Is the Mini 5 Pro a sub-250g drone?

[mavic3usa]

What a blunder; this is probably going to be a disaster.

Why can't DJI have a regular successful professional launch without having to create an issue and I'm not talking about failure to launch in the US.

There are numerous reports of the drone weight coming in over 250g on the scales. This is sorta backed up by the DJI published specs. Over the years, we had been hoping the Mini drones would come *down* in weight, not go up.

Personally for me, this is not a problem. For two reasons: I register all my drones and I personally don't subscribe to the paranoia thought that a couple of g's here or there amounts to a massive violation.

However, this is going to cause some serious problems for those that are scared of their governments, those who are super picky and prefer to stick to the absolute letter of the law, those who depend on proper and accurate government labels and designations, anyone who wants to add *any* accessory to their drone like a filter, people who travel with their drone, and anyone (including the police) who has a cheap scale.

The internet is blowing up over this. At a minimum, this is a total distraction and it's self-inflicted and on day 1, sadly I am calling this a train-wreck happening in slow motion. DJI is post my opinion on this topic too early? Is this a nothing burger? I hope so.

Uggh!

 

[hansenn]

Lol, totally agree.

 

[mavic3usa]

Borrowing this picture from the internet. I know there are some people who will absolutely return this drone and ask for another one or get a refund. Either that or they can start drilling holes.

 

[MS Coast]

I read the news today. I really wish this issue was the primary blip on the radar of problems. The sky may be falling, but not over a little drone with a possible four gram weight difficulty.

What a blunder; this is probably going to be a disaster.

Hurricanes and tornados are disasters.

There are numerous reports of the drone weight coming in over 250g on the scales. This is sorta backed up by the DJI published specs.

No "sorta" about it. The DJI specs say, '“Product weight may vary due to differences in batch materials and other factors. The actual weight is approximately 249.9 g ± 4 g and is subject to the actual product.”

However, this is going to cause some serious problems for those that are scared of their governments, those who are super picky and prefer to stick to the absolute letter of the law, those who depend on proper and accurate government labels and designations,

Might cause some largely unjustified personal anxiety among a few people, perhaps.

anyone who wants to add *any* accessory to their drone like a filter, people who travel with their drone,

That's been true for previous Mini models. It's nothing new and people have been dealing with it just fine.

and anyone (including the police) who has a cheap scale.

Can anyone cite an instance of a law enforcement officer weighing a drone? Or even carrying a scale? Are we really envisioning meddlesome ladies equipped with little scales searching for overweight drones?

The internet is blowing up over this.

Indeed, I found two articles.

sadly I am calling this a train-wreck happening in slow motion.

Not surprised.

DJI is post my opinion on this topic too early? Is this a nothing burger?

Yep.

 

[UAV Ernst]

Borrowing this picture from the internet. I know there are some people who will absolutely return this drone and ask for another one or get a refund. Either that or they can start drilling holes.

View attachment 185231

I might wonder how accurate and repeatable the scale is, especially when subtracting the pepper grinder. Why not fold the arms and set the Mini 5 Pro upright? 1.2 grams is such a tiny difference—4/100 of an ounce.

 

[mavic3usa]

I might wonder how accurate and repeatable the scale is, especially when subtracting the pepper grinder. Why not fold the arms and set the Mini 5 Pro upright? 1.2 grams is such a tiny difference—4/100 of an ounce.

Perhaps there are differences.
My point is last year, no one wanted to atone for those differences.
The overriding sentiment was don't attach the [accessory] because it weighs 3.2g and that puts you 0.2g over so don't risk it. Has that changed? Are we now ok with a little overage?

 

[UAVquadman]

Borrowing this picture from the internet. I know there are some people who will absolutely return this drone and ask for another one or get a refund. Either that or they can start drilling holes.

View attachment 185231

drill some holes in it! LOL or you could sand it down a little.

 

[mavic3usa]

Well, that's interesting. The lightweight standard batteries do not have the traditional sub-250g marking on them.

But apparently the M5P will accept M4P and M3P batteries of all types.

I guess this isn't being actively advertised or marketed as a sub-250g drone?

Does anyone know if RID is ON full-time? There's a DoC.

https://store.dji.com/ca/product/dji-mini-5-pro-intelligent-flight-battery?vid=199792

(Change your dji.com store to Canada/$USD)

 

[groggysbird]

Well, that's interesting. The lightweight standard batteries do not have the traditional sub-250g marking on them.

But apparently the M5P will accept M4P and M3P batteries of all types.

I guess this isn't being actively advertised or marketed as a sub-250g drone?

Does anyone know if RID is ON full-time? There's a DoC.

https://store.dji.com/ca/product/dji-mini-5-pro-intelligent-flight-battery?vid=199792

(Change your dji.com store to Canada/$USD)

View attachment 185232

Seen elsewhere that it weighs 249.9 gram's, here's story saying plus or minus another 4grams

Does DJI Mini 5 Pro drone actually weigh under 250 grams?

Is the DJI Mini 5 Pro really under 250 grams? Specs suggest some units may exceed the threshold, creating fresh challenges for drone pilots.

dronedj.com

 

[mavic3usa]

Seen elsewhere that it weighs 249.9 gram's, here's story saying plus or minus another 4grams

Does DJI Mini 5 Pro drone actually weigh under 250 grams?

Is the DJI Mini 5 Pro really under 250 grams? Specs suggest some units may exceed the threshold, creating fresh challenges for drone pilots.

dronedj.com

FACTS: "....And that small change could cause big headaches for recreational pilots worldwide."

Thanks for posting this.

 

[MS Coast]

Borrowing this picture from the internet. I know there are some people who will absolutely return this drone and ask for another one or get a refund.

What grounds would there be for a return? DJI specs say that it weighs 499.9 grams +/- 4 grams. At 251.2, it's within the advertised specs. No complaint exists.

IF (And that's a big if.) there was indeed a police officer who weighed a drone at 251.2 grams and wanted to prosecute the pilot, he'd be laughed out of the station if his supervisor was on the ball and would certainly be laughed out of a courtroom for asserting that his scale was accurate to 1.2 parts out of 250, or 0.48%.

I'll ask again if anyone has ever heard of a law enforcement officer approaching a drone pilot and asking or demanding to weigh their drone. That's about as real as saying that someone could drain the battery and reduce the weight.

 

[mavic3usa]

What grounds would there be for a return? DJI specs say that it weighs 499.9 grams +/- 4 grams. At 251.2, it's within the advertised specs. No complaint exists.

I wouldn't return it because I don't care but I would imagine there are people who would return it because they are not comfortable with flying an unregistered drone over the 250g limit. You don't need a complaint to return a problem, people like to feel good about their purchase and if they don't, they have the option to return it (for whatever reason). Especially if the terms permit them to do this. The problem is there are units that are under 250g and the buyer may feel like they should have received one of those. I've already seen people claim if their unit is over weight, they'll return it but this is mostly from people in other countries. Perhaps they have insurance concerns or they have questions about the C0 label, etc. Maybe they want to take their Mini when they frequently travel to the US and as a foreigner, they don't want to go thru the hassle. If you need or want more information on that sentiment, feel free to reach out to them.