Made an unsinkable Vision+

[dannytroy]

How does it handle in the wind?
Look forward to seeing some video.
Good luck. Hope you never really need the floats.

I haven't tested it in a good wind yet, but in 5 - 10 mph breeze it flies fine.
As for posting a video, it won't show how the Phantom handles in the wind, since the gimbal smooths out the video greatly. That said, I will hopefully get some lake video posted soon.

As far as the sealed bottles, I tried it with Gatorade bottles. Even though they are large, and even though it flew OK, the Phantom sat way too low, and the camera was just about touching the water. That was dead calm water (actually my bathtub!) so in the slightest chop it would submerge the camera/gimbal. Also, the Phantom didn't sit level, which was surprising. I saw other (non-vision) Phantoms on Youtube with the bottle floats and they sat level.

 

[Jebus]

Thanks for the info on the bottles. I'm planning on using them if I'm going to be flying over water for a considerable time. I'm not worried if the Phantom gets wet or tips over - as it's just meant to keep it floating so I can recover it.

I'm planning on doing some testing, but just haven't had a chance.

 

[dannytroy]

If you have some spare styro available I'd recommend making the shell, instead of the bottles. Like I mentioned earlier, anything under the rotors will affect performance. The added advantage of the styro shell is added protection of the camera/gimbal in case of crash. Also, no mods to the airframe are needed, since the shell is held on by the one CF rod.
That said, the bottles are the next best choice. The pontoons are definitely out, and the photos show two different sets I made.


If it wasn't so time consuming I'd make a slew of the shells and sell them on eBay.

I might consider re-making the shell using EPP foam. That wouldn't require coating with finishing epoxy and wouldn't require painting. The finished product would likely be lighter in weight.
https://www.flyingfoam.com/catalog/2

 

[Jebus]

Yeah... I could see how those pontoons could affect lift - as they're pretty big and right under the props. I would like to think that a couple of water bottles on the bottom of the skids wouldn't affect the lift very much because they're right under the quad's body. But I guess only some testing will tell!

 

[thedjiguy]

I use this merely as a safety precaution when flying over water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDHHLnAdxsc

 

[Jebus]

I use this merely as a safety precaution when flying over water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDHHLnAdxsc

Ditto.

 

[Jebus]

I use this merely as a safety precaution when flying over water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDHHLnAdxsc

Ditto.

 

[dannytroy]

How does it handle in the wind?
Look forward to seeing some video.
Good luck. Hope you never really need the floats.

OK, I had a chance to get one flight in yesterday. Not a great video, since most of the time I was trying to make out what was on the screen on the bright sunlight. I'm using a 10.1 Samsung tablet, and I couldn't even see the battery percentage. Also, the wifi kept cutting out. I need to make some improvements on the wifi system. At least upgrade the antenna on the wifi extender.
I went ahead and pre-ordered the Epson FPV glasses. That should solve most of the problems not knowing what is on the screen, and hopefully it will work better with the wifi extender than the tablet. My Note 2 wasn't much better, with frequent dropouts, even at close range.

Anyway, here's a pretty boring video. The two highlights are a fly-by at 8:11 and a view of my homemade TV antenna at the end. As you can see, I took off from the boat's deck, and at the end did a hand catch, which is probably the best way to bring her in when flying off the boat.
http://youtu.be/LCdAS0DThoo
BTW, I posted it at 1080p, but YouTube recommended they do an enhancement to the video, and I see that I wound up with a 720p video. Thanks YouTube!!!

 

[Noël]

Nice area for boating! Where is it if I may ask?

B.t.w. I also fly a lot over fresh water (about 80% of my flights).
I've just accepted that if it does go down over water that it's a goner, and that I'm not even going to look for it anymore.

 

[Dirty Bird]

B.t.w. I also fly a lot over fresh water (about 80% of my flights).
I've just accepted that if it does go down over water that it's a goner, and that I'm not even going to look for it anymore.

You should pickup a Getterback and at least you'll have a shot to recover your Phantom.

http://www.getterback.com

 

[dannytroy]

Nice area for boating! Where is it if I may ask?

B.t.w. I also fly a lot over fresh water (about 80% of my flights).
I've just accepted that if it does go down over water that it's a goner, and that I'm not even going to look for it anymore.

Yes, there's a real good chance you will be able to revive it by just drying out. I've read quite a lot of stories where people put the quad in a sealed bag of rice for a few days and it comes back 100%. Saltwater is another story. That's hit and miss, with some parts usually failing. Since you fly over water a lot, why not treat a lot of it with CorossionX? If you haven't disassembled the quad yet, it's very easy, and the only part that needs unplugging to separate the shell is the GPS.

