drones.....

Does anyone here have experience flying and retrieving a drone from the deck of a moving vessel? If so, what were the wave conditions?

Also, I'm open to advice on features to look for in a drone.

There are quite a few Youtube videos on this, and every one of them makes it look challenging, with possible loss of the drone. Many of the videos end with, "wow, glad we got that back, not going to do it again!". Their firmware is all set up to land straight down, GPS and AHRS stabilized. One tip was to turn off any of the collision sensing stuff, as that made it harder with it trying to avoid you and the boat. Another was to put a handle on the bottom well clear of the props that you can grab if it gets close enough.

I've flown the drone off the deck a lot, but never tried it moving. Even taking off is a bit challenging, it goes up and immediately off the back - it is staying still and you are driving out from under it. Might be worth practicing from the bed of a pickup first? Just try grabbing it while walking forward and you can get an idea of the problems.

When flying a drone from a moving vessel, it's crucial to consider the wind and wave conditions. High winds and rough seas can make it difficult to control the drone and increase the risk of crashes or damage to the drone. It's best to wait for calm conditions before attempting to fly and retrieve the drone from a moving vessel.

I have done it quite a few times. Even in calm conditions it can be challenging. Best method I have done is with an old DJI Phantom (the one that looks like a flying white milk crate) and someone to grab a hold of the landing gear while it's hovering. I fly My Mavic 2 off my foredeck, but landing can be a pain because the sensors get all upset by the side rails. Switching to sport mode shuts the sensors down and that helps a lot. The upside to flying off the boat is the shots can be incredible.

You might direct message "Retriever" on this site..he has extensive drone experience.

A friend gave me the controls on dry land. It was a riot. Found it easy to operate.
I cannot imagine good outcomes landing on a moving deck. However, if I can bring it to me on first flight and have it hover arms length, grab it then that is how I would do it. BTW, if it has a return to the take off spot, you cannot use that function once you moved. His has a follow me setting we plan to try out.

The "have it hover at arms length" is the problem. The drone is stabilized by GPS and AHRS. Hovering to them means staying in one place. The boat is moving constantly away from that place. You have to actively fly it at boat speed, following the heaving motion if there is any, and keeping your hands away from the four rotating knives.

I can easily hand catch my drone standing on land (or the not in motion deck). MUCH more difficult even walking at a slow pace. For one thing, the way they are typically configured, tracking motion requires the right hand stick, while the throttle to land and shut down are the right stick, and it has to be grabbed with - the third hand?

Another issue is that the precision altitude holding is done with sonar return from the ground on many drones. That doesn't work well, or at all, over water.

I am going to try the follow me function at very close range and see if that would aid in any way. One more trick is if you can get your hands on it, most drones will shut down if you flip them over.

DDW, why would you be in motion when trying to land it. Sounds more difficult and perhaps a two person job, one to fly, other to catch.

The subject was launching and retrieving from a moving boat. In all the videos, a two or more man job. From stationary boat, not much harder than on land.

On a trawler, I don't see much problem in just stopping momentarily to recover (though roll and heave might still be a problem). On the sailboat stopping can be a fair amount of work, and also a lot more obstacles to miss during the landing.

DDW said:

The subject was launching and retrieving from a moving boat. In all the videos, a two or more man job. From stationary boat, not much harder than on land.

On a trawler, I don't see much problem in just stopping momentarily to recover (though roll and heave might still be a problem). On the sailboat stopping can be a fair amount of work, and also a lot more obstacles to miss during the landing.

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got it, then kamikaze landing without pilot error.

Depending on the drone you might have to turn the collision avoidance off. My Phantom 4 gets upset with anything within about 10 feet with the collision stuff on.

You also need to set the RTH to the xmitter, not the launch point. If there is a failure you don't want the drone to head back to where it started if you are operating it from a moving boat. There is a YouTube video of this happening and the boat did not get back to the home point before the drone did.

The Phantom series is lots easier to launch and retrieve than some of the other ones. It comes with convenient handles. The Phantom series is also more powerful and heavier which helps in windy conditions.

If you want to play around, used Phantom drones are pretty cheap these days.

