Flying in wind

[Boog0822]

How much wind is too much wind to fly your Mavic? Right now I have my UAV Forcast app set at 15 mph wind @ 400 feet to be my safe/not safe limit. What do you think?

 

[4wd]

I think you can't rely on any sort of remotely forecast speeds which might be wildly incorrect.
Unless in a very sheltered spot it's very unwise to fly if wind is gusting over about 20mph.
A hundred feet in the air could easily be 2x that and even sports mode can barely fly that fast.

 

[Robert Mitchell]

What the Mavic will handle, without getting blown away, and what is comfortable and safe are two different things.
It also depends on the purpose of the mission, and how far away you intend to fly.

For me, since I usually do landscape videography I like to keep it to 10-15 max, better even lower. But for those just wanting to cruise around they will tolerate 20+, but I cant imagine that being a lot of fun.

It's also easier to fly in winds near the coast as it is much smoother than inland with trees and terrain turbulence. You will have to experiment with what is comfortable for your needs, a little at a time.

 

[gixxerbill]

I think the mav does fine in 20mph wind just don't go on real far missions. I live in corpus if I waited till there little wind I would never get to fly it.

 

[Robbyg]

How much wind is too much wind to fly your Mavic? Right now I have my UAV Forcast app set at 15 mph wind @ 400 feet to be my safe/not safe limit. What do you think?

I think you have it set for the best possible value you can set it for. As others have said it can be wildly off but if I used it 15 would be what I would set it for. Best advice I can give you is to mainly use your own judgment. If the wind is 10 on the ground, look at the top of the tree's, the clouds and make a judgement call on how much worst it is up there. You can also buy a cheap Anemometer for $15 if you feel a need for more accurate ground readings.

Rob

 

[dsd317]

I've flown in 25 mph winds with higher gusts. Others here have also flown in similar, if not higher, conditions as well. I wouldn't recommend it, but if you absolutely have to fly in very windy conditions, be very cautious and do it in a large open area.

 

[aringhof]

15mph is t horrible. The Mavic should tell you if it's too windy. I've ignored it and pushed the envelope a little bit which is fine so long as it is still responsive to your controls. I wouldn't fly very high our out of sight if you ignore the wind warnings

 

[BorisTheSpider]

My only advice is to say that getting airborne in conditions that are questionable has a very high pucker factor - I flew a few days ago in what was no more than a decent breeze at ground level, but with terrain effects around the hills nearby was enough to mean I could barely maintain control to land safely a few minutes later when it picked up.

I could have switched to sports mode so it wasn't at the limits of the mavics ability to handle the wind, but more importantly it was at the limits of _my_ ability.

You really don't want to try landing with 15° of pitch into the wind as the upwind props are then tilted significantly towards the ground, and if it's gusting they are tipping more towards ground contact with every gust.

Don't be shy of flying in a bit of wind, it does handle it very well, but equally learn to get a sense of satisfaction from making a smart decision not to fly when there's any doubt.

 

[Boog0822]

I've only gotten the high wind warning once when flying. I brought it down almost immediately. Lol... Any idea what the threshold is to trigger the high wind warning?

 

[WolfgangStiller]

I have flown and gotten good video in 24 mph steady winds (hard to avoid when flying above 14,000 ft MSL) and gotten terrible video in 10 mph winds when it is gusty. It's a complicated equation and you have to consider your own experience and how steady the wind is (and how close you are to obstacles). My advice is to get out to a safe location (i.e., a big empty field) and fly when the winds are pushing your limits. This will give you a better idea of what you and the Mavic can handle.

 

[hp7950]

I use the mavic in 20 mph and video was poor the drone was ok but video and battery life not so
And needed to use sport mood for the trip back .
Dont recommend (scared me)

 

[Flying Irish]

I have to wonder about the added strain structurally. Could it bring on a system critical failure

 

[4wd]

I've only gotten the high wind warning once when flying. I brought it down almost immediately. Lol... Any idea what the threshold is to trigger the high wind warning?

The red box comes in at about 12mph I think, it's almost always popping up here.
In more serious wind a yellow warning scolls across the top.
I haven't seen a red scrolling warning yet!
They yellow warning shouldn't be disregarded unless it seems likely to be just a brief gust.