drone for windy conditons

[Cafguy]

As others have said, it’s not as much about weight as it is about the speed of the drone. I started out with a Mini and have progressed to an Air2S and I can tell you without a doubt that the Air2S can handle wind considerably better than the Mini. There are very few days (here in western PA) that I can’t fly due to wind. I can’t comment about the Mini3 because I haven’t had one. Best wishes on your choice.

My neighbors Mini 3 pro is amazingly light weight its one of the things I really like about the new Mini. BUT that means the wind will push it around a lot more than a Mini 2.

 

[howardK]

I fly a M1P. Older bird but very reliable. On windy days always remember to fly into the wind after take off so you have the wind at your back for the flight home. solve this:

the wind was west and west went we, wind at our backs, how could that be?

 

[RodPad]

prop

mavicpilots.com

Welcome to the forum!

Wow you started a good one.
This is all good stuff!!

Rod ..

 

[Kuiper Denizen]

Is it possible to return a drone against a wind speed greater than the drone’s speed if done so with a series of oblique maneuvers similar to a sailboat tacking, or will that just expose the drone to being pushed further downwind and away?

 

[RodPad]

I had a wind related fail. It was related to the battery and head wind.

So what I learned is I go up above my 150' trees, switch it to Atti, which way is it drifting and how fast. It actually displays the information on your mobile device.

Rod..

 

[BobaFut]

My neighbors Mini 3 pro is amazingly light weight its one of the things I really like about the new Mini. BUT that means the wind will push it around a lot more than a Mini 2.

The Mini2 is like 5 grams lighter than the Mini3 (both sold as ~249g).

 

[offtheback]

It's a mistake to imagine that what DJI lists as "Max Wind Resistance" means anything at all or is of any use to drone flyers.
The only numbers that are of use are the Max Speed the drone can fly at..
A slower drone has less ability to push against the wind than a faster drone.

Sounds a bit like Occam's razor....I.E. common sense.

 

[dave canada]

I,ve found that a stiffer prop helps get them home

 

[DSRT_VLTR]

thinking of getting a mini 2 but will the wind push it too much? is a bigger ,heavier drone better? thanks for any help

I have 109 flights on a Mini 2 & found that any gusts higher than 15mph makes it hard to control & an exercise in frustration trying to land it on a standard-size landing pad.

 

[Bill Kennedy]

Here are my 4 Drones in order of Wind resistance!
1) Mavic Pro Zoom 2
2) Original Mavic Pro
3) Skydio 2
4) Mavic Mini
Just posting this here for comparison!

My M2Z is much more stable hovering on a windy day than my flying buddy's mini.

 

[Bill Kennedy]

I fly a M1P. Older bird but very reliable. On windy days always remember to fly into the wind after take off so you have the wind at your back for the flight home. solve this:

the wind was west and west went we, wind at our backs, how could that be?

Cap'n West I presume?

 

[Meta4]

My neighbors Mini 3 pro is amazingly light weight its one of the things I really like about the new Mini. BUT that means the wind will push it around a lot more than a Mini 2.

The Mini 2 and Mini 3 have exactly the same weight and the same performance specs.
The wind won't push either one around more than it does the other.

 

[Meta4]

Is it possible to return a drone against a wind speed greater than the drone’s speed if done so with a series of oblique maneuvers similar to a sailboat tacking, or will that just expose the drone to being pushed further downwind and away?

No.
That's another common myth about flying in wind.
It would just expose your drone to the wind for longer, resulting in running the battery down without getting you closer to home.
The physics of tacking a sailboat are completely different from flying a drone against a headwind.

 

[howardK]

Cap'n West I presume?

traveling in reverse

 

[Hookies462]

My Mini 2 SE is shockingly good in the wind, we live on a hilltop and 20+ mile an hour gusts are just normal and I was amazed at first at how well that tiny little drone handles it.

 

[PhoebeSnow]

My go-to drone for windy days is the Fimi X8SE 2022 V2. I paid less than $400 for it and has a level 8 wind resistance. Yes, I have 5 DJI drones but the range and wind ability of this makes it my favorite. Plus, if I lose it with risky flights, its not as big a loss as my expensive DJI drones. No sensors but if you fly conservatively you do not need them.

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[thewishy]

Personal experience
1) Mavic Mini (Original), nearly had a flyaway in moderate winds
2) Mavic 2 Pro - Strong aircraft, could overcome strong winds. The trouble wasn't so much that you lost control, but that any footage was choppy and wasn't particularly usable later.
3) Mavic 3 - Strong aircraft, I've yet to see it throw a wind warning and I've flown in winds which I've definitely had second thoughts about (As in, what's my plan of action if the winds do take it away, which direction are the winds blowing in, could I recover it downwind, etc). The footage was remarkably stable and usable. Very, very good aircraft.

 

[WanderLost]

thinking of getting a mini 2 but will the wind push it too much? is a bigger ,heavier drone better? thanks for any help

I had an Air 2S which was surprisingly good in windy weather although I didn't usually fly if it was over 5 m/sec.
I now have a Mavic 3 and it's much better at bucking winds and staying steady when aloft.
I've seen Youtube videos where tests are done with the small and larger DJI drones and in windy conditions, the smaller drones couldn't make any headway against a headwind while the larger drones had little trouble.
More power=more flexibility. Greater weight means greater inertia which will lessen the effect of gusts on your video and flight control.

 

[WanderLost]

No.
That's another common myth about flying in wind.
It would just expose your drone to the wind for longer, resulting in running the battery down without getting you closer to home.
The physics of tacking a sailboat are completely different from flying a drone against a headwind.

Could you fly up high and then coast down against the wind on a ramp to your takeoff site? Let gravity give you a bit of a boost?

 

[Roofdrone]