Hoverair Aqua: Is it possible to bypass the 30m limit for Bird's Eye view tracking on open water?

[Kalusi]

Hi everyone,

I recently got the HOVERAir AQUA to capture tracking footage of my sailboat. I would love to use the Bird's Eye mode for a top-down tracking shot while under sail, ideally at an altitude of about 60 meters (approx. 200 feet) above the water to get a wide cinematic view.

However, I noticed that the app strictly caps the custom altitude slider at 30 meters.

This is a major safety issue for my setup because my sailboat's mast height is 25 meters. Flying at the maximum allowed 30 meters only leaves a 5-meter safety margin above the mast, which is way too risky with wind, waves, and the natural movement of the boat.

I own both the Beacon and the Lighthouse controllers. Since the Lighthouse uses RTK-based centimeter-level positioning and the Beacon significantly extends the operational range, the hardware should technically be capable of handling higher tracking altitudes.

Does anyone know if there is a workaround, a beta firmware, or a developer setting to unlock higher altitudes for autonomous tracking? Alternatively, has anyone successfully managed to trick the altitude sensor or used the Beacon's manual control mode to safely follow a moving boat from 50–60 meters up?

Would love to hear your experiences or any advice from fellow sailors/boaters here!

Thanks in advance!

 

[phph001]

Sorry, but do you actually sail in 5 meter waves?

 

[StoneHome]

I don't know the drone, but I'd be interested in learning the setup you are using to obtain RTK accurate enough to target a moving sailboat.

 

[StoneHome]

I don't know if this is accurate because it's from an AI.

"How to Achieve Higher Shots
Because the onboard software enforces hard flight ceilings for safety during automated tracking, you may want to try these workarounds:

• CoPilot Mode: If your firmware supports it, you can toggle on CoPilot switch and use the companion app or a Beacon to push the drone higher manually while it continues tracking. [1, 2]
• Launch Point Adjustments: Start recording from an elevated position (e.g., a hill or balcony) so the drone's 15–30m ceiling captures a larger overall area from the ground level. [1]"