Almost lost Mavic in the wind!

[Logger]

You only realized that the drone had drifted due to the wind when you looked up and visually sighted it? The Mavic itself should have been able to detect that it was no longer able to lock its position due to the wind being too strong, and I would have thought that there would have been some sort of controller alert about that.

There is no alert for that. Have flown mine in winds 40 gusting 53kmh as measured by healthy drones. Flew up wind 100m or so, then on centering controls to hover, it came sailing back towards me at ~ 18kmh and off downwind. No drama, just descended out of the wind and sports mode to return. Interesting none the less.

 

[dewster]

Nice pic. You'll always have a nice story to go along with it.


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[DerekG]

Other than the yellow warning top left about the wind I do wish there was also a red warning (with haptic feedback) for when the Mavic detected it couldn't hold position due to the wind. Basically a more serious level of alert vs the "High Wind Warning - Fly with Caution" one we seem to get whenever there is more than a light breeze

 

[Chrisg333]

Probably best to not fly in winds that are so strong that the Mavic can't hold its position rather than have warnings popping up telling you what you should already know....


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[bakerboy]

just because it can't hold position in gps hold with OA on doesn't mean it's not capable and people shouldn't be flying

 

[cobra46]

in sport mode it likely would've been able to hold it's position at the expense of draining the battery quicker. But you would've merely had to bring it straight down instead of fighting the wind to try and return.

Glad things turned out ok and thanks for sharing your story. Some new pilot will likely read this thread and learn something.

 

[m0j0]

Nice save.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

[The Flying Geko]

Normally, the DJI GO4 app should have warned you that there was "high velocity winds" on the Mavic. I get often that where I live. So I'm a lot more cautious about the position of the Mavic in that case.

Indeed, you got a great shot at least!

 

[rydfree]

e

I know it's super conservative, however, by 50% battery left I'm usually figuring out what I still want to do before landing / how much energy it's going to take. Discharging below 10% (Even 20% honestly) is quite hard on your batteries and if done often will shorten their lifespan

I also do the same . My 1st warning is set to 50% just so I'll have a heads up and can check how far I am out and wind conditions etc . I keep flying if everything is OK or may decide to head on back if it has gotten a bit windy .

The Intelligent battery circuit reports on "Usable" battery left however , so when it says 10% it still has 30% charge in the cells . It's not supposed to let you discharge below the safe level . That's why the instructions advise every so many cycles to fly the craft until the low battery warning is telling it to land then when close to the ground hold up throttle to force it to fly until the battery will not let it fly anymore . That recalibrates the logic to tell it where 0-100% usable power is at .

 

[Chrisg333]

just because it can't hold position in gps hold with OA on doesn't mean it's not capable and people shouldn't be flying

It does if it's because the wind is too strong.....


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[bakerboy]

It does if it's because the wind is too strong.....


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

no, because if it were too strong why can it hold it without OA on? or in sports mode?

 

[rydfree]

no, because if it were too strong why can it hold it without OA on? or in sports mode?

Flying a small craft with very small motors , props etc in high wind can easily over stress the props , motors and esc's . The extra that sport mode gives in angle of attack will indeed help more in the wind but I'd watch that the amp draw through those tiny Esc's is not getting too high . As long as you know what to look for and fly wisely there should not be a problem .

 

[Chrisg333]

It's also a question of that if it is unable to hold a stable position due to wind then you can not say that you are in full control, if the wind comes up during a flight then yes sport mode is a mitigation that will help get it down safely but not if you take off knowing it's windy in the first place, if it's over plain fields then you can argue what's the harm, trouble is certain people don't know how to risk assess a situation and think because there is no rule saying you can't do it it must be ok to do it....


Sent from my iPhone using MavicPilots

 

[bakerboy]

flown in 40kmh winds, stronger gusts, no amp draw issue, although if flown by people who don't understand then yes it could be an issue

rydfree your initial comment made mention of why does OA have an impact, it greatly reduces your angle of attack

 

[rydfree]

rydfree your initial comment made mention of why does OA have an impact, it greatly reduces your angle of attack

Yes I edited it out as I realized what exactly he was talking about . OA doesn't affect hover stability per say but does make a difference in angle of attack capability between Sport and P-mode.

If the pilot knows what's actually going on with the aircraft and how high winds affect it there should be no issues . I've flown in 20 mph wind with gust a bit higher but did not get far away and did not try to make quick abrupt movements . I've had props snap off on racing drones by making very quick changes in direction and wind can do the same thing with the Mavic I'm sure as it weighs almost twice that of my Vortex 285 pro and has hinged props .

 

[Helo]

Other than the yellow warning top left about the wind I do wish there was also a red warning (with haptic feedback) for when the Mavic detected it couldn't hold position due to the wind. Basically a more serious level of alert vs the "High Wind Warning - Fly with Caution" one we seem to get whenever there is more than a light breeze

Yea, they should put a arm on the controller that gives the pilot a dope slap along with a sexy voice that says "Caution Really High Winds".

 

[Cookedinlh]

Another thing that helps too . . check your controller calibration once in a while . . I find that mind is out occasionally and needs recalibration . . I noticed that full forward stick does not give full forward speed in either normal or sport mode. Not sure why that gets out of calibration but fixing that gives FULL authority again.

 

[Kevinc69]

I think your best bet would have been to drop altitude to avoid the higher speed wind. It looks very flat there but it still should have helped your ground speed.

That's what I've found. I was trying to come back and was only getting 8mph. Came down to 100' and made it up to 20.
When all else fails, keep looking for a safe place to put her down.

 

[Mykeee]

Does horizon line seem very skewed to anyone else? Perhaps wind was pitching Mavic Pro causing it. Do non wind influenced pics have straight horizon?

I noticed that too, and I know there is a way to fix that but can't figure it out. Any suggestions?

 

[Mykeee]

This mos def ain't California! I'll guess; Minnesota?

Manitoba, Canada.