If only there was a little more weight allowance after 250g!

[vindibona1]

So near, but yet so far. I understand the calculations that some mathematician made to determine the 250g drone weight limit cutoff that so many countries have adopted. With just a little more weight leeway there would be SO much more flexibility without (IMO) sacrificing an immeasurable percent of safety. I feel fortunate that in the US all I have to do is spend $5 and 10 minutes of time and this becomes a non-issue. But not 100% of the time. I bring this up in light of the new US rules about some circumstances of flying over people that requires a drone to be under 250 grams with features that would prevent lacerations.

It's going to sleet here in a few minutes and so with not much to do between the holidays I thought I'd measure the weight of a reasonable abount of gear loaded on my Mini 2. In the photo below, the Mini 2 has 1) prop guards, 2) leg extensions, 3) lens hood, 4) female velcro on top bottom and rear to accept strobe lights.

How much do you think this loaded Mini weighs all these accessories mounted on it?

 

[Rchawks]

251 grams lol I bid §1.00

 

[MARK (LI)]

Probably over 275 grams

 

[vindibona1]

Probably over 275 grams

Perhaps... Be more specific in your guess, please.
I'll give you a little helper... The lens hood weighs 4.5 grams.

 

[MARK (LI)]

I would say 290 grams all together...with battery

 

[patc45 France]

Bonsoir
Certainement +ou - (300Gr.)

 

[Defens]

Not guessing, but I think I could see a market for helium-filled prop guards!

 

[BSauce955]

I gotta say, that looks like far more than a "reasonable" amount of gear. Looks like it'll greatly reduce the flight time in my opinion and also make a larger profile in the wind making flight less stable. I don't know what the propeller guards are for really other than protecting the propellers. I've never flown with them and find them cumbersome, unnecessary, and tbh, just ugly. The hood, I understand might be needed, as are the leg extensions but tbh, at 249g, there's not much you can add without going over the limit. My guess as to the weight would be 300g.

 

[Artemis]

It seems like I saw some prop guard that was like 6 g, that might keep you under, but you will have to lose the sunshade and leg extensions…. I did not know about the new rule.. you have a link? Last thing I read was no flyovers period

 

[vindibona1]

Here is another helper- The velcro weighs 2 grams.

 

[patc45 France]

Bonsoir
En détail pare-soleil 4G., Pied Pgytech 17G. protèges hélices 36G., Velcro 3G. total 60G. plus le poids du mini 2 237G = 297G.

 

[vindibona1]

Bonsoir
En détail pare-soleil 4G., Pied Pgytech 17G. protèges hélices 36G., Velcro 3G. total 60G. plus le poids du mini 2 237G = 297G.

Tu es très proche, mon ami. Sans le velcro, trois cents grammes. Je n'ai intentionnellement pas utilisé de chiffres pour maintenir le mystère pour les autres.

 

[SethB]

Well over 250g. That’s all that matters. It won’t be “close enough” to claim ignorance of its weight.

1) Must be registered and labeled with its number.
2) Does not qualify as a Category 1 drone for operations over people, being a) well over 250g, and b) those are pretty skimpy propellor guards; would they actually prevent lacerations as required for OOP?

…I did not know about the new rule.. you have a link? Last thing I read was no flyovers period

This is one of the regulatory changes that came into effect in April 2021, there are (kind of) several ways to legally fly over people.

“Kind of” because beyond 250g the regs require manufacturer certification of limits potential kinetic energy upon impact AND something to prevent lacerations (prop guard, auto stop?).

AND, no manufacturer YET has a certified drone. Although Virginia Tech just proposed themselves as a testing center for manufacturer certification, so there is movement.

Many toy drones can be flown over people at under 250g and non-lacerating. Maybe a Tello?

To do this with a Mini 2 requires a hard-to-get resource. This has been written up by FAA (link), by Pilot Institute (link), and by DSPA (link).

I asked the question a couple months ago: What would you do if you *could* legally fly over people?

Operations Over People - What would you do (if you could)?

There are a few obstacles before we get to legal operations over people. Category 1 drones (under .55 lbs, don’t lacerate skin) are difficult to come by in a useful form, and Category 2 and 3 drones won’t be with us until manufacturers apply to FAA and Remote ID is up. (See Pilot Institute’s...

mavicpilots.com

I’d still be very interested in any replies to that thread!

 

[tscheffel]

If the gimble protector is 4.5g, I'm guessing the propeller guards are maybe 4 times that (18g). Plus the stated 2g for the Velcro and maybe 3g for the legs? Thus I'm guessing at most it now weighs 276.5 grams, probably less. Not a big deal, right?

I received a DJI Mini SE for Christmas from my workplace but have not flown it yet (due to bad weather here in northern IL). I have already registered it with the FAA since I knew I'd be adding a gimble protector and a landing skid or legs. I also sent off for the free registration stickers from pilotinstitute.com. I should be good to go.

 

[Artemis]

If the gimble protector is 4.5g, I'm guessing the propeller guards are maybe 4 times that (18g). Plus the stated 2g for the Velcro and maybe 3g for the legs? Thus I'm guessing at most it now weighs 276.5 grams, probably less. Not a big deal, right?

I received a DJI Mini SE for Christmas from my workplace but have not flown it yet (due to bad weather here in northern IL). I have already registered it with the FAA since I knew I'd be adding a gimble protector and a landing skid or legs. I also sent off for the free registration stickers from pilotinstitute.com. I should be good to go.

I got my pilot institute stickers in the mail yesterday, a very nice service, since I am most Likely a few grams over weight with the lights and sunshade so glad to have everything legal although I think the possibility of ever being asked are probably zero where I fly

 

[Artemis]

Btw, I probably will get in the habit of turning on my strobes during the day…. Was flying close range with the backdrop of leave less trees and the drone just disappeared…. Blended right in, I found that unnerving and had to check the video feed to ensure I knew where it was

 

[tscheffel]

Likely a few grams over weight with the lights and sunshade

I assume the sunshade is for your controller and not the drone itself (and therefore doesn't add to the drone's weight), right? Does the sunshade help a lot in bright sun?

 

[Artemis]

I assume the sunshade is for your controller and not the drone itself (and therefore doesn't add to the drone's weight), right? Does the sunshade help a lot in bright sun?

No I have a gimbal sunshade on the drone and that’s where I mounted my nav lights, so approx 11 to 12g total on front then I have another strobe mounted on the battery door…. So pushing 15 to 16g… however the drone seems to be handling it fine, it’s not entering payload mode…. Although I know I’m close, I doubt I could add anything else, a friend is sending me some skins and it’s possible that will be too much…. I tried to research the ultimate number for the mini 2…. But it’s a little sketchy…. About all you can say is 20g+ will get you kicked in to payload mode and under 20 probably won’t…if the skins end up being an issue then I’ll just peel them back off

 

[Deleted member 103366]

If the mass limitations were different I think it is likely that the drone would have been designed differently, i.e. the drone was designed to comply with the laws.

 

[Artemis]

If the mass limitations were different I think it is likely that the drone would have been designed differently, i.e. the drone was designed to comply with the laws.

I agree, I’m just thankful the mini 2 is able to handle a few accessories before it changes to payload mode, would I have added more? Probably haha…. I’d have it looking like a starship eventually with all kinds of stuff mounted on it