Actual Weight.

Ping^Spike · Nov 4, 2019

Lastrexking said:
Up to this point the supplier was happy for me to put the size comparison photos online. But, after the weigh in they asked that I didn’t mention their company

Must have been Drones Direct then ?

Vegasdad · Nov 4, 2019

Please help me as I don't see what the big deal is for weighing only 249. You get one thing save $5 reg feet you still have to follow the FAA hobbyist rules.

Ping^Spike · Nov 4, 2019

@Vegasdad the attraction for may will be simply not having to join a(nother) Government database.

Vegasdad · Nov 4, 2019

bwana said:
Obviously everyone will have to weigh their own before they fly... if they're planning on taking advantage of any sub 250g regs they might fly under.

So what sub regs does an 249 gram bird give you? I see you're not in the states.

GadgetGuy · Nov 4, 2019

Vegasdad said:
Please help me as I don't see what the big deal is for weighing only 249. You get one thing save $5 reg feet you still have to follow the FAA hobbyist rules.

In the U.S., since the drone is exempt from FAA registration, you also are not required to submit to an LEO demand for proof of FAA pilot registration, nor proof of labelling the drone with your FAA pilot number. You merely state it is an exempt Mavic Mini toy drone weighing 249g, and they then have no legal basis to continue that line of inquiry. Doesn't mean they won't still continue to inquire on some other basis, but the FAA perceived threat from under 250g is so minimal, that they will likely leave, to address more important threats elsewhere, where they do have jurisdiction. ID is also not required to fly the Mavic Mini, so you can legally decline to provide any, and decline to give them access to the Mini without a search warrant. Unless they detain you on some other basis, or arrest you, you are free to go with your Mini without providing any ID. Be polite. Be respectful. Don't argue. It's not a panacea, but it does give you more rights in the U.S..

Unknown Pilot · Nov 4, 2019

AnzacJack · Nov 4, 2019

WEOTN said:
And since heat (of the motors) rises, that will help it weigh less too!

im not sure if you guys are joking or not.
but...
heating an object will increase its weight.

but we are talking on a nano scale

GadgetGuy · Nov 4, 2019

anzacjack said:
im not sure if you guys are joking or not.
but...
heating an object will increase its weight.

but we are talking on a nano scale

'Tis true!

Is a Hot Object Heavier Than a Cold One?

www.huffpost.com

Lastrexking · Nov 5, 2019

Vegasdad said:
Please help me as I don't see what the big deal is for weighing only 249. You get one thing save $5 reg feet you still have to follow the FAA hobbyist rules.

This is an international forum so not everyone is in the US. So, the weight advantage varies from one country to the next.

As the OP, I’m in the UK. If you fail to register your drone you can get a very hefty fine. So, the issue is - people might just take DJI’s word that it’s below 250g when in fact there’s a chance it’s over. If the authorities bother to weigh the drone and it is over (like the unit I weighed) you’re in legal trouble. That’s the big deal.

WithTheBirds · Nov 5, 2019

Hard to believe DJI went to so much trouble to get a sub 250g model and make such a song and dance about it to fail the weigh in.

I would be looking for a third set of scales.

deleted member 877 · Nov 5, 2019

Lastrexking said:
This is an international forum so not everyone is in the US. So, the weight advantage varies from one country to the next.

As the OP, I’m in the UK. If you fail to register your drone you can get a very hefty fine. So, the issue is - people might just take DJI’s word that it’s below 250g when in fact there’s a chance it’s over. If the authorities bother to weigh the drone and it is over (like the unit I weighed) you’re in legal trouble. That’s the big deal.

Mate, I reckon you need to be totally sure that your scales are properly calibrated - the fact that you got two different results proves that at least one of them is inaccurate (I would bet that both of them are off). But if you are that paranoid just go ahead and register the drone to be on the safe side.

But just consider for a second what a momentous marketing screw-up it would be for DJI if the Mavic Mini, which has been hyped to the max and has 245g stamped on its chassis, actually weighed more than 245g. Do you really believe that this could happen?

But if by some far fetched chance, the authorities even bothered to weigh your Mavic Mini, all you would need to say is that you bought the thing in good faith and point to the "245g" label. If that didn't work then a first-year law student would have no trouble sorting it out for you.

