Flying over water

You may want towatch this before buying water-bouys.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ_UG7IxIJM[/youtube]
 
I have done lots of flying over water but with a home-made float system. Never had to use it yet.
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3287
I did try an earlier setup witn plastic water bottles attached to the arms. I was able to land and take off from the water.
I am now building a waterproof quad using a Dex shell just for shooting over water.
 
After reading this thread and watching every online video I could find on the topic, I'm going to try the swimming pool noodle approach - essentially adding a pair of removable foam pontoons to the landing rails. I'm going to use the following video which looks about right to me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SWZQsTUYuNw

If I can get enough flotation without the pontoons showing up in the video, I'll be happy. I know I am giving up some aerodynamics. I would not fly with the pontoons other than on a calm day because of the sail effect of the pontoons, but I also wouldn't fly over water anyway on a windy day.

I like the idea of the inflatable "float bags" that someone suggested, which would inflate after being submerged and keep your drone near the water's surface. But, while they might be more aerodynamic than foam pontoons, they would't leave any chance at all of a safe landing and takeoff on the water. Where I live on the Chesapeake Bay with brackish water, it is rare that electronics can be rinsed, dried, and returned to service after being submerged. So while that might work in fresh water, I don't want that risk where I will be flying.

Also, after watching several videos of successful takeoffs and landings with foam pontoons, it seems like there's at least a 50/50 chance or better of an upright, safe landing on the water even in a low battery situation. And if you do flip it over on landing, you are no worse off than you would be with the "float bags" which guarantee being submerged.

The foam noodle pontoons, secured with zip ties, would be easily removed when not needed. I'm adding a gimbal mount for the P2V's camera for image stability and camera control, so hopefully that will reduce any added unsteadiness from the pontoons catching the breeze.

I'm planning to do almost 100% of my videos over water, so a workable solution that adds a little bit of risk mitigation seems like it's worth a try. If the pontoons turn out to be too much of a wind drag, I'll just go back to flying without them.

Other thoughts welcome. Thanks to everyone for posting and contributing to this thread, very helpful! :D
 
syotr said:
You may want towatch this before buying water-bouys.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ_UG7IxIJM[/youtube]

Okay... so much for that... :roll: :) :D :lol:

Thanks...
-slinger
 
syotr said:
Landing and take offs with water bottles on arms.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2891

I'm not sure I'd be comfortable submerging my compass, even if it had a plastic bag tied around it. It looked like the GoPro was slightly submerged too. Do they have watertight cases?

It looks like he used the stock screws to screw the bottlecaps under the motors, then just screwed the bottles onto the caps?

:roll:
 
syotr said:
You may want towatch this before buying water-bouys.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ_UG7IxIJM[/youtube]
Glad the US Distributor for these has been out of stock, been waiting for these since getting the Vision. I wonder if the Vision would sink slower and give the buoys time to inflate before sinking deeper?
 
The water buoys have ceased production. Possibly because of this problem.

I have emailed the company about 6months ago and just recently and they just say they are redesigning the water buoys and don't know when they will be out again.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
gunslinger said:
syotr said:
Landing and take offs with water bottles on arms.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2891

I'm not sure I'd be comfortable submerging my compass, even if it had a plastic bag tied around it. It looked like the GoPro was slightly submerged too. Do they have watertight cases?

It looks like he used the stock screws to screw the bottlecaps under the motors, then just screwed the bottles onto the caps?

:roll:
The compass does not seem to be bothered by fresh water. If there are water drops on it then it will show that it needs calibration but it works fine after being dried off.
The GoPro was in it's waterproof housing.
I used the longer screws from the prop guards to mount the bottle caps then screwed the bottles to the caps.
In a later version, I used Ibuprofen bottles and some styrofoam floats attached inside the landing skids.

The real purpose of all of these was not to intentionally land and take off from water but to keep the quad from sinking in the event of an accidental water landing.
 
Good posts, everyone. Keep the ideas coming!