Be aware that any high-end modern drone has a feature called "return to home"

This feature allows the drone to come back to its launch point and land all by itself if you lose radio link or get disoriented when it goes beyond 100'. The problem with this feature is it memorizes the "home" GPS point at the time the drone is powered on. If your boat is moving when you take off, and say you go even 100 yards from the launch point, the drone will "return home" back where you started and land in the water (at which it will sink...bye bye...)

Most modern drones will allow you to set the home point to the control location. Don't expect it to automatically land in front of you on a moving deck though. It will just keep it from heading the opposite direction if it can't phone home.

If you are considering a drone and also want to stay within the law, Phantom and most older drones require a certain amount of licensing and paperwork. As of mid year, anything over 250g will need a beacon, the operator will need to be licensed (and that isn't just filling out a form). Chance of getting caught is probably slim, but the penalties are substantial. There are newer very capable drones in the < 250g category.

You can thank the idiots flying them around commercial airliners for that.

Might be smart to get a waterproof drone.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BB73CM...nkCode=ogi&psc=1&tag=shopperz_origin1-20&th=1

I've never retrieved it from a moving boat, just stationary in calm conditions.

I bring it in close reach up and grab the bottom and then flip it over to turn it off. It will sound like a swam of angry bees when you flip it over.

There are lots of videos of folks hand launching/retrieving drones. Mine is easy as it is under 250.

Bruce

DDW said:

..... One more trick is if you can get your hands on it, most drones will shut down if you flip them over.

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HopCar said:

Might be smart to get a waterproof drone.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08BB73CM...nkCode=ogi&psc=1&tag=shopperz_origin1-20&th=1

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I had one of those (a prior version of it). It was very unsophisticated and unintegrated compared to the Mavic Pro that eventually replaced it. Also the term "waterproof" has been used with some license: the motors for example are not sealed, just conformally coated windings.

It is possible to put floats on a smaller drone like a DJI Mini. If you google it you will find lots of mounts. This will reduce the flight time a small amount but they work well to keep the drone from sinking. You can even operate off of water with them, though I don't recommend it. I used them on the Mavic Pro flying from the deck. DJI sells flight insurance that covers water damage, so in the event you have a splash landing, you can get it replaced (for a deductible charge). I had paid for that, but it required returning the carcass to get the new one - hence the floats. The DJI policy now includes the possibility that you may not have the carcass, either due to a "fly-away" or sinking. So the floats are less necessary.

I never needed the floats, although at least once I though I might. Deep in Fjordland, drone lost GPS signals (canyon walls too high) and got very difficult to control for awhile.

Example drone photo:

DDW said:

I had one of those (a prior version of it). It was very unsophisticated and unintegrated compared to the Mavic Pro that eventually replaced it. Also the term "waterproof" has been used with some license: the motors for example are not sealed, just conformally coated windings.

It is possible to put floats on a smaller drone like a DJI Mini. If you google it you will find lots of mounts. This will reduce the flight time a small amount but they work well to keep the drone from sinking. You can even operate off of water with them, though I don't recommend it. I used them on the Mavic Pro flying from the deck. DJI sells flight insurance that covers water damage, so in the event you have a splash landing, you can get it replaced (for a deductible charge). I had paid for that, but it required returning the carcass to get the new one - hence the floats. The DJI policy now includes the possibility that you may not have the carcass, either due to a "fly-away" or sinking. So the floats are less necessary.

I never needed the floats, although at least once I though I might. Deep in Fjordland, drone lost GPS signals (canyon walls too high) and got very difficult to control for awhile.

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I think that landing your drone in salt water (even with floats) is going to be fatal for the drone.

ssobol said:

I think that landing your drone in salt water (even with floats) is going to be fatal for the drone.

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Hence, the insurance.

I have been flying a Mavic Pro for about 7 years and over the water including to and from the boat on multiple occasions. It can be dicey and the little guy has used 7 of his 9 lives in close calls. I had another drone that I lost on its second go out and it's now at the bottom of the ocean. Things happen. If you are new to these, practice on dry land a lot before you try to do the boat thing.

If your drone is insured, but doesn't float, they won't cover it, as they usually require you to sent it to them. If it's in the water, it's probably non-recoverable . . . . .

slowgoesit said:

If your drone is insured, but doesn't float, they won't cover it, as they usually require you to sent it to them. If it's in the water, it's probably non-recoverable . . . . .

