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
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
