P4P- I am going to fly over water for the first time.

[clifford88888888]

Which setting should be disabled when flying over water? I think I heard you need to disable the downward height sensor. Is this correct?


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[Meta4]

Which setting should be disabled when flying over water? I think I heard you need to disable the downward height sensor. Is this correct?

Your Phantom will handle it like it's done it 100 times already.
You could switch off the VPS but if you are higher than the VPS range (10 metres) above water, it shouldn't matter much anyway.

 

[mmarkoe]

Which setting should be disabled when flying over water? I think I heard you need to disable the downward height sensor. Is this correct?

The only time there would be a problem from the water is if it is absolutely still and looks like a mirror. Otherwise do not disable the downward sensors.
Marty

 

[Air Wolf]

That would be over parts of a lake?

 

[blomdido]

Check out " Toms tech time" on You tube. Lots of info here


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[alokbhargava]

First try to fly over shallow water and if all goes thru well, go deeper.


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[N017RW]

First try to fly over shallow water and if all goes thru well, go deeper.


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Why?

If all goes well? What would be different based on water depth?

This is purely emotional.

The a/c has no idea it's over water or the depth and will not fly or tend to fly any differently.

 

[MCTV]

I think he means that if you crash you can go pick it up rather than rent scuba gear.


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[Darren Roach]

Unless you plan on landing on water with floats don't worry about it, don't turn off your downward facing sensors as these really are only for landing and are only any real use when close to the surface. What exactly do you plan on doing over the water?

 

[clifford88888888]

That would be over parts of a lake?

I'm going to fly over some water that has a couple of bridges nearby. I'm trying to get some shots of that.


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[jopa489]

Trust your equipment! You should be more concerned flying near objects (bridges) than over the water. Do the normal checks, don't disable the downward sensors, and take it slow until you're comfortable.

 

[Darren Roach]

If you are flying under bridges and tight spaces your bird will switch to atti mode if you lose satellite's.This will need you to be fully in control of the bird with only the barometer working to keep a stable height, she will drift. If you are not an experienced pilot this could be a challenging time.
Keep a direct line of sight in case you lose radio signal and you will be fine. just remember, before you fly under a structure that your settings are not set to return to home or land if signal is lost. You can set it to just hover if signal is lost so you don't crash into the underside of the bridge when she tries to rise to a return home altitude Happy flying

 

[Samuraiz]

VPS will have a significant influence at an altitude if 10 meters or lower. I would recommend that you watch several YT Videos related to flying a phantom over "different types" of water and determine for yourself is the VPS can influence the stability of your flight. I routinely fly over the Ocean and Beaches. These flights are mostly at 75-150'. However, the few times I wanted to get video a little closer to the surface with VPS on, I had problems. @ a height of 10-15' over the incoming surf near the shoreline the Phantom was clearly influenced by the moving foamy water. If you plan to stay above 10 meters, then it's a moot point.

 

[RémyHeli]

Confirm with VPS on I had lock on see wave at low altitude. P4 was surfing with wave. To exit behavior I just lift up outside visual range, and then further temp disable VPS before resuming shot.


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[With The Birds]

The only time there would be a problem from the water is if it is absolutely still and looks like a mirror. Otherwise do not disable the downward sensors.
Marty

Actually this is the only time that it wouldn't be a problem. Optical flow, or whatever DJI named it, looks at the texture/patten in what is below it. Moving water may, and in certain circumstances has been demonstrated to, trick the phantom into thinking it is actually moving when it is stationary and it will attempt to follow the water.

 

[F3honda4me]

The cause here is that at heights of 30 feet or less the VPS is the primary system holding the drone in place and holding height.

 

[Srockoff]

I did it today over the FL Gulf coast and it operated normally. We took off and landed from our boat. The RTH worked perfectly except our boat drifted a few yards from takeoff, but it was no big deal. When it was about at 30 feet I could see it was going to miss so I turned off RTH and landed it on the boat manually.

 

[Darren Roach]

Its not the vps that will hold height its he internal barometer, vps is the visual positioning system that will hold position depending on what it can see, shinny and all one colour areas it will struggle to see and may drift

 

[F3honda4me]

Its not the vps that will hold height its he internal barometer, vps is the visual positioning system that will hold position depending on what it can see, shinny and all one colour areas it will struggle to see and may drift

Below 30 feet, the VPS takes over for the barometer in holding height as well, as the VPS can do it far more accurately.

 

[With The Birds]

Its not the vps that will hold height its he internal barometer, vps is the visual positioning system that will hold position depending on what it can see, shinny and all one colour areas it will struggle to see and may drift

Shiny and all one color (low contrast) wont present a problem, the AC will use GPS to hold position.