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Low profile craft on the way?

Fearless Flