Acceptable wind - erm for the mini!

[Deep Blue Witch]

Good morning. Here I am in lockdown. I bought a mini, i have taken my test, bought the leg extensions and even wrapped it in a lurid green. I am keen to take my first flight but every day I check on UAV and it reads "not suitable for flying". I know you can alter the thresholds so my question is what is an acceptable and safe wind speed for a first mini flight. I am old school so any advice in mph would be most appreciated. Thanking you in advance.

 

[Lurch003]

Go to a big open space and don't go high!

Get used to the controls, for a first flight I would suggest don't even go above 5m-10m. You can gauge the wind for yourself, you don't need UAV!

What maxwind/height have you got your UAV set to? I keep my wind to 20mph but I'm a big wuss still and don't want to lose my mini!

 

[FoxhallGH]

The Mavic Mini manual states 'Max Wind Speed Resistance' at 8m/s (Scale 4)
That's equivalent to 28 km/hr - or 17 miles/hr.
Make sure that you have set 'UAV forecast' so that it's showing you the wind at around 100 metres altitude (about 200ft) so that you are not basing your flying on ground-level wind-speed as that's always much lower than at altitude.
Based on the reports of the Mini being blown around quite easily, I'd set UAV forecast at a threshold of 15 mph at 100 metres altitude - and if it was anything near that, fly away from myself up-wind on the outward leg!

 

[steve_lyt]

theres no such thing as a safe windspeed , it can change very quickly. as I found out. the windspeed at ground level was 5mph , but the wind gusted and bye bye drone

 

[Paul51]

Top tip. Before you fly, check the direction of the wind. Then, fly into it. That way, far less chance of a blow away. If you struggle to fly into the wind, drop your height, and fly home, and land.

 

[Deep Blue Witch]

Thank you very much for all your helpful feed back. Taken it all on board am I am heading out

 

[AndreaBB]

Good morning. Here I am in lockdown. I bought a mini, i have taken my test, bought the leg extensions and even wrapped it in a lurid green. I am keen to take my first flight but every day I check on UAV and it reads "not suitable for flying". I know you can alter the thresholds so my question is what is an acceptable and safe wind speed for a first mini flight. I am old school so any advice in mph would be most appreciated. Thanking you in advance.

Wind, again

Today I fired up my MM to learn how it reacts to the wind. Windy app was showing 5 m/s and 11 m/s gusts. 6 PM, 20 deg C. The little one went to 50, 60 and finally 75 meters with a few minutes stop at each height. The video was stable, all manageable (apart the gimbal "weird things" while was...

mavicpilots.com

 

[Deep Blue Witch]

Well I'm back. Found a field but too windy (23mph), so more practice in doors.... Aah one day

 

[Lurch003]

What height was that at mate?

 

[Deep Blue Witch]

About 6' 1" ?

 

[Guitarzan]

Yes the MM is too small and light for any gusts over ~ 20mph. You can either buy a larger - heavier quad, or be wise and patient.

 

[Lurch003]

About 6' 1" ?

pfft, I'm 6' 7" ha ha

Just thinking if winds below 30m are more agreeable, you can still practice just don't go high. OR, keep it below 5m and actually get used to stronger winds and how it affects your drone whilst keeping it low and under control enough to not lose it.

Fly INTO the wind, that way if it gets too much, you won't be fighting it to get home. And if you do struggle, don't use RTH as you'll just watch it go further and further away! Stick it in S mode and that might give you the power to get back under your own control.

Learn from other people's mistakes!

 

[Paul51]

I'm just back from flying this afternoon (getting brave, over water) wasn't sure at first, as it was "breezy" took a chance though, outbound was into the wind, only upto 50M (Upgrade problem). I've had high wind warnings in the past, but she flew great (if only that sun wouldn't keep getting in the way) …..

 

[Lurch003]

ha ha, I still haven't tempted it over water yet (I'll get there eventually!)

only up to 50m? You haven't got that set as max altitude in settings? Payload mode not enabled? Seems weird

 

[Paul51]

I'm still working on it (in fact I'm off into the garden to try again). It worked OK last week. Settings on the AC are H=200 D=3000 so should be ok (warning said something about not logged into DJI account) Anyway, done that now, but there's nothing in there about settings. The height is not that much of an issue but distance sure is.

 

[Lurch003]

Hopefully just a log in, but doesn't make sense (to me anyway!). Let us know how you get on.

I clearly didn't read the manual properly and in my first test flight (still with the cage on), it just stopped at 50m. It had arrived by DPD in a bit of a state so I was thinking the worst until I found out payload mode restricts distance- something which I now value... having two eager teenage nephews!

 

[Paul51]

problem sorted. Managed to get to 92M before critical battery warning came on (emergency land needed) I think the DJI login did the trick.

 

[Lurch003]

problem sorted. Managed to get to 92M before critical battery warning came on (emergency land needed) I think the DJI login did the trick.

Happy days! And I've learnt something new today too

 

[Deep Blue Witch]

Well I got out this evening and got it launched. Practiced some figure 8 stuff, not as easy as some make it look. I pressed RTH on the screen and it said it was going to land where it was (caution) - is that right or am I doing something wrong? Overall though - loved it, and thanks for everyone's help. Keep Safe but have a bit of fun haha.

 

[Lurch003]

Check your settings buddy. RTH now has 3 options, RTH, hover, or descend.

Glad you had a good flight

One thing I practice is like a manual quick shot. One stick left and the other right (or vice versa). Pans around while keeping your subject in shot. Trickier than it looks!

Went to the golf course last weekend, up to 100m so no chance of hitting anything, stuck it in sport mode and practiced massive smooth eights and turns. Loads of fun!