DJI Mini 4 Pro Descent Test and Fall Flight at Julius M Kleiner Park

[@TaniaGail]

Simply stunning!

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Thank you, Tania! I was out there today.

[@RonaldBrown59]

I never tested this over water with either the Air 3 or the Mini Pro 4, but I have flown the Avata over water many times and never noticed an issue descending and moving forward at the same time, no matter how low I go. Nice testing out at the park, thanks for sharing.

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Thank you Ron! I'll do some more testing for sure!

[@jimanderson4865]

Hi Marcus.....Nice view of the park back in Oct. I flew the Mavic 3 over some sloping rapid water a couple of weeks ago. I was able to do a forward and down movement. But I think I was 15 ft in the air also.

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Yes Jim, I'm sure it's a safety feature. I need to test some more.

[@WokwithLan]

your flight skills are impressive.

[@BIGGUY401]

Beautiful park. The nature is amazing. 😊

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Thank you! It is a really nice park!

[@retieffrobert]

Hey I have the air 3 and I always fly over water where I live and I never had that issue

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

I need to do more testing. I've seen it with my Air 3 a few times.

[@cloudwalkwv]

I really feel like I've come to know that park well through your videos. You have beautiful locations to fly. I especially enjoy the Snake River Canyon at Dedication Point and would like to plan a trip there someday to fly. Thank you, Marcus!

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Thank you! There are some great places to fly around here. 😎

[@rond3933]

Marcus, would you please do another hyper lapse of an interesting area? Is that roundabout busy enough? Thank you.

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Thank you! I'll do more HyperLapses with the Mini 4 Pro for sure!

[@FlyinFlynnMedia]

Nice flight Marcus. The mini 4 flies like a champ in the wind. Did you do any firmware updates between this flight and when you had the forward and descend issues? Maybe this was one of the “bug fixes and known issues” in the update? It’ll be interesting what your test will show over calm water. Thanks for putting this together Marcus!

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Yes John, I think it was just too windy that day. I'll try it again soon.

[@georgekelly1948]

Interesting test and beautiful October flight, Marcus. I have noticed when flying the Mini 3 Pro over water that I must be careful to keep it 12-15 feet above the water or it will tend to dip and be a little erratic. I have not tried flying the Air 3 close to the water surface. In the big picture of things, I leave skimming the water to pelicans, geese, other birds that love the water and rely on it for survival.

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Ha! I hear you, George! Those waterfowl scare me sometimes. 😀

[@SteveCoushman]

Great article! Depending on my elevation when decending and my speed, the same thing happens to me over land. While at a speed of about say 5 to 10 mph, i try to decend i can to approx about 4 feet while in motion. I think its due to DJIs programming to not let the aircraft land (crash) into the ground while there is forward motion. Foreward motion and decent at higher elevations i have no problems. Must be a safety thing. BTW i operate a mini 3 pro.

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

I agree, its a safety mechanism. I need to do more testing. 👍

[@ssb73q]

Hi Marcus, nice flight with your Mini 4 Pro drone, thanks for sharing. I think you are right about the rough water messing with your water experiment. IMO one should never use the words Fall and Drone in the same sentence. vbg

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Ha! Good point Richard! 😀

[@PaddyStubbs70]

Hi Marcus, I've found that I can fly my Air 2 much closer to the water (practically skimming the wavetops) than my Mini 3 Pro and suspect there are several factors at play. Anyway, I'm a lot more cautious over water with the latter as a result. Beautiful views of the park and those Fall colours are simply stunning.👋👌👍

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Thank you Paddy! Flying over water does warrent some caution. It can yeild some great results though. 👍

[@finnybflyin]

I noticed that too over Thanksgiving at Garden City Beach, SC. I reserved another 2 nights on Christmas weekend so, I'll test it as well. It could've been the pool below my balcony and/or the ocean just beyond that. For you, I feel a Snake or Boise River test flight may be in the near future. As long as you're in the air, any reason is a good reason to fly! 👈🥸👉Thanks Marcus.

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Thank you! I agree, any excuse to fly! 😄

[@HikeFly22]

Same thing happens with my mini 3 pro over land I've noticed I can't go backwards and descend.

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

More testing is required. 😎

[@SzaryWilk-photo1967]

Nice areas, beautiful shots. Low flights are great too. You don't have to fly high to record a good video. Regards.

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Thank you! I agree!

[@delzane]

A real "nail-biter" testing that water descent theory, eh? Nice color!

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Yes, I need a day when the water is calm to demonstrate it. Thank you Del!

[@riskybusiness5]

There have been several reports, with Mini 2/3 drones, that when flying below 3 meters above water they tend to dip down toward the water, and sometimes initiate auto water landings (crashes). I have also experienced this and the way the drone behaves is a little scary. This has been attributed to the downward sensors being confused depending on the reflectiveness of the surface. If there have been new reports of Air 3 and Mini 4 preventing downward motion over water while traveling, perhaps this is due to a software improvement to prevent prior behaviors which can cause accidental water crashes. You can check out this video and comments for more info "3 Fatal DRONE MISTAKES…when flying over water"

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Water can confuse the downward sensors in a few different ways. Reflective surfaces are an issue for sure..

[@BlairAir]

Interesting video. I dont fly over water a whole lot, maybe once or twice a month (I do fly every day unless weather keeps me grounded. Looks like you weren't able prove or disprove you observations at Snake River where yiu experienced an inability to descend "at an angle" vs stopping and flying straight down. Hmm. Ive never experienced this over water, and Air 3 comes down like Space X booster rockets 🚀- the a bit unnerving the first time you drop like that!

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Man John, I freaking love that 10 M/S ascent speed of the Air 3!! 😎

[@BillBadMule123]

🥰😍🤩🥳❤💯💢💥💫👍👍👍

[@IdahoQuadcopter]

Thank you!