for <250g flyers: who has been weighed?

[samiam]

I am considering purchasing a Mini 2, and have a question for flyers of sub-250 gram drones in the US. I see many posts about accessories that seem to obsess on whether a given add-on will bring drone weight up to or slightly over 250g. I suspect some of this obsession may be because drone flying tends to attract nerds (I see one every time I look in the mirror). However, what is the actual risk? How many US flyers of drones that are nominal exempt have been arbitrarily subjected to weighing by a government official, and if you have, what were the circumstances and the outcome. Anyone on this board? Thanks.

SAM

 

[spudster]

Just spend the $5 to register it and you don't have to worry about your Mini accessories.

 

[The Fat Controller]

There will be no-one who is asked to land their drone purely for the purposes of a weigh-in, it just won't happen. On the other hand if you manage (somehow, however unlikely) to cause absolute mayhem and chaos with your sub 250g drone it may very well be weighed as part of an investigation. But I'm not holding my breath waiting for that to happen.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Whether or not it is an obsession is irrelevant.
All it takes is for the flyer of an overweight drone to meet one fastidious official with a set of calibrated scales and the pilot could be in the doo dah.
The chances of the drone being weighed may be slim but if it is weighed and overweight then........... it's an easily avoidable problem especially with the mini 2.

 

[brett8883]

I am considering purchasing a Mini 2, and have a question for flyers of sub-250 gram drones in the US. I see many posts about accessories that seem to obsess on whether a given add-on will bring drone weight up to or slightly over 250g. I suspect some of this obsession may be because drone flying tends to attract nerds (I see one every time I look in the mirror). However, what is the actual risk? How many US flyers of drones that are nominal exempt have been arbitrarily subjected to weighing by a government official, and if you have, what were the circumstances and the outcome. Anyone on this board? Thanks.

SAM

Just pay the $5 to register and don’t worry about it.

 

[vindibona1]

It really is a non issue in the US. As others have said, $5 and 10 minutes of time makes all the worry about weight go away until your drone exceeds 55 pounds. If you fly it in other countries, then you owe it to yourself to be more strict, especially because you don't want to have to fight a legal battle trans-nationally, particularly in lands that would love to stick it to an American. I know my Mini 2 weight 240 grams, so I can get away with a strobe light or a lens hood, maybe some light landing gear. But I regularly fly my Mini 2 with landing gear, a lens hood and 1-3 strobes so almost always over the magic 250 gram mark.

 

[Mike Mas]

The whole reason of buying a 250 drone is to avoid unneeded protocol. Don't worry about it just have fun!

 

[vindibona1]

The whole reason of buying a 250 drone is to avoid unneeded protocol. Don't worry about it just have fun!

Yes.... but no... at least if you're in the US and if your drone is a Mini 1 or 2. IMO the "protocol" of a $5 registration FREES YOU TO HAVE FUN WITHOUT THINKING ABOUT IT. After that you can put whatever accessories on your Mini that you want that it can carry. Are you going to need to take off or land on grass? You'll need landing gear. Fly at night or farther than 400' out? You'll need lights. What about ND or CPL filters? Lens hood? The weight of a Mini 2 leaves a little head room. One GOOD strobe- 14 grams (plus mounting weight). [I typically have 2 lightweight and one 14 gram strobes going, even in the daylight] Landing gear- 18 grams. Don't even think about prop guards. IMO more "unneeded" thought and compromise before the fun than just paying the $5 and THEN just having fun.

If you're in a country that severely restricts drones >250g that's a different story altogether.

 

[sar104]

The 250 g threshold is almost entirely just an issue for the manufacturers of small drones. Once you buy a Mavic Mini, for example, no one, especially not from the FAA, is going to be running around with scales to check whether the props or the paint job put it slightly over the limit.

 

[Artemis]

….. I think…. Getting legal is mainly for the day you screw up, fly it in to someone’s car or worse cut someone… your still going to be liable but adding FAA violations will make for a bad day, depending on the violation it could make a difference on how law enforcement handle it….. ie they may just let you take care of it if your legal…. kinda Like being in an accident in a car…. Much worse without a license or insurance… you will get charged

also of note if it’s bad enough to wind up in front of a jury… would you want the them to lead off that you were flying illegally…. that Would probably make you lose immediately


also a good reason to religiously check B4UFLY, if it got to the point they needed to check, then they will

last thing… after reading through these threads a few days… a pattern emerges that pilots are positive they did not do anything wrong but once flight logs get produced it seems to always be pilot error

 

[RoarRoar]

I’m sorry spend the 5 bucks if you are that paranoid. If you think the FAA is concerned that your mini is 252 1/2 grams and going to slap you with sanctions and red tape this hobby might not be for you. They have bigger fish to fry.

 

[vindibona1]

I’m sorry spend the 5 bucks if you are that paranoid. If you think the FAA is concerned that your mini is 252 1/2 grams and going to slap you with sanctions and red tape this hobby might not be for you. They have bigger fish to fry.

Its not just the US. Not so easy in Europe but they use the same <250g standard, but there are bigger hoops to jump through. Imagine if there were an exception to go up to 300g if the 50g difference is safety equipment? The prop guards, @40 grams spread any impact, provide shock absorption and prevent lacerations. Some math dude simply took the mass of the drone and calculated the force if dropped out of the sky without any other considerations.

 

[Artemis]

I’m sorry spend the 5 bucks if you are that paranoid. If you think the FAA is concerned that your mini is 252 1/2 grams and going to slap you with sanctions and red tape this hobby might not be for you. They have bigger fish to fry.

I think everyone should spend the 5, just makes sense.in the U.S….. I can’t speak for other places