Aside from the obvious... (don't fly in minus altitude), I'm wondering what I should expect. I've seen some people have had some issues with radio reflections? I've got a big gig tomorrow flying a few feet above a river (and under a bridge (maybe)), and I wanted to ask all of you experts what I should watch for. I'm planning on running some test flights without cameras on board etc... to make sure it behaves nominally, but is there anything else I can prepare for? As always, any suggestions would be so welcome. Steve.
We've flown a decent amount over water as well. Also never had any noticeable issues related to any type of interference. But as Tim says, if you are flying that low, keep close enough to guarantee height control and absolute orientation.
I had a very productive day on a good-sized lake here in Northern California (Lake Sonoma) and it was as straightforward as any other flying I've ever done. My only concern was the enormous steel bridge spanning the lake, but I kept very clear of it. The producer asked about me flying over/through it, but I talked him out of it. I'd say just mind your battery levels, and otherwise it's no different than any other location.
Beware of the iron while flying under the bridge. Would be good to test fly under the bridge if you can while on shore flying ground beneath the copter as a test.
Only you know the copter is out over the deep, cold, water......the copter doesn't. So don't tell it. Cut some pool noodles to length to fit on the booms if you want to make a flotation device -- the type with the hole down the center can wrap around the boom, but you'll need to use at least two or three cable ties per boom to secure them. You can use an orange one for boom 1, and blue for the other booms, or invent a festive color scheme. Fresh water is not electrically conductive, but I would avoid testing that assertion if you can. Andy.
What color do you recommend for best performance? I hear pink is the best. But, in all seriousness, would you worry about aerodynamic disturbance from having pool noodles on the booms? I would be concerned about creating additional turbulence around the noodles (which are several times larger than the 25mm CF booms, and are not likely to be perfectly still on the booms.
Steve: It's a good question but when you have two concerns to avoid on the Scale of Justice: 1) Parasitic drag or 2) Sinking a Cinestar, I vote for avoiding 2) every time. But then I'm just cheap. Seriously, I'm sure there will be an increase in induced and parasitic drag (and the form drag component), but at the airspeeds we're flying at, I really don't know whether it will be significant. Certainly a cylindrical cross section is suboptimal for any form of drag whether it's naked CF tubing or GI Joe's Finest Pool Noodles. And yes, the pink and blue colors do actually matter. Andy.
I have flown 2 feet above the Rio Grande and underneath a steel bridge before without any issue, not suggesting that is good idea. It should not be an issue to fly over water other than if you screw up and have an uncontrolled descent and don't react in time you will have done the obvious. You will want to do it with absolute caution. If there is any concern that it may go in the water or you have any low battery indications you will want to execute an immediate abort and get on dry land as quick as possible. I would do emergency climb without hesitation. Probably better off keeping it at least 10 feet in altitude and give yourself room for error. I would practice the profile before doing it. Shaun
I've used the pool noodles often for flying over water and I've been surprised at how little four noodles effect a CS8.