Don't be deceived by calm wind

[locoman]

thanks, will check it out.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

This website is a great weather resource, only discovered it a few months ago.

Weather Forecast Maps

All sorts of info available, but with wind you can on various altitudes, even slide time of day / dates fro future forecasts down the bottom.

Haven't specifically checked results as yet, but Worldwide coverage.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

Especially gusts are highly unpredictable.

Last Sunday I had a shoot for an upcoming young artists videoclip. We had to fly/film at several locations, in the typical dutch landscape, windmills, dikes, water, very open and windy, which is to be expected, even on calm days. The weather forecast was ok, sunny, a bit windy but nothing my Inspire1 wouldn't handle.

Our first flights in the early morning went fine, though after some time I realised I had my hands full to keep the Inspire stable enough for the shots. Cumulonimbus clouds started to appear on the horizon. It became a lot more gusty than forecasted. The high trees alongside the road were a calculated risk for the wind we were expecting but still they were becoming quite challenging.

We had this all prepared and we knew wind was an extra risk. I was mentally prepared for that. So all went well.

The director finally needed me to fly just one more mission, alongside this very big lake,which used to be an inland sea. I had to follow the artist on the bike again starting very low and was supposed to suddenly raise the Inspire to 50meters, catching a nice view over the lake. Against my own judgement I finally agreed to do it. It was becoming gustier and the clouds were getting closer so we had this one chance for a last flight. All went well until I ascended and suddenly got caught in an incredible gust. The bird got smacked 40-50 meters sideways from its path in only 2 seconds. It almost hit the trees. Nothing I could do but to give full throttle. After dodging the trees I fully pitched into the wind and managed to keep her more or less under control while it was slowly drifting backwards over the lake.. After a few seconds that seemed like minutes, the gust settled and I brought her in and landed immediately. Straight after landing we nearly got blown off the dike ourselves, by another gust of around 100km/hr. No more flying that day!
It turned out that the weather forecast had changed in the last hour from moderate breeze 3 - 4 to code yellow with gusts up to 100km/hr.

Keep checking forecasts between flights! Things can change dramatically within the hour.

The last final seconds of the flight in this clip:
Instagram post by Company Of Drones • Sep 11, 2017 at 9:54am UTC

 

[Rolo]

It is very common for winds just slightly above the surface of the ground to be from different directions and of different velocities than the wind at the surface. Wind is also very dynamic; just because the current wind 20 feet in the air is out of the south at 10 doesn't mean it'll be the same 30 seconds from now. Repeat after me: "Wind is DYNAMIC"!

I've read many threads where guys try to get max distance out of their drones by depending on the wind remaining constant throughout their flight. Some of those posts have resulted in lost drones.

Here's the "too long/didn't read" version: NEVER COUNT ON THE WIND TO REMAIN CONSTANT, EVER.

Also keep in mind that wind direction/velocity can change very rapidly according to altitude. You did do the right thing by trying different altitudes.

This is just my opinion, but take it for what it's worth (probably not very much): "Never plan a flight where you will be landing with less than 35% battery remaining". And "Never count on the 'you have enough battery to get home at this point' marker in the software". The software *does not* take wind into consideration in it's calculation of getting home safely.

Glad to hear that you got your drone back, and that no one was hurt. Thank you for sharing this learning experience with us!

Great insight.
I have been droning since early 2016. I totally concur with your wind assessment dynamic value. I do not want to push the envelope, be it wind velocity or battery remaining. Safety is paramount. As a result of this practice, I still have my drone Q500 4K, and now, I have added this Mavic Pro Platinum to my collection. Not to mention the price, I will never push the envelope with any safety risks. Happy droning !!!

 

[jakub]

my hearth rate is like 200 bpm now