Flying over a lake

[Dave Walters]

Hi There - I have a P3S, love it. I'm flying over our local lake this weekend, It's privately owned I called them and asked and they were cool with it.

I've not flown a Phantom over water before, I always have two batteries, fully charged, the lake isn't huge, they use it for water skiing and such, they go up and down, turn around etc. There is virtually no interference in this area as it's way out in the countryside (UK)

What should I know? I never fly in ATTI mode, I always wait for it to connect to the satellites, usually 11 or so in this area.. I always calibrate the compass in a new place and I'm a pretty confident flyer...

Im nervous because since I called and confirmed my visit and left my number, someone has since called me who is a big league water skier by all accounts and has asked me to take some footage of them jumping etc etc..

Any tips or tricks would be welcomed..

Cheers guys

 

[Storm]

I've flown over water to get footage of my rc boat, no difference. I just make sure my home point is set on shore maybe 15' to 20' back away from shore just incase rth kicks in for any reason. Watch battery level closer. Just my opinions

Sent from my SCH-I545 using PhantomPilots mobile app

 

[dhyams]

Agree with Storm; only thing to watch out for is to make sure to review your RTH settings before flight (both location and action)...but you should be doing that anyway Watch the battery life, but you should also be doing that anyway, too

I've flown over water a lot; it's mainly just a mental hurdle. Just fly and enjoy. For insurance, I have a "getter back" affixed to the leg sometimes. But that would be just to recover the video...the phantom would probably be toast after a splashdown.

Also review how to fly in home lock mode...that's a handy way of bringing the bird back to you in case you can't tell its orientation once it gets far away. But again, that's a good thing on land too.

 

[RodPad]

Hello,

I'm going to add, in the future learn the Atti mode, because that is what the Phantom is going to do if it looses satellite lock.
You can fly up to your height, turn on Atti mode, watch Phantom drift with the wind. Then you know what the wind is like.

I like this thread on the compass dance.
Compass Calibration, A Complete Primer

Oh, most important don't Panic.

And post your footage, so we can criticize your actions.

Rod

 

[Woodsong]

I fly over water all the time. It is just like flying over land but less stuff to possibly hit and it is liquid below you instead of solid. I don't think the phantom knows whether it is over land or water and it just does it's thing. To me flying over water is a non-issue....I launch off our boat all the time and never had an issue doing video or photos over water whatsoever. Fly like you normally fly and just make sure you have the home point set at shore and make sure you have the settings correct as to what you want the bird to do if you loose signal (IE return home, land, or hover).

 

[iflyhelis]

Agree with Storm; only thing to watch out for is to make sure to review your RTH settings before flight (both location and action)...but you should be doing that anyway Watch the battery life, but you should also be doing that anyway, too

I've flown over water a lot; it's mainly just a mental hurdle. Just fly and enjoy. For insurance, I have a "getter back" affixed to the leg sometimes. But that would be just to recover the video...the phantom would probably be toast after a splashdown.

Also review how to fly in home lock mode...that's a handy way of bringing the bird back to you in case you can't tell its orientation once it gets far away. But again, that's a good thing on land too.

I love the "getter back" mode, must be some long-*ss fishing line in use. A very good idea that I will probably use, if I ever fly over water. Thanks for your comment! I gave you a like because of that!

 

[dhyams]

Re: iflyhelis...it's 100 ft of line.

Back to the original poster, one thing that I forgot about that can be important...take off well away from the shore if you can; and verify that's where your home point is. If RTH is triggered (by you or by a low battery) and the copter is within 20m of the home point, it will just descend and land right where it is. Not good if you are around water. Of course, you can fight the descent by pushing left stick straight up in that case, and probably be able to maneuver it back to shore.

Best to just fly conservatively with the battery and land it while you still have plenty left.

 

[iflyhelis]

Re: iflyhelis...it's 100 ft of line.

Back to the original poster, one thing that I forgot about that can be important...take off well away from the shore if you can; and verify that's where your home point is. If RTH is triggered (by you or by a low battery) and the copter is within 20m of the home point, it will just descend and land right where it is. Not good if you are around water. Of course, you can fight the descent by pushing left stick straight up in that case, and probably be able to maneuver it back to shore.

Best to just fly conservatively with the battery and land it while you still have plenty left.

100 is better than 50!

Kurt

 

[Dave Walters]

I've flown big heli's and smaller drones without GPS so I'm sure ATTI mode won't be an issue

I'll post footage tomorrow.

The dude I'm helping out is a world class water skier so should be good footage

 

[RodPad]

"I've flown big heli's and smaller drones without GPS so I'm sure ATTI mode won't be an issue "



Rod

 

[Dave Walters]

Just gotta remember which lights are front and back?!

Great post Rod!!