I needed to do a “quick” survey of this wetland on Lake Poygan, which is only accessible by boat, to confirm the identity of specific clumps of plants. A survey by foot would have taken all day, but one by air would only take 10 minutes to fly and 20 minutes of computer time. Trouble was finding a place to take off from and land.
I used a scrap piece of plywood roughly 2×4 feet as a launch/land pad for the DJI Phantom 2. The grasses and sedges around the plywood were 2-4 feet high and I hit some with the props on take off which got some plant debris on the lens, actually the clear GoPro 3+ lens protector. I should have installed the prop guards. I think next time I’ll bring a larger piece of plywood too.
Too bad about the spots, but the view is still nice, and I was able to see the plants I needed to for my survey. I really like seeing the tiny gulls flying way down below when the Phantom is at altitude of 400 feet (3:36). My boat looks pretty small too.