With over $2k in my P2, my biggest fear is having it sink out of sight with absolutely nothing left to salvage. That might be a game-ender for me ;-)

LG
 
Heres my flying over water episodes:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpQ0LqobrFM

Probably one of the most stressful but at the same time exhilarating flying I have done. Especially when flying it FPV from within the speedboat! I also tried the water bottles, you can see them in the picture when the phantom was waving at the onlookers. It affected the flying terribly, really making it slow and unresponsive to I didn't use them again and just took the risk!
 
syotr said:
gunslinger said:
syotr said:
Landing and take offs with water bottles on arms.
viewtopic.php?f=4&t=2891

I'm not sure I'd be comfortable submerging my compass, even if it had a plastic bag tied around it. It looked like the GoPro was slightly submerged too. Do they have watertight cases?

It looks like he used the stock screws to screw the bottlecaps under the motors, then just screwed the bottles onto the caps?

:roll:
The compass does not seem to be bothered by fresh water. If there are water drops on it then it will show that it needs calibration but it works fine after being dried off.
The GoPro was in it's waterproof housing.
I used the longer screws from the prop guards to mount the bottle caps then screwed the bottles to the caps.
In a later version, I used Ibuprofen bottles and some styrofoam floats attached inside the landing skids.

The real purpose of all of these was not to intentionally land and take off from water but to keep the quad from sinking in the event of an accidental water landing.

Clever... And you have more cojones than do I... :)
 
Quick question for you. What a fantastic video first of all! Second, are you using any image stabilization in your video editing software or is this straight off the PV2? Do you have some kind of gimbal on it?
 
Did some more over-water stuff on Saturday - the Thames is in flood so went out to catch some footage. Funnily enough flying high over water doesn't give me the same pucker factor as flying just a few feet over it. There's a clip in the video where I go right into the centre of the river close to an old stone bridge to get a shot through the arch... when I got her back over dry land after that one I didn't know whether I was about to cr@p myself or was so clenched I'd never go again! :lol:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1dC7lSxjAw[/youtube]
 
Lovely views of the flood there Pull_Up. I went in search of flooding down here in Sussex but we have nothing to compare with that now. I always think water looks more interesting when there are trees, hedges and buildings jutting out of it. Its a totally different look to just a river or lake.
 
Pull_Up said:
Did some more over-water stuff on Saturday - the Thames is in flood so went out to catch some footage. Funnily enough flying high over water doesn't give me the same pucker factor as flying just a few feet over it. There's a clip in the video where I go right into the centre of the river close to an old stone bridge to get a shot through the arch... when I got her back over dry land after that one I didn't know whether I was about to cr@p myself or was so clenched I'd never go again! :lol:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1dC7lSxjAw[/youtube]

Beautiful footage! Nice smooth panning and flight video... please share what Phantom platform/camera/gimbal you are using. Did the flooding breech the banks near London or mostly in the rural areas??
 
nashvillephantom said:
Quick question for you. What a fantastic video first of all! Second, are you using any image stabilization in your video editing software or is this straight off the PV2? Do you have some kind of gimbal on it?

Nothing, from the P2V to youtube. It was not windy which is a big help.
 
UrbanLegend777 said:
Pull_Up said:
Did some more over-water stuff on Saturday - the Thames is in flood so went out to catch some footage. Funnily enough flying high over water doesn't give me the same pucker factor as flying just a few feet over it. There's a clip in the video where I go right into the centre of the river close to an old stone bridge to get a shot through the arch... when I got her back over dry land after that one I didn't know whether I was about to cr@p myself or was so clenched I'd never go again! :lol:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1dC7lSxjAw[/youtube]

Beautiful footage! Nice smooth panning and flight video... please share what Phantom platform/camera/gimbal you are using. Did the flooding breech the banks near London or mostly in the rural areas??

Thanks for the kind comments. This was with a Phantom 2 Vision, totally stock. Filming in 1080p/30. No post-production, just distilling two 20+ minute flights down into 4+ minutes!

No flooding in London. Parts of Oxford were affected and the river has burst its banks through Oxfordshire and levels are now rising in Berkshire.
 

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