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As I already mentioned in post #16, that is no longer true. DJI will now replace it even if you don't have the one you lost or sunk. It used to be true, which is why I put the floats on it. The floats float it very well, plenty of Youtube videos of landing and taking off from water - I doubt it is the best thing for it though.

slowgoesit said:

If it's in the water, it's probably non-recoverable . . . . .

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Yeah, my first drone is resting down around a depth of 232 feet between Sydney, BC and San Juan Island. My daughter, who was five at the time, said "I don't think you should launch the drone when the boat is moving, Dad."

slowgoesit said:

If your drone is insured, but doesn't float, they won't cover it, as they usually require you to sent it to them. If it's in the water, it's probably non-recoverable . . . . .

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Especially if in the water courtesy of foreign fixed wing aircraft...

So those with drones or are knowledgeable - what drone systems do you recommend? Someone recommended this to me:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BL3R3L45/ref=ox_sc_saved_title_3?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&psc=1

Vrooman5618;

I have a DJI Mini 3 Pro and I am very satisfied with it. It has decent flight time and speed. The controller is a plus.

Bruce

SteveK said:

A friend gave me the controls on dry land. It was a riot. Found it easy to operate.
I cannot imagine good outcomes landing on a moving deck. However, if I can bring it to me on first flight and have it hover arms length, grab it then that is how I would do it. BTW, if it has a return to the take off spot, you cannot use that function once you moved. His has a follow me setting we plan to try out.

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My mavic pro 2 to return to the controller and not use the takeoff spot for return to home you need data on your viewing tablet or phone that you use with the controller. Its needs to read GPS with data.

It is hard to go wrong with a DJI product, they are the world leaders. I currently have a DJI Mini 3 Pro and it is great. The Pro has some auto follow features which I find quite useful. If you buy a DJI drone, get the control with the display - very well worth it compared to a phone as a display. That control has a gps so the 'home' point can be set to the control.

I'd also stick to the <250g drones, whatever the manufacturer. Over that weight there are a lot of Federal Entanglements, in almost any jurisdiction now. What they pack into a <250g drone these days is incredible.

DDW said:

As I already mentioned in post #16, that is no longer true. DJI will now replace it even if you don't have the one you lost or sunk. It used to be true, which is why I put the floats on it. The floats float it very well, plenty of Youtube videos of landing and taking off from water - I doubt it is the best thing for it though.

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My understanding from talking to DJI is that will only replace it if you DID purchase the additional policy. I have not (yet) lost my drone, but I have anecdotal info from a friend who had the extra insurance and they wouldn't replace it because they required him to send in the old drone. He provided the Lat/long current position of the drone, with further information that it was in about 70' of water, but apparently that wasn't sufficient!

I'm personally unaware of what their currently policy is, but if they will replace it without the "carcass" that might make me reconsider a policy on a future drone purchase.

BruceK said:

Especially if in the water courtesy of foreign fixed wing aircraft...

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Yeah, and there's that . . . .



Vrooman, I second the DJI recommendation. The only issues I had with their product was their batteries. I purchased the Mavic Pro toward the end of their production, along with two extra batteries, and EVERY SINGLE BATTERY was DOA! DJI EVENTUALLY replaced them all, but only after much gnashing of teeth, and copious quantities of frustration, and after I had purchased several aftermarket batteries, which are all going strong. Two of the four replacement batteries no accept a charge, after 12 and 15 charge cycles (I kept track on the numbered batteries). DJI had a large lot of bad batteries from what I've read, but they appear to have worked through that issue . . . .

slowgoesit said:

My understanding from talking to DJI is that will only replace it if you DID purchase the additional policy. I have not (yet) lost my drone, but I have anecdotal info from a friend who had the extra insurance and they wouldn't replace it because they required him to send in the old drone. He provided the Lat/long current position of the drone, with further information that it was in about 70' of water, but apparently that wasn't sufficient!

I'm personally unaware of what their currently policy is, but if they will replace it without the "carcass" that might make me reconsider a policy on a future drone purchase.

Click to expand...

I've had both the old and the new policy. No policy, no replacement. Old policy, had to have a carcass to send in, if deep six'd no replacement. New policy, no carcass required, even if deep six'd, though there are some proofs and limitations. I think you only get to do it twice, and the deductible is higher. I think they require the flight log from your controller as proof its gone.