I like to see someone who trusts their copter....or is at least prepared to put it at risk to get some great footage. You have more courage than I have, Shane! (And I mean that as a compliment!) Andy
Thanks Andy. I've splashed twice in the water, so you'd think I'd know better, but don't seem to be able to resist going back for more. I wish I had more to offer the forum than lessons on what not to do. Pool noodles on four of the booms and a decent dog-paddle stroke has served me well for retrievals.
Ah, you have your pool noodle kit too! I have mine ready for the day I have the courage to need it! Andy.
Shane, This is a really nice video. What airframe are you using? What is you AUW (all up weight). What camera was this shot with? The pool noodles kept your craft afloat? I am deathly afraid of being over water but wish to get past that.
John - this was shot with a Cinestar 8 frame. The camera is a Sony CX760. I think the AUW is about 13 pounds. Yes, sadly I've confirmed that four pool noodles the length of the booms will float the whole thing and they seem to have surprisingly little impact on the flight characteristics. The dunk in salt water was expensive and I replaced all of the electronics, but everything recovered after the fresh water dunking - including the camera. I used the same camera for these shots.
I am sorry, nice was an understatement. This video is down right awesome. I especially like 1:45. Good work. I have watched it several times. Thanks for letting us live vicariously through your experiences. Although replacing all of the electronics would suck, I am sure watching your bird sink into oblivion would suck even more. My AUW is 26 pounds so I think I would need all 8 booms foamied. Some day I will strip the electronics and put weight replacement on and pool test it with the foam noodles.