Wind questions - - Mini 3 Pro

[whazzup]

Hope everyone having a great holiday season. This may have been discussed, but nothing specifically showed up in search, and perhaps we can update some thoughts.

I just put my Mini 3 Pro in the air. I knew it was windy (15 mph, according to the Weather App). The controller said nothing about excessive wind, and the drone is rated to 30 mph. That said, it almost flew away. Over water, no less. It was definitely an anxiety-provoking moment.

To review the flight: I took off and initially put the altitude above my house, which was fortunate because the wind blew it over my house. Then I tried to fly, but it kept descending (over water) from around 40 feet to 10 feet. With the wind, the water was far from still; very choppy. I managed to get her to climb, come back to me and land. I have seen people use Sport mode to return from windy conditions, so I tried that, but had no control over the craft. I went back to Normal mode and was able to control the bird. In as much as I landed safely, it was definitely "a moment".

Two questions:
Granted I landed safely, but is the type of situation that is covered by fly away?
Second, any feedback or thoughts on best practices in managing windy situations like this? Again, the wind was below the maximum rated wind, and there were no warnings from the drone (and I've seen them before). Of course the best practice is to just avoid the wind

Thanks, all

 

[mavic3usa]

I don't fully trust weather apps, obviously the wind was greater than 15mph since your drone can easily withstand that speed. Still, the winds seems to be faster out over open water so be ready for that. I usually have a lot of luck switching into Sport mode so no idea there. Perhaps someone will chime in with regard to positioning the gimbal.

I also try to lose altitude (rather than gain) to try to help combat the high winds; strange you didn't get the warning on your remote. Best practice is to take off and fly up wind so you can return home with the wind at your back; lesson learned.

If you are asking if DJI Care Refresh will cover your flyway drone if the wind blows it away and you never recover it, the answer is yes.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Go to DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help
read the instructions there and see if you can find the .txt flight logs
If you can not find them tell us the controller's model, if relevant the phone's model and your type of computer.
If you flind the logs copy them to your computer, upload the relevant logs to the above website and post the resulting URLS here.
If you have not synced your logs with DJI have a look in the folder named MCDatFlightRecords and copy the relevant DAT or DATs to you computer then upload those DATs to this website. Syncing deletes the DATs.

Personally I copy all the .txt and .DAT logs to computer.
If you have concerns about privacy delete reference to precisely where you were flying in post one.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

There's one other thing that just came to mind, it was a problem in either or both the Mavic Mini or Mini 2 but it may have been fixed now.
The air speed of the drone may be limited depending on the angle of tilt of the drone. From memory this was/is due th their 'limited' range of tile.
It may not be a problem with the Mini 3 or 4.

 

[Starz]

is the type of situation that is covered by fly away?

DJI has the ability to determine wind speed via the flight logs which will show angle of attack. How accurately that information is visible, I can’t answer.
The “Mini”product line probably has more blown away threads than any of their other products. Weather apps are just not something I would ever trust for accuracy. Your results may vary.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

As somone who flys in the heaviest of winds, a good rule to abide by is the Drift factor on take off.

If your drone shifts over more than 4 ft from the hover spot , no matter what drone it is your at high risk unless you have proper skills to get the drone back and our confident that you will not panic.

Having a remote landing spot is essential if your flying in High Wind Situations this cannot be stressed enough when flying in a storm.

Example of 10 mph constant wind !

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[Meta4]

Your post suggests some basic misunderstandings about flying in wind.

I just put my Mini 3 Pro in the air. I knew it was windy (15 mph, according to the Weather App).

The weather app cannot show you the actual wind strength where and when you are flying.
There are a lot of factors that could result in the app suggesting cinditions that are nothing like the actual conditions.

The controller said nothing about excessive wind, and the drone is rated to 30 mph.

The drone is not "rated to 30 mph" ... It's not rated to anything.
Flying against moderate to strong winds, the drone's speed over the ground will be less than flying in calm conditions.
If you put it up in a wind that is blowing faster than the drone can fly, the drone will be blown backwards.

That said, it almost flew away.

Perhaps you put your drone up in a wind that made things difficult for the drone and it was challenging for you, but your drone didn't almost "fly away".

