flippin heck Pete, i thought this thread was dead ,then you go and bring it back to life
Actual Weight.
- Thread starter Lastrexking
- Start date
SkyDogII
Well-Known Member
I think he was suggesting other people weigh there minis. See if they are using dodgy scales also.
As previously stated, weighing the known weight of the Mini itself is the best method of calibrating the accuracy of your scale, rather than using an uncalibrated scale with insufficient accuracy to determine the weight of the Mini!
So your saying the mini was 25g over the official weight ,!!!!!!!!!.
I think some dodgy scales in that shop
according to DJI website the 249g does include battery and memory card.
But the underlying question for me is: which weight are the regulations referring to?
- basic operational weight (BOW) as specified
- real takeoff weight (TOW) = BOW + whatever you put on (e.g. decals, propguards, lights, ...)
- maximum takeoff weight (MTOW)
See, that's exactly the point:
"Weight at takeoff" might be different from "as equipped in the regular package" - and then the magic weight limit of 250g is right between the two.
I see lots of fun coming up with officials checking the lawfulness of a drone flight.....
pilot: "Of course my drone is below 250g, it even says so on the body"
official: "I am afraid you're flying with additional equipment on top of the bare flight configuration right out of the box, so you're above the limit" (would anybody expect such an in-depth knowledge?)
official: "Just let me doublecheck by weighing it nonetheless" (I won't elaborate on the technical pitfalls of that process, it has been mentioned already)
"Weight at takeoff" might be different from "as equipped in the regular package" - and then the magic weight limit of 250g is right between the two.
I see lots of fun coming up with officials checking the lawfulness of a drone flight.....
pilot: "Of course my drone is below 250g, it even says so on the body"
official: "I am afraid you're flying with additional equipment on top of the bare flight configuration right out of the box, so you're above the limit" (would anybody expect such an in-depth knowledge?)
official: "Just let me doublecheck by weighing it nonetheless" (I won't elaborate on the technical pitfalls of that process, it has been mentioned already)
Why does hard delete of one's own stupid post not stick?
OK, second hard delete stuck.
OK, second hard delete stuck.
Last edited:
OK, diggin' out old stuff, but anyway....
After reading the EU regulations (2019-945 and 947) a few more times it became clear to me that the Mavic Mini is lacking some crucial data from DJI to be anywhere close to a EU classification where a weight below 250g is relevant.
As of today the EU regulations only consider the maximum takeoff mass as specified by manufacturer. Actual takeoff weight does not matter at all here.
DJI so far has only specified that the usual standard takeoff weight will be 249g without and "more than 250g" with propguards. Nothing like a maximum stated anywhere. And as the Mini is able to carry a GoPro camera (~140g) I'd guess the real maximum is somewhere close to 500g anyway.
Bottom line for me: I prepare myself for flying the Mini in the 'open' class after next summer, avoiding to fly over uninvolved people as much as possible and keeping at least 150m away from people after 2022 - the real weight doesn't matter in Europe. Which gives me some freedom to add some LEDs for better visibility...
Flying outside Europe will be a different story, but that's out of scope for me right now.
After reading the EU regulations (2019-945 and 947) a few more times it became clear to me that the Mavic Mini is lacking some crucial data from DJI to be anywhere close to a EU classification where a weight below 250g is relevant.
As of today the EU regulations only consider the maximum takeoff mass as specified by manufacturer. Actual takeoff weight does not matter at all here.
DJI so far has only specified that the usual standard takeoff weight will be 249g without and "more than 250g" with propguards. Nothing like a maximum stated anywhere. And as the Mini is able to carry a GoPro camera (~140g) I'd guess the real maximum is somewhere close to 500g anyway.
Bottom line for me: I prepare myself for flying the Mini in the 'open' class after next summer, avoiding to fly over uninvolved people as much as possible and keeping at least 150m away from people after 2022 - the real weight doesn't matter in Europe. Which gives me some freedom to add some LEDs for better visibility...
Flying outside Europe will be a different story, but that's out of scope for me right now.
That maximum statement leaves room for interpretation. Max weigh UAS is capable of and still fly or as it's packaged? TO weight as designed (no mods to make it lighter) or actual, whichever is greater would be more appropriate as deciding factor.
TDZHDTV
Well-Known Member
248g also, even with the plastic injection moulding DJI must have some stringent Quality checks in place.
Indeed, and that's probably why it is expected to be specified by manufacturer (who else should know for sure?). It looks as if the lawmakers derived quite a bit from commercial flying regulations where MTOW is a common measure - and of course specified (just like with any other motorized transportation "vehicles") for good reasons.
In contradiction to that approach the drone community sees themselves more as coming from the leisure/toy scenario - where of course the real weight is much more interesting (yet much more variable). A good indicator is the wording: lawmakers call it "Unmanned Aerial Vehicle", pilots themselves call it multicopter or drone
Anyway, I hope we will see some more clarification about the legal details before the regulations finally kick in on 1 July 2020...
I doubt they have a scale able to securely identify a deviation of 1g (0.4%) ata total weight of 250g - this needs professional equipment....