The lake is CT's biggest lake. Candlewood Lake (a well kept secret, so don't tell anyone :? )

 

[deejay1947]

Just got back from camping with the grandkids at Dead Horse State Park in Cottonwood Arizona. My son-in-law decided to take everyone fishing to a lagoon there and I brought my Phantom along to get some video. This lagoon is surrounded by tall trees. I was having fun flying around and over the water when I stupidly decided to demonstrate to my oldest grandson how the Phantom will return to home. I'm flying in Naza mode and flip the switch when I realize too late that the Phantom is not going to clear the trees. It hit the tree and made of valiant attempt to go through it when 2 props broke and it proceeded to fall and landed in the water about 4 feet in front of my son-in-law. He quickly decided to jump in to get it and was able to grab it from about 3 feet under water. I thought, well it's gonna be hard to tell my wife that I just killed my bird and that I'd have to wait weeks for repair. When he handed me the bird I immediately pulled the battery and then drove back to the campsite and grabbed my wife's hair blower and blew air into every hole on the Phantom. I then took it completely apart for the first time and used the blower to dry it further. I then placed in it my truck with the windows up to let it bake. The next morning I realized the battery that was in the Phantom was shot as it would not accept a charge. I put my spare battery in the bird and began testing all the functions and to my delight it all checked out! I put it all back together and took it for a flight test... no one could believe it worked and no one could be more happier than me! Thanks Jimmy (my son-in-law) for your quick response! New battery and props are on order...

 

[Btnhoz]

What happens if water gets inside the vents or motors? Or the camera.. I live on the east coast of Florida and we are surrounded by Salt water.. We use ours to fly ahead and spot redfish on the flats or Cobia in the ocean.. Since that boat is moving any advice how to make it come home to the remote instead of the spot it took off? Thanks

 

[dannytroy]

What happens if water gets inside the vents or motors? Or the camera.. I live on the east coast of Florida and we are surrounded by Salt water.. We use ours to fly ahead and spot redfish on the flats or Cobia in the ocean.. Since that boat is moving any advice how to make it come home to the remote instead of the spot it took off? Thanks

The best thing you can do if it does land in saltwater is to put it as soon as possible give it a bath in a tub of freshwater, or at least hose it down with freshwater.

The motors do very well when submerged, and will even run underwater. We used to break in our brushed motors under water, with a few drops of dish washing soap added to the water. Be sure to oil the bearings if it should be submerged. You need to open the case and take the allen screws out to get the motor loose enough to get to the lower bearing.

Concerning the battery, that seems to be the most likely part to fail after hitting the water. That doesn't seem to be revived as easily after drying out, but it is possible that sometimes they will spring back to life.

 

[jimdenburg]

What happens if water gets inside the vents or motors? Or the camera.. I live on the east coast of Florida and we are surrounded by Salt water.. We use ours to fly ahead and spot redfish on the flats or Cobia in the ocean.. Since that boat is moving any advice how to make it come home to the remote instead of the spot it took off? Thanks

You can reset the home position based on the aircraft's location. A good idea is to take off and find an open spot on the shore. Fly to it an reset the home location. Also if its windy, try to make this home point downwind of where you'll be doing most of your flying...that way if it does RTH and the battery gets low, the wind will help her back to shore. Now if you're in the middle of the deep blue sea, I don't believe there's a way to have it fly to the remote unless you either take off or reset home with the craft near the remote. In that case it will mark wherever you are at that point but if you move your boat, you might have to follow and catch if it goes into RTH.

 

[Geoelectro]

A couple of months ago I flew my P2V into a small lake. I retrieved it after about 30 minutes in the water. Lost the camera and battery was bad. I opened the craft, flushed it out and dried it with a hair dryer for about 1.5 hours. Then, it sat under a fan for 24 hours. Put a couple of drops of oil on the motor bearings and put it back together. It flew again. I wish I could say it was a happy ending but...

It flew but not exactly as it used to. As time went by, it slowly got worse. I did fly it with a replacement camera a couple of times that went fairly well but when I finally got my Rotorpixel gimbal it was starting to fly badly. It reported getting sats and passed all calibrations but it would suddenly just climb or drop. It would yaw unexpectedly. During a second cleaning I broke down the motors and found rust starting on the stators. I noticed the NAZA module appeared to be sealed but I thought I would try to open it. I pried it off the control board and opened it up. It is not water proof and water likely got inside. however, it is sealed enough so any drying with a blower would likely be unsuccessful. I planned to buy a new NAZA module and four motors that came to $350.00. I found a dealer selling the "craft only" (No camera, battery or controller) for $499.00. So, for $150.00 more I got a new craft.

It flies perfectly.

If your bird wasn't in the water all that long the NAZA Module may have been spared. I would watch the motors very carefully. I would even consider opening the NAZA if it hasn't been very long since this incident. Internally there is a circuit board and the sensor that detects acceleration, altitude and the gyro. There is a connector that ties the two assemblies together electronically. I suspect in my case that connector may have been compromised. I wonder if I had opened it up sooner and let it fully dry out if it may have been spared.

Eventually I will still buy the motors and NAZA Module and hopefully have a spare bird. I'm just so glad to be back in the air!

I also suggest with any water incident that the mechanical connectors all be cleaned. Basically un-plugged, a contact cleaner sparingly applied, and secured back in place.

Geo

 

[Jebus]

My loaded up v1.1.1 Phantom weighs 1226g. I did a test tonight with a couple of empty 500ml water bottles in a tub and it handled 1260g no problem at all (that's what I had for weight). I think it could keep quite a bit more weight afloat too - as I could push down on it pretty good and it was still staying afloat.

Next test... strap them to the Phantom and see how she handles!

 

[deejay1947]

I didn't do any testing to see if the styro alone would hold up the Phantom,

I'm just curious ... were you able to ever test out your styrofoam effort to make the phantom unsinkable?