Then I tried to fly, but it kept descending (over water) from around 40 feet to 10 feet.
With the wind, the water was far from still; very choppy. I managed to get her to climb, come back to me and land.

From your description, it's not clear what happened there, and some operator confusion might have been a factor.
A very choppy water surface suggest significant wind speed.
People experienced dealing with winds can tell the wind speed from the look of the water surface.
If you post the flight data, someone might be able to point out what actually happened and how you could have managed the situation.

is the type of situation that is covered by fly away?

DJI confuses people by referring to a "flyaway" when they mean a lost drone incident.
There are many reasons flyers might lost their drones, but they don't fly away.

Second, any feedback or thoughts on best practices in managing windy situations like this? Again, the wind was below the maximum rated wind.

First, there is no "maximum rated wind".

FLying in wind is complex and takes time to master, but here are some basic points:
Be aware of the wind strength and its direction.
Consider how the wind will affect your intended flight and how you will bring the drone home.
Understand that higher up, the wind speed will be more than it is lower down.
In strong winds, don't fly off downwind, forcing a hard slog against a stiff headwind for the return flight.

 

[whazzup]

This is all good feedback, thank you.

I understand that the drone is "not rated" for wind, per se. I was just thinking of prior YouTube videos in which folks were able to withstand 30 mph. I chose the wrong syntax. As to reading the wind speed -- I am aware of the ways of reading wind speed from flags, but all the flags are down for the winter here. There were no whitecaps, just ripples on the water. I mention that because I've read that smooth, glass-like water has been suggested to confuse the drone and cause landings on water

Panic? I don't think I panicked (too much), but I did get anxious when the drone was descending despite my pushing the stick to climb, and there was a real loss of control despite being only 20 feet away. I wonder if this was a downward wind (I know there is a technical term that I forget -- I'm not Part 107 certified).

"If your drone shifts over more than 4 ft from the hover spot , no matter what drone it is your at high risk unless you have proper skills to get the drone back and our confident that you will not panic."
Thanks for this. The drone clearly drifted 8-10 feet once I was above the house, which I guess was blocking the wind when I initially took off. That's a good point to remember as a "best practice", and a warning to land and live to fly another day.

Thanks, all

 

[Meta4]

I was just thinking of prior YouTube videos in which folks were able to withstand 30 mph.

There's a lot of confused/confusing material on youtube.
Very few folks would have any idea of the actual wind strength they are flying in.
What do you mean by withstand 30 mph?
That could be a very different thing from being able to get the drone home if you'd wandered off somedistance downwind with a 30 mph wind.

I mention that because I've read that smooth, glass-like water has been suggested to confuse the drone and cause landings on water

That's more confusion you've picked up from people who don't know what they are talking about.

Panic?

I never used that word.

I don't think I panicked (too much), but I did get anxious when the drone was descending despite my pushing the stick to climb, and there was a real loss of control despite being only 20 feet away. I wonder if this was a downward wind

Your drone wasn't caught in a mysterious downdraft so strong that it couldn't climb against it.
Post the recorded flight data and we might be able to work out what actually happened and why.

"If your drone shifts over more than 4 ft from the hover spot ,

As the wind is going to be a lot stronger away from the ground, this isn't really helpful.

 

[Starz]

reading wind speed from flags

That works fine as long as you don’t fly above their elevation.
Send the aircraft up to your intended height and see how fast it flys in the direction you want to go. Then turn back 180 degrees and check that speed against the other one. 30 mph in one direction and 20 mph in the opposite direction will provide a good indication of what Mother Nature is up to.
Stay safe and have fun!

 

[whazzup]

What a great tool: DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

I uploaded the log and saw that it was the wind. I did not see the RC controller flash a wind warning, but clearly the wind warning (in the log file) correlated with where I had lost control. If I had seen the wind warning, I would have landed immediately. I was concerned enough to pay attention to the controller, but the warning didn't flash.

Now I know. Trust your instincts.

Thanks, everyone.

 

[Meta4]

What a great tool: DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

If you post a link to the report that Phantomhelp gave you, you'll get a lot more help and find out more than you are seeing.

 

[whazzup]

Thanks

If you post a link to the report that Phantomhelp gave you, you'll get a lot more help and find out more than you are seeing.

How do I do so without the GPS location?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Thanks

How do I do so without the GPS location?

