The best drones for sailing and sailors around the world recommended by us at World Sailing Charters are:
- DJI Mini SE (Buy Here)
- DJI FPV Combo (Buy Here)
- DJI Mini 2 Fly More (Buy Here)
- Ruko U11 Pro Drone with 4K Camera (Buy Here)
- SYMA X500Pro GPS Drones (Buy Here)
What to look for in these drones used by sailors?
Drones used for sailing are in most cases small in size and weight in order to be easily handled. That is why the recommended drones for sailors are all under the 500g limit.
The best FPV racing drones around weigh much less than that, but when it comes to photography equipment, you do not want to take chances with too light drone models which can be blown away by the wind or damaged by waves.
Sailing Drone Expectations
In general, best drones for sailors have a stable and reliable connection to your remote controller with high range.
The most important thing however is that you buy a drone with a gim bal to take steady shots, even in the harshest sailing conditions.
Remote controllers are equally important as they need to be ergonomic and comfortable for you to handle them well, even when the drone is far away, so make sure this is also well taken care of.
The drones listed above are all high-quality models with exceptional specifications that meet our expectations for sailing drones.
DJI Mini SE Drone
The DJI Mini SE is our preferred choice as it is a compact and light drone that is easy to handle both on land and sea. It features intelligent tilt and banking capabilities, allowing the pilot to take smooth footage lists and over water.
With this little drone, you can fly up to 15 minutes above water without crashing into waves or getting blown away by wind, due to its weight which does not exceed 300g.
In addition, the FPV live video feed from your DJI Mini SE can be transmitted up to 100 meters away from you through your smartphone or tablet app with no signal interference problems.
The only drawback of this drone is that it does not have a gimbal camera, but apart from that we think that it is the best drone for sailing currently in its category.
What are the main upgrades of DJI Mini SE compared to Mavic Mini?
DJI Mini SE uses the aircraft design of DJI Mini 2 and supports higher wind speed resistance of 8.5-10.5 m/s while providing the same performance as Mavic Mini in other aspects.
Does DJI Mini SE have internal storage?
No. A microSD card is required to store photos and videos.
How do I activate DJI Mini SE?
Connect your mobile device with the remote controller, then connect with DJI Mini SE via the DJI Fly app. Follow the app instructions to activate DJI Mini SE.
What are the maximum photo and video resolutions supported by DJI Mini SE?
Photo: 4000×3000 (4:3), 4000×2250 (16:9)
Video: 2.7K @ 24/25/30fps, 1080p @ 24/25/30/48/50/60fps
I am a beginner. Where can I find tips about using DJI Mini SE?
DJI Mini SE comes with a user manual and comprehensive tutorials, which you can get from the Flight Academy in the DJI Fly app. You can also follow DJI Support on Facebook and Twitter to get more tips on using DJI Mini SE.
DJI FPV Combo
The DJI FPV Combo takes our second place because, apart from weighing even less than the DJI Mini SE at around 250g, it also features GPS position holding for stable hovering above water.
There are additional settings of course to allow banking and tilting of your gimbal camera.
What makes this model really special are some automatic functions that take off, land, return to home and record all by themselves once you have set them up.
This can be particularly useful during long trips when you want to get some rest while your drone is recording your favorite views!
You need to buy the gimbal version of the DJI FPV Combo in order to get the most out of this drone, because it is compatible with other models like the Phantom 4 or Mavic Pro.
SYMA X500Pro Drone
The SYMA X500Pro scores high for its reasonable price and features.
We like that it has a gimbal camera and an FPV feed from your smartphone or tablet up to 50 meters away from you through WiFi, but also that it records stabilized 1080p videos at 30fps using its 4K/2K ultra HD cameras!
What we think might be a drawback – although not necessarily – is that this type of drones does not have GPS positioning functions available for stable hovering over water.
Ruko U11 Pro Drone
The Ruko U11 Pro carries an impressive 4K camera which, like the SYMA X500Pro, can record stabilized 1080p videos at 30fps.
What sets this model apart is that it also has GPS positioning features for holding its position over water and a 3-axis gimbal!
This drone can fly for around 20 minutes on one battery charge and has almost the same weight as the SYMA X500Pro (300g).
Its only downside are some difficulties for beginners to control it – since there are no GPS positioning functions available – but once you have got used to it then its flaw might not be so important anymore.
source https://www.worldsailingcharters.com/best-drones-for-sailing-and-sailors/
