Annoying Wind Warnings

[Cheech Wizard]

What I think is funny is that you need a machine to tell you it is windy 20 feet in the air from where you are standing because as you say, it can be different from where you are standing and won't notice it.

Do you ignore warnings in the "Machine" you drive also?

 

[ac0j]

I


None that I know of.
Do you know of anyone that lost their drone due to excessive wind but can honestly say they didn't notice any wind?

I hope you are joking, because I am having a hard time resisting posting 20 or 30 links to all the wind threads and lost drones that you do not believe exist.

 

[Grizzo]

Do you ignore warnings in the "Machine" you drive also?

No I don't because some things you cannot detect yourself. Why are you asking that when we are discussing something like wind warnings which have so many obvious clues to it's presence, especially when flying a drone?
Use your senses bud. You can hear wind blowing, feel it, see things blowing in the distance, see trees swaying, over water you can see the water being affected by it. White caps form when there is a strong wind. Clouds move faster. And one important thing is a drone gets moved around by it. It's speed is different in different directions. You can clearly see all these things when flying.

Use your common sense rather than be oblivious to your surroundings and rely on a computer to tell you something you should already notice for yourself.

If your wind warning alerts failed for some reason and you lost your drone in high wind, you would be one of the people that would blame the drone.

 

[Cheech Wizard]

No I don't because some things you cannot detect yourself. Why are you asking that when we are discussing something like wind warnings which have so many obvious clues to it's precense, especially when flying a drone?
Use your senses bud. You can hear wind blowing, feel it, see things blowing in the distance, see trees swaying, over water you can see the water being affected by it. White caps form when there is a strong wind. Clouds move faster. And one important thing is a drone gets moved around by it. It's speed is different in different directions. You can clearly see all these things when flying.

Use your common sense rather than be oblivious to your surroundings and rely on a computer to tell you something you should already notice for yourself.

If your wind warning alerts failed for some reason and you lost your drone in high wind, you would be one of the people that would blame the drone.

Oh, I thought we were talking about "Annoying Wind Warnings" , I always stay on topic...sorry.

 

[Grizzo]

I hope you are joking, because I am having a hard time resisting posting 20 or 30 links to all the wind threads and lost drones that you do not believe exist.

Yeah sure post one up and we'll have a look. If they didn't notice the wind situation they should have.
I'm still going to stick to my opinion and say that if these people lost their drone due to wind, they were at fault for not realising the situation themselves. Don't forget, they would have HAD winds warnings available if appropriate and still lost their drone so what does that tell you?

 

[ac0j]

Maybe they ignored the warnings and lost their drones anyway?
The mavic at over 100 feet knows more about the wind that it is in than the guy on the ground flying it.
You can do whatever you want of course, but take heed, all the pilots of drones lost to wind also thought they were smart enough to ignore the warnings.

 

[Cheech Wizard]

Oh, I thought we were talking about "Annoying Wind Warnings" , I always stay on topic...sorry.

You just said it your self, your car's computer tells you what's up. Do you just hate technology? Is so, drones are not for you, or get on that is only free flight maybe. Then you are in total control.

 

[Cheech Wizard]

Maybe they ignored the warnings and lost their drones anyway?
The mavic at over 100 feet knows more about the wind that it is in than the guy on the ground flying it.
You can do whatever you want of course, but take heed, all the pilots of drones lost to wind also thought they were smart enough to ignore the warnings.

Who on earth would ignore the warnings? It makes no sense. Ha.

 

[sar104]

Yeah sure post one up and we'll have a look. If they didn't notice the wind situation they should have.
I'm still going to stick to my opinion and say that if these people lost their drone due to wind, they were at fault for not realising the situation themselves. Don't forget, they would have HAD winds warnings available if appropriate and still lost their drone so what does that tell you?

To be fair, the wind at several hundred ft AGL is often much stronger than at ground level, especially if the takeoff location is somewhat protected from the wind by trees or buildings.

 

[Grizzo]

The mavic at over 100 feet knows more about the wind that it is in than the guy on the ground flying it.
.

Disagree. The Mavic wind detection is very basic. I can SEE the effect the wind has on the drone and other things around me. I know what direction the wind is going by paying attention to the drones flight and my surroundings. The drone doesn't know direction. I have access to detailed live and forecast wind speed apps if I think the situation calls for it. I can even find out in advance if it's likely to get windy.

 

[ac0j]

Well I guess, the warnings are for all of us that are NOT the greatest drone pilots on the planet.

 

[Grizzo]

To be fair, the wind at several hundred ft AGL is often much stronger than at ground level, especially if the takeoff location is somewhat protected from the wind by trees or buildings.

That is very true. A sensible person that is aware of things would take that into consideration before even taking off.

 

[sar104]

Disagree. The Mavic wind detection is very basic. I can SEE the effect the wind has on the drone and other things around me. I know what direction the wind is going by paying attention to the drones flight and my surroundings. The drone doesn't know direction. I have access to detailed live and forecast wind speed apps if I think the situation calls for it. I can even find out in advance if it's likely to get windy.

Actually the wind detection scheme is quite accurate - it takes pitch and roll, which from which it can infer air velocity, and subtracts ground velocity. That works very well provided that it has accurate yaw data - i.e. no compass error stuff going on.

 

[sar104]

That is very true. A sensible person that is aware of things would take that into consideration before even taking off.

Yes - but it is not always true, otherwise you would never be willing to launch at all. Winds aloft predictions help but, for example, if you are in an area that channels wind, such as between peaks or tall buildings, then local effects dominate. I've launched in virtually full calm conditions only to find 30 mph topographically-driven winds at 200 ft. The wind warnings can be very valuable in those kinds of situations.

 

[Grizzo]

Actually the wind detection scheme is quite accurate - it takes pitch and roll, which from which it can infer air velocity, and subtracts ground velocity. That works very well provided that it has accurate yaw data - i.e. no compass error stuff going on.

Come on man, what's accurate about a warning "high wind velocity fly with caution?"

 

[sar104]

Come on man, what's accurate about a warning "high wind velocity fly with caution?"

Fair enough - but I was replying to your comment that the "Mavic wind detection is very basic". The detection scheme is not very basic. The warning is somewhat generic, and I guess it could actually display estimated speed and direction, but I wonder if that would be just too much information for many people.

 

[Mavic19963]

anyone see the ( insert term here ) who posted recently he set the height to 1600 feet, then could not understand why his drone could not make it back after the winds carried it off

Go read a TAF sometime and see where the wind is not all that far AGL

Yes, read a TAF or METAR. However, I don't think those report winds aloft. Here's one for you...buy some helium balloons tethered with a 50' string. Let the balloon rise slowly and watch how it reacts while gaining altitude. If surface winds are fairly calm, but the balloon acts wildly at say, 50', good idea not to fly at that elevation or above. Good for determining if wind shear is present, too! Also keep in mind the ground level structures like trees, and buildings. They can alter wind speed and direction at ground level.

 

[Dabrain]

I often get wind warnings when there is no wind where I took off from. I happen to fly in a canyon so when I get to the middle of the canyon the wind is quite high down the middle. I know it's going to be windy there so, I just say yeah yeah and fly on. On the way back I get the high wind warning and fly through it. So wind warning is working like it's supposed to I don't like it, so if it was happening more often it would become a PITA.

 

[butterflyslicer]

Quite often when I get a high wind warning I either ascend or descend and weave my way back home. If I'm feeling game, I whack it in sports mode and battle the elements with great vengeance and furious anger.

 

[Classic flyer]

You can call the FSS (FLIGHT SERVICE STATION) at your local airport and get a current Weather Briefing that includes WINDS aloft