Pontoons or Flotation Devices for the Phantom

[LandYachtMedia]

Overheating isn't going to be an issue when dunked. The problem is with the conductivity of the water due to dissolved ionic material causing shorts in the sensitive electronics.

Dunking into fresh water isn't great for the electronics but certainly recoverable if handled quickly. Salt water or heavily chlorinated water such as a pool will tear things up pretty quickly.

Sorry, I meant overheating while flying - as I assume the coating would create a sort of airtight seal over the electronics to prevent water getting in - and heat generated by the electronics to escape.

Ah. Sorry. No this wont do that either. To make this work you have to coat the boards. You wouldn't seal up any air circulation openings.

 

[reALIGNed]

A quick search turned up this - http://www.getterback.com/site/How-It-Works/page20.html

That might be perfect.

OMG, that's it......thank you. I searched and searched with no luck. When I had those on my fishing poles, I lost one over the edge and down it went, and the little float even made up through the thick weeds.

 

[Scottrod]

A quick search turned up this - http://www.getterback.com/site/How-It-Works/page20.html

That might be perfect.

That would be interesting but I would prefer something that actually makes the P2V buoyant. I don't care if it floats upright because if it crash lands it probably won't stay upright. I just want to be able to recover it...

 

[wincrasher]

How about something like this?

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE647b8L2f0[/youtube]

I lik the floats, but not the short legs connected to the motor arms. Something lightweight and aero that connects to the existing legs would be cool.

 

[_r3_]

Someone already mentioned NeverWet but it needed another bump; http://www.neverwet.com

Edit: and a "let's coat electronics" relevant video. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNJ4CEoOg4g

 

[ChrisMohrSr]

My youngest son has a boat. I have a DJI Phantom with an attachable GoPro 3 Black Edition camera.

I would like to launch my Phantom from my son's boat and make aerial videos of surrounding points of interest such as the Queen Mary. This would also be great for recording close up videos of whales during a whale watching excursion.

HOWEVER, there is always that possibility of having to come down in the water. Strangely enough, DJI has overlooked creating a flotation device for the Phantom so it can be used in a water environment. Many people have gone DYI in this department, but I can't decide which way to go in experimenting with a flotation device. Some designs are simple, some are rather complicated.

HOWEVER, there is one simple, experimental approach that I have not seen. And that is to secure the Phantom's landing skids to two 2 liter plastic soda bottles. This would equip the Phantom with two rather large pontoons of reasonable weight.

Has anyone out there tried this approach? If so, what method did you use to attach the landing skids to the soda bottles?

And, most important of all, is this approach feasible? How does the aircraft sit in the water?

I will greatly appreciate any and all advice on how to follow this path to successful landings and take offs from the water.


Thank You,
The Elderly Wonder

 

[iResq]

I would think 2l soda bottles would be too much surface area for wind.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

 

[ChrisMohrSr]

I would think 2l soda bottles would be too much surface area for wind.

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I would never fly in the wind. That would be too foolhardy. Common sense prevents it.

 

[lgeist]

Consider this...

In lieu of something for full flotation there is the option to build a recovery device with lightweight fishing line (spider wire) and a fishing float.

This doesn't prevent the craft from sinking but will allow for it to be recovered. The weight of the system would be much less than a full floatation setup.

I'm thinking that in most cases a craft that crashes into a body of water may end up in an orientation where the electronics are submerged regardless of the floatation system employed. With a recovery device you could have a small and lightweight buoy to mark the spot and the line would allow you to retrieve the phantom.

A couple of strips of something like this could be used to secure the rigging to the craft - http://www.amazon.com/Bohin-Double-Side ... luble+tape

If the Phantom hits the water, the tape dissolves releasing the float with recovery line attached, result - less sad ending.

Giving the electronics inside a poly coating would be helpful in minimizing the damage due to water intrusion.

This is exactly what I have been working on since I lost my P2 in a lake last weekend. Using fishing line at least as long as the water is deep (within reason), I have wound the line up around the fishing float but have not found away to attach it where it would release once in the water. I have been searching the web looking for water soluble glue but you may have found just the thing with the water soluble tape.

I just ordered some from Amazon and can't wait to test my plan! Not using an actual Phantom for testing, however. ;-)

 

[ChrisMohrSr]

I would think 2l soda bottles would be too much surface area for wind.

Sent from my DROID RAZR using Tapatalk

I would never fly in the wind. That would be too foolhardy. Common sense prevents it.

Flying in the wind = foolhardy?

Your brand of "common sense" is bizarre.

Regardless of the wind conditions, those water bottles will add a great deal of windage to your Phantom.

Bizarre not to fly in the wind? That makes no sense unless you ARE foolhardy.
Exactly how do water bottles add a great deal of "windage" if there is no wind?

 

[ChrisMohrSr]

Bizarre not to fly in the wind? That makes no sense unless you ARE foolhardy.