Down load the csv, open it and the delete the contents of the cells in the lat and long columns but leave the columns themselves and their titles intact. Then upload the csv's to a file hosting website, make their page public and post a link here.

 

[Meta4]

How do I do so without the GPS location?

Just post it and don't worry.
There's nothing in there that should cause you any worry.
If you go messing with the data, it will make it just harder for someone that can read the flight data to make sense of.

 

[MS Coast]

What a great tool: DJI Flight Log Viewer | Phantom Help

I uploaded the log and saw that it was the wind. I did not see the RC controller flash a wind warning, but clearly the wind warning (in the log file) correlated with where I had lost control. If I had seen the wind warning, I would have landed immediately. I was concerned enough to pay attention to the controller, but the warning didn't flash.

Now I know. Trust your instincts.

Thanks, everyone.

It's highly doubtful that wind was a significant issue if the lake you were flying over did not even have whitecaps, but only ripples. The absence of whitecaps indicates a wind speed less than 10 mph or so. Wind would not explain the other behaviors you describe, either.

 

[MS Coast]

The Beaufort scale has been used for estimating wind speeds using visual observations for more than 200 years. It has a strong marine orientation, but it's still very useful for land-based activities, like flying drones.

Beaufort Wind Scale

 

[JimSteadman]

This is all good feedback, thank you.

I understand that the drone is "not rated" for wind, per se. I was just thinking of prior YouTube videos in which folks were able to withstand 30 mph. I chose the wrong syntax. As to reading the wind speed -- I am aware of the ways of reading wind speed from flags, but all the flags are down for the winter here. There were no whitecaps, just ripples on the water. I mention that because I've read that smooth, glass-like water has been suggested to confuse the drone and cause landings on water

Panic? I don't think I panicked (too much), but I did get anxious when the drone was descending despite my pushing the stick to climb, and there was a real loss of control despite being only 20 feet away. I wonder if this was a downward wind (I know there is a technical term that I forget -- I'm not Part 107 certified).

"If your drone shifts over more than 4 ft from the hover spot , no matter what drone it is your at high risk unless you have proper skills to get the drone back and our confident that you will not panic."
Thanks for this. The drone clearly drifted 8-10 feet once I was above the house, which I guess was blocking the wind when I initially took off. That's a good point to remember as a "best practice", and a warning to land and live to fly another day.

Thanks, all

Just a clarification as to wind speeds and the ripples on the water. I live right on the south shore of Lake Erie. When we have a 30 MPH wind from offshore, the waves can be massive. I will attach a photo I took of some surfers while standing on my deck last week to give you an idea. However, when the wind is in the opposite direction blowing out over the lake, a 30 MPH wind will cause only minor ripples. In fact the lake can appear only gently rippled. And I never take my mini's up when it is over 15 MPH, particularly in areas where there are buildings which might amplify or deflect winds to a different speed or direction. Caution is advised.

 

[MS Coast]

Just a clarification as to wind speeds and the ripples on the water. I live right on the south shore of Lake Erie. When we have a 30 MPH wind from offshore, the waves can be massive. I will attach a photo I took of some surfers while standing on my deck last week to give you an idea. However, when the wind is in the opposite direction blowing out over the lake, a 30 MPH wind will cause only minor ripples. In fact the lake can appear only gently rippled. And I never take my mini's up when it is over 15 MPH, particularly in areas where there are buildings which might amplify or deflect winds to a different speed or direction. Caution is advised.

Those are wind speeds at different locations - the lake surface near a sheltered shore and some other higher location on the shore. The wind speed may be 30 mph on a hill near the shore and the lake surface near shore can be in the "shadow."

That's a great illustration of why it's not wise to put too much faith in wind speeds from apps. App observations and forecasts are for station some distance away with the observation instrument in an unobstructed position, like an airport.

When I had an office in midtown Atlanta, there were days when the weather reports said the windspeed was 20 mph r so (at the ATL airport 10 miles to the south) but the wind on the sidewalk adjacent to the 47-storey building across the street was so strong that it was difficult to walk against it.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

but the wind on the sidewalk adjacent to the 47-storey building across the street was so strong that it was difficult to walk against it.

High rises distort the wind. So much so that they might even have to CFD model the flows now or wind tunnel test models.