Edit - see below where I am corrected. I should have typed “249g” not “245g”.

Lastrexking · Nov 5, 2019

crystal-pete said:
Mate, I reckon you need to be totally sure that your scales are properly calibrated - the fact that you got two different results proves that at least one of them is inaccurate (I would bet that both of them are off). But if you are that paranoid just go ahead and register the drone to be on the safe side.

But just consider for a second what a momentous marketing screw-up it would be for DJI if the Mavic Mini, which has been hyped to the max and has 245g stamped on its chassis, actually weighed more than 245g. Do you really believe that this could happen?

But if by some far fetched chance, the authorities even bothered to weigh your Mavic Mini, all you would need to say is that you bought the thing in good faith and point to the "245g" label. If that didn't work then a first-year law student would have no trouble sorting it out for you.

They weren't my scales, they were the shops. So, who knows? Ikopta did a video last week where we weighed his DJI drones and none of them weighed what DJi said they should - so, do I believe DJI might get it wrong? I dunno - it's certainly possible that the odd one might be, so worth checking. The Mini is supposed to weigh 249g (not 245g as you stated), so that's a very low tolerance of 1g - not much room for error.

I won't be buying a Mini, so this doesn't bother me at all. But, the UK Press and the CAA seem to have a real hard on for making it as difficult as possible for hobbyists to buy and fly drones (registration starts here today). So, the purpose of my thread is simply to encourage people buying a Mini to make sure it weighs what it should to save them getting into strife.

deleted member 877 · Nov 5, 2019

Lastrexking said:
They weren't my scales, they were the shops. So, who knows? Ikopta did a video last week where we weighed his DJI drones and none of them weighed what DJi said they should - so, do I believe DJI might get it wrong? I dunno - it's certainly possible that the odd one might be, so worth checking. The Mini is supposed to weigh 249g (not 245g as you stated), so that's a very low tolerance of 1g - not much room for error.

I won't be buying a Mini, so this doesn't bother me at all. But, the UK Press and the CAA seem to have a real hard on for making it as difficult as possible for hobbyists to buy and fly drones (registration starts here today). So, the purpose of my thread is simply to encourage people buying a Mini to make sure it weighs what it should to save them getting into strife.

Sorry, I meant 249g, my bad. But I’m still betting that concern about this drone being over weight is just one big storm in a tea cup.

Lastrexking · Nov 5, 2019

crystal-pete said:
Sorry, I meant 249g, my bad. But I’m still betting that concern about this drone being over weight is just one big storm in a tea cup.

From a legal perspective yes - but, from a media one.... The Daily Mail alone would be frothing at the mouth with headlines of Chinese Drone Manufacture lying to circumnavigate the law. Even the BBC have stuck the boot in over here since Gatwick with their anti-drone documentary.

deleted member 877 · Nov 5, 2019

Lastrexking said:
From a legal perspective yes - but, from a media one.... The Daily Mail alone would be frothing at the mouth with headlines of Chinese Drone Manufacture lying to circumnavigate the law. Even the BBC have stuck the boot in over here since Gatwick with their anti-drone documentary.

I guarantee that it won’t go that far unless the usual idiots go out and continue to do silly, news worthy stuff with their new Mavic Mini drones. Wait a sec, ok you may have a point...

SkyDogII · Nov 5, 2019

you can take your sub 250g drone to Mexico and you won't need to do any paperwork to fly it there.

DanMan32 · Nov 7, 2019

For the weights that were over, was the gimbal guard removed?

Lastrexking · Nov 7, 2019

DanMan32 said:
For the weights that were over, was the gimbal guard removed?

Yup. As I said - flying weight.

DanMan32 · Nov 7, 2019

Just because "flying weight" was stated, doesn't mean one remembered to take off the guard. Only way would be to fly a bit, then immediately weigh.

Lastrexking · Nov 7, 2019

DanMan32 said:
Just because "flying weight" was stated, doesn't mean one remembered to take off the guard. Only way would be to fly a bit, then immediately weigh.

Well, you'd get a 'gimbal error' message on the screen. You'd have to be an idiot to carry on flying with it on and risk breaking the gimbal.

But, as it wasn't so obvious I'll state again - no. This was just the drine as would be flown.