What you fail to realize is that many folks aren't as terrified as you apparently are and fly in the wind a great deal.

Labeling those folks as not having common sense/being fools due to your own fears is not smart.

Exactly how do water bottles add a great deal of "windage" if there is no wind?

Please educate yourself about what "windage" is and they we can continue our discussion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windage

There is no point in continuing our discussion since you apparently know such much more than I do and will only make me look inferior.

 

[wincrasher]

What is wrong with you two?

What he was trying to say was that attaching bottles as floats will create a lot of drag on your quad - kinda like attaching a sail to it, and not in a good way. Increasing the surface area of a vehicle with exposure to the wind will cause a drop off in performance and could also create odd/unpredictable handling characteristics. How much is anybody's guess.

Not everyone understands the terms used to discuss flight or RC vehicles. Let's all be a bit understanding about that. But noobs need to not try the patience of the experienced folks by being so rude. Most on here are trying to help you, which you are showing you don't appreciate.

 

[mobldj]

heres a way to look at it,us noob;s are amazed at these machines,you vets give us a break,if your so good go fly a real helicopter.cant we just get along.lol.peace out !

 

[stefan_fvt]

I tried pontoons made from pool noodles. They had to be really long or the Phantom would tip easily. They had a lot of wind resistance from the propwash and actual wind. They also showed up in the camera's view.
This was my second attempt. They worked well to land and take off from still water and had less wind resistance. They did show up in the camera's view.

Finally I used some smaller pill bottles under each motor and foam blocks inside the landing skids. I am now building a waterproof quad.

I think your solution looks good! How did you attached the bottles to the Phantom?

 

[El Rey]

Regarding the Getterback Rod Recovery system, I contacted them to ask a few questions before ordering one.

1. P2V flight altitudes should have no effect on it - the system activates through persistent contact with water.
I don't know what this might mean if you flew in heavy fog or cloud - but if you're flying in heavy fog
over water then you're a steely-eyed missile man who laughs in the face of danger anyway.

2. The braided line has a conservative 10lb strength.
You wouldn't be relying on the small float on the end to actually keep your Phantom from sinking to the depths.
You'd use the float to find your device - and it has 100 feet of line, allowing you to pull it up from anything up to that depth.
If you're out on the real ocean beyond the continental shelf and flying your Phantom around, then you're probably
doing it from the deck of your super yacht or trawler/spy vessel.

3. It weighs about 14 grams.

 

[syotr]

I tried pontoons made from pool noodles. They had to be really long or the Phantom would tip easily. They had a lot of wind resistance from the propwash and actual wind. They also showed up in the camera's view.
This was my second attempt. They worked well to land and take off from still water and had less wind resistance. They did show up in the camera's view.

Finally I used some smaller pill bottles under each motor and foam blocks inside the landing skids. I am now building a waterproof quad.

I think your solution looks good! How did you attached the bottles to the Phantom?

I took out two of the screws for each motor and used slightly longer ones from the prop gaurds to attach the caps to each arm under the motor, then attached the bottles to the caps.

 

[PJA]

Here is an extreme idea:

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAfEh8VeluY[/youtube]

 

[jwuman]

has anyone actually used the getterback fish rod recovery floats?, i love the innovation, curious how much they weigh,,,i like recovery at 100 feet depth, that is pretty deep ,,,covers most lakes, ponds, rivers and coastal shorline areas i fly at....i would think at some point with all of the ideas i have seen here in the previous posts, someone will come up with something crazy cool, .....with the larger airframe muti-rotors on the market like the new DJI S1000, there is quite a big market for recovery devices. i am going to employ two of the getterback fish rod floaties on my P2V since i fly over water allot, it would at least give me some level of recovery peace of mind,,,,,,I am still a nervous wreck operator over water....i once lost an RC airplane underwater and muck for two weeks,,once recovered,,,i pulled the radio and servos apart dried then all out and had no issues,,,,not sure if that would be the case with the P2V but i would try,,,,,i will mount these face down on the rear legs of the landing gear, the phantom sinks upside down so hopefully one or both will deploy,,,there is a cool video on DSLR Pros that shows a phantom nano coated crashing in the ocean and a pool,then flys away after it drains, it appears to sink rapidly then flips upside down,,,,that nano stuff costs 400 dollars+ and DSLR pros have to first test, then disassemble your phantom, then sent out for coating, then reassemble, test, then send back,,,,400 plus is steep....i like the 20 dollar fish rod floatie idea....

 

[El Rey]

Here's what I'm experimenting with over the weekend.

Will be flying over a river, so have the foam and the Getterback.

Wish me luck.

 

[OI Photography]

Wish me luck.

Indeed, and do be careful. Looks like it may have a significant negative impact on the downdraft (and therefore thrust) from the props.

Looks like it should certainly be enough to let it float though, with decent resistance to tipping over in the water