Review: Hoverair Aqua – putting the waterproof drone to the test

The Hoverair Aqua is primarily aimed at water sports enthusiasts such as kitesurfers, wingfoilers and stand-up paddlers, who do not have a free hand to control the camera whilst practising their sport. Weighing less than 249 grams, the waterproof drone falls into EU Class C0. At the heart of the system is the Lighthouse transponder: a waterproof wristband controller that guides the drone using GPS and accelerometers – more precisely than optical tracking systems. We wanted to find out: does the concept also work on a sailing boat?

Flying without a licence: What the EU Class C0 means

Class C0 covers very light drones weighing less than 250 grams. This has practical advantages: no drone licence is required for C0 drones. All that is required is drone insurance, registration as a pilot with the Federal Aviation Authority, and a mark displaying the UAS operator ID that is visible from the outside. C0 drones may be operated in the Open A1 category, which allows them to fly close to people provided that safety regulations are observed. Flying over a small number of bystanders is permitted, but flying over crowds is prohibited. The maximum flight altitude is 120 metres above the take-off point.

Well-made, but the instructions are a bit tricky

The Aqua’s build quality is impressive. Both the drone and the Lighthouse wristband are completely waterproof and suitable for use with wet hands. The drone features a 1.6-inch AMOLED display with physical buttons instead of a touchscreen. The Lighthouse offers voice prompts and a vibration alert that warns you if the connection is weak or the battery is running low. Getting started is relatively straightforward thanks to the voice guidance on both devices. However, a clear, easy-to-find user guide was missing during our test. As we received the drone before its official launch, it was clear that not everything was finalised. The app tutorials only referred to other HOVERAir models. However, there are now good video guides available; you simply need to ensure you select the correct drone model.

Take-off, landing and the risk of collision

Take-offs from the ground, from the hand and from the water all worked reliably. Particularly impressive was the ‘Turtle’ function – if the drone falls headfirst into the water or is swept away by a wave, it can be righted at the touch of a button and returns to its take-off position.

Landing on board proved to be trickier. During the return flight, the drone maintained a minimum distance of around five and a half metres from the Lighthouse; this distance could not be reduced any further. With a practised arm movement and a boat hook of sufficient length, it can be manoeuvred over the stern and into the cockpit by walking to the foredeck with the Lighthouse transponder. This allows a second person to grab it directly from the air – provided the approach goes to plan. There are no side collision sensors at all: In our case, the waterproof drone collided several times with the dinghy outboard motor stowed in the stern locker and fell into the water just before it could be grabbed. The good thing about this is that, thanks to the propellers being protected by the foam buoyancy, neither the boat nor the drone suffers any damage.

Important: If the drone is in the water and the boat moves away, the Lighthouse connection is lost even more quickly than when the drone is in flight. Even at a speed of just three to four knots, the boat can very quickly be out of range. Every time we launched the drone, we had to carry out a man-overboard manoeuvre to re-establish a connection with the transponder. Afterwards, the drone could be launched from the water at the touch of a button and a new charging attempt could begin. We never had to fish the drone out of the water.

Precise tracking – limited range

Before take-off, you select a flight mode: Surf, Kayak, Follow, Selfie and others are available. The settings for the selected programme – such as whether to follow to the left or right, or the distance and altitude at which the drone is to fly – can be adjusted in flight via the Lighthouse transponder. However, as there is no live feed, it is very difficult to judge when the boat might be well framed in the shot. Once selected, the flight mode cannot be changed whilst in the air without landing.

In automatic mode, the drone tracks the subject with great precision. The GPS- and sensor-based Lighthouse tracking is clearly superior to optical systems. This works very well for close-ups of the crew and the deck. For wide shots of the whole boat, you need a distance of 12 to 15 metres; at this distance, the connection to the Lighthouse transponder is already unstable. If the connection is lost, the drone flies back to its GPS take-off position. This is problematic if the boat has moved far away in the meantime.

You can switch to manual mode at any time during the flight using the smartphone app; it is only then that a live feed becomes available. However, switching back to automatic mode is only possible after a stopover. In manual mode, the drone is severely restricted: even at speeds of just three to four knots, it becomes difficult to keep up with the boat. In automatic mode, the Aqua has no such problem, as it can fly much faster. According to the manufacturer, the waterproof drone can reach speeds of up to 55 kilometres per hour. We flew the waterproof camera drone during our test in winds of eight to twelve knots.

The video’s good, the photos not so much

The water-repellent lens and the self-heating anti-fog function worked flawlessly. Even in salt water, no crystals formed on the lens. The videos are acceptable. The electronic stabilisation keeps the horizon level, though the colours sometimes appear slightly exaggerated. The photo quality, on the other hand, is disappointing: the images are comparatively blurry and noisy. The photos cannot compete with those taken by modern smartphones or action cameras.

In practice, the battery life is around 15 minutes, and in stronger winds it’s as little as ten minutes – instead of the promised 20 to 23 minutes. Its light weight of under 249 grams means it cannot accommodate a large battery. The noise level was also a bit of a nuisance: the Aqua is significantly louder than many modern drones.

Conclusion

The HOVERAir Aqua is a nice gadget for sailors – nothing more. The flight modes are optimised for action water sports enthusiasts who film up close to the action. It works well for close-ups of the crew and manoeuvres on deck. It lacks the range and flexibility needed for wide-angle shots of the sailing boat; moreover, without a live feed, it is difficult to judge the frame. The severely restricted manual mode can only be used in light winds.

We cannot recommend this waterproof drone for photography – the image quality is disappointing. As a video drone, however, the quality is good. The real unique selling point of this waterproof camera drone remains its IP67 certification. A drone costing between 400 and 500 euros takes better pictures than the Aqua, which costs around 1,300 euros, but a fall into the water would mean total loss for the latter. Whereas the Aqua can simply take off again.

For sailors who take close-up shots on deck and also use the drone in the water, the Aqua is a robust, albeit expensive, option. Taking good photos and videos of the entire yacht requires a lot of trial and error when it comes to positioning the Lighthouse transponder. Distributor: eu.hoverair.com

Technical Specifications

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Lighthouse transponder:

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