Any recommendations for drone that follows while kayaking

Considering a reasonably priced drone that will perform over water and be retrievable while paddling. Seems most follow drones not recommended for over water use and Youtube evaluators all seem to have problems landing their drones while on the water.

Check with the Ukraine.

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A sailing couple with a Youtube channel reviewed a waterproof one

Not bad for twelve hundred bucks :rofl:

I would consider getting a cheapo drone and a roll-up piece of foam mat you can spread out on the water for it to land on.

I’d need a bigger kayak to land that thing :laughing:

I guess there doesn’t seem to b a viable option at this point, oh well Go Pro it is.

Most of the GPS camera drones can return to where they took off from. All you do is hit the return home symbol. You might need your phone attached to the controller which you will need with you on the Kayak. Simply launch the drone from an open area. Fly it out to your kayak. Set it up to follow you (you won’t need to land it. You do this with the controller) and begin recording. After you get the shot you want, hit return home. It will fly back on its own and land where it took off from.

Most drones that follow have collision avoidance sensors, so they can cost more. But you should be able to find something around the $500 range. There are aftermarket programs that can be purchased to allow some drones without sensors to follow.

You will need an FAA Part 107 license to post drone videos on any commercial website like YouTube.

DJI is probably the leader in the commercial drone industry. Here, is what I found on Amazon for the DJI Mini 3. With a very good camera but lacks sound for obvious reasons but has the ability to fly, it looks like about the price range of a new Go Pro. Because of its light weight it doesn’t need to be registered. I don’t Know if the Mini 3 has a follow me mode called Active Track, but I believe the Mini 3 pro and Mini 4 does.

I haven’t kept up with drone info for about 3 years so laws may be different than I have told you.

Amazon.com : DJI Mini 3 Fly More Combo (DJI RC), Drones with Camera for Adults 4K, 3 Batteries for 114-min Flight Time, Vertical Shooting, 32800ft (10km) Video Transmission, Lightweight Mini Drone for Beginners : Electronics

I though you would have had lots of reply’s with more current info than I have so didn’t checkout your post. Sorry for not replying sooner.

As for strings comment, I have seen videos of many DJI camera drones being used in Ukraine for reconnaissance.

As you gain skill you can actually bring it to you and catch it by hand, but that could be tricky in a kayak depending on how still the water and wind. Let it hover at the height you need to catch it and paddle over to make the catch.

Here is a video you might want to watch.

Ultimate Drone Buying Guide for Total Beginners 2024

Thanks so much for the info, there may be hope yet for a drone.

Any recommendations for long range shotguns? Asking for a friend.

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3 1/2 inch 10ga, #2 and #4 shot. I assume your friend is a goose hunter. Tell your friend it’s illegal to shoot them as they are out of season. :laughing:

And no amount of time in marinade will make them taste good.

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It would be useful to scout rapids, look around corners and check for debris in the water.
The attraction of river trips to me is simplicity.
We were followed by a large military drone once on the lower Colorado River. It was suspended on a motorized dirigible. It was within about 400 yards of our boats for several days. It was very annoying but later I learned it was part of a pilot project to observe people in remote parts of the desert near the border.

After the drone left a single Navy Blue Angel flew over our campfire low and slow. We waved and he rocked his wings. That was cool.

Professional drone pilot here:

Any DJI drone with active track will do the trick. If you are going to launch from the kayak, I would go with a mini, due to minimizing the risk of larger rotors to your face. While I might be tempted to launch from a wide stable canoe, I don’t think I would ever launch from a kayak. Launching and landing requires both hands. Landing to a boat would require someone to catch the drone from a hover, not easy to do while operating the remote.

DJI is head and shoulder above their competitors as far is hardware/software/user interface integration.
Getting a discounted drone a generation or 2 old is a solid choice as well. After the mini 2, improvements were incremental, not huge leaps and bounds.
The risk with flying over water is that lithium batteries ignite when submerged. If you land it in the water, retrieve the drone as soon as possible, remove the batteries and bury them in sand. If they start getting hot before you can get to sand, throw them away from flammable material. Once ignited, it is a chemical reaction that water and typical fire extinguishers cannot put out.
Whether professional or hobbyist, you should be aware of the regulations. If you are going to make income or create a product, you should be licensed.