltema.dk. I know these can be found in Home Depoes many places so not hard to get. I'll post som pictures of my project now and later this week a video clip of the Spark landing
in a lake. You'll need the https://www.pgy-tech.com/landing-gear-risers-for-spark for it to rize up the bird Oh, and flying with them went well Very little effect on the balance and i flew both slow and fast.

I am glad you had success with your rig. I used the same tubes and made several different configurations of floats using my gear extensions (Landing Gear Extension Legs Propeller Props Guard Accessory for DJI SPARK RC667 4894663139292 | eBayf:0) but found all of them too unstable to trust. I also tried variations of Lepage's float rig found on YouTube, to no avail! Then I purchased the cheaper Chinese version of float gear on Ebay and found them to have the same lack of stability. I had no confidence in the performance of any of these float rigs. Often Spark would go into uncommanded climbs or would not descend when commanded, due to interference with the bottom sensors. I simply could not trust any of the rigs!

However, I purchased a Canadian version https://www.amazon.com/SPARK-WATER-protector-BLACK-DRONE/dp/B073HDDV67hash=item56c06754ef:g:hzIAAOSwf4BcXsic:rk:10f:0 and found this rig to be more consistent, even if not perfect. The gear configuration puts the floats slightly outward and avoids conflict with the IR down sensors. I needed the rig for a two week wilderness trip in the Lake Temagami area of Ontario last fall and they functioned satisfactorily.

I still have to watch carefully the wind conditions and operate in relative calm or low winds. For those who don't live around water and ask why you would even want to land on water take a look at the video, it speaks for itself? I live in the "Land of 10,000 Lakes" (MN) and most of my outdoor activities are on a boat, or kayak, and often you cannot takeoff or land because of the very dense tree cover, however, operating from a kayak works well. Well not the best video quality, here is one example of my own operation from water this past fall in NW Ontario. There are other videos posted as a part of this two week trip, but see this link for example of a water operation:

 

[Heckmaniac]

I've done a few different versions of these DIY floats for Spark.

 

[charliespark]

I've done a few different versions of these DIY floats for Spark.

View attachment 8874View attachment 8875View attachment 8875

Interesting. I found that I needed the small 'leg' extensions otherwise the body of my spark was too close to the water. I like your cross struts a wise precaution.

 

[Bandiano]

As someone who spends a lot of time on and around the water I find the palm launch / landing to be awesome, not let me down yet.
Get the desire to land and take off from the water though, you are a lot braver than me

 

[Starshep]

I tried doing a float system using pool noodles a while back. Although the Spark did float well, I found it impossible to properly balance the weight distribution of the noodles for flight. When I got it in the air, the Spark would oscillate terribly from side to side even in calm air. With any breeze it was even worse. It was almost to the point where I thought it might flip over if I didn't get it down almost immediately. I then tried the Styrofoam ball version and it worked well.

 

[Spark 317]

Hello from the Hoosier Heartland, Starshep

I have seen these for visibility against snow.



I knew the Spark had big balls for such a little dude.

Welcome to the Forum.

 

[Ted Schoenfelder]

Hello from the Hoosier Heartland, Starshep

I have seen these for visibility against snow.

View attachment 8961

I knew the Spark had big balls for such a little dude.

Welcome to the Forum.

I have this set of floats and they work pretty well. But, I do restrict operations to calm or relatively low wind conditions because once Spark lands it will sail away with any wind! Be sure to land up wind or be quick with your paddle! Much more stable than other float combinations I've tried. Be careful when you pick it up too since it is a bit top heavy.