drone for windy conditons

[mick_mc]

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

Yes. I live near the lakefront of Lake Michigan, I bought a Mini to try and then bought sa Mavic 2 Zoom because it was often too windy to use the Mini.

 

[Panagiotis Kassavos]

I have test my Mavic Air 2 in condition 7 to 8 Bf and it was very steady!!! But i flight with very caution, because the flight is OVER-LIMIT and my eye is always on the battery indicator!!!!

 

[GaryFlorida]

I just follow a simple test when I am concerned about windy conditions.
I launch, ascend to maybe 200 feet and hover.
I watch to see if my drone can maintain that position with no drift.
It's hard to know wind velocity at elevation...
And every situation and weather status is different.

If I can safely hover then I ascend another 100 feet and try it again.

If I "pass" then I consciously choose to start my flight, if at all possible, by flying upwind.
This will pretty much assure I can get back to my home point.

 

[Captain Spock]

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

and keep in mind the wind and wind gusts may vary with altitude...

 

[Meta4]

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?

That won't help you, but it could make things more difficult for your drone.
If you were battling a strong headwind, going high would use up extra battery power and result in having to push against an even stronger wind
And gravity wouldn't give you any additional horizontal speed when descending.

 

[MS Coast]

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?

"Tacking" a drone into the wind is counter productive and reduces your headway against the wind. If instead of flying directly upwind to your home point, you fly at 45 degrees to the wind, you're making only about 71% of the gain upwind. Plus, you're off to the side from your objective.

Sailboats tack because they can't sail directly into the wind. If you take the sails down and motor, you steer straight to where you want to go, not zig-zag your way there.

 

[skycam509]

I've had many drones and currently own a Mini 3 Pro, Air 2s, and Mavic 3 Classic. I think they are all about equally stable in gusts when it comes to keeping the camera stable, but if I have to fight my way home against a headwind in sport mode, I'll want the Mavic 3 Classic.

 

[Reelman67]

I fly the M2P and am impressed with it's ability to fly in the wind. I know my limits and try not to fly in wind but have experimented a bit with the wind at the ocean beaches. Fly out against the wind, come back with the wind. Amazing how fast it comes back.

 

[jencarta]

Great discussion on wind!

I live in the Colorado mountains where the wind can definitely be an issue. I have had a Mavic Mini, a Mini 2, and now have a Mini 3 Pro. They are all capable aircraft. I use the app called UAV Forecast to check drone-specific weather conditions, but I also use Windy.app to check winds. As others have pointed out, the battery does not last as long if the aircraft is fighting wind, so flights are shorter. And winds higher up may be worse than at the surface.

There have been days where I decided not to fly because of the wind. And there have been a couple of times where it was fine near the surface but when I took the aircraft up higher, the wind was too much. If I’m unsure, I take it up slowly and nearby to check the conditions higher up.

Also as others have mentioned, winds can affect takeoff and landing. It’s good to keep this in mind and make sure there aren’t people or objects too close in the downwind direction. I had a close call one time when taking off on a small boat when the wind was significantly higher just a couple of feet off the deck.

I think if you are looking for an affordable drone, the Mini 2 is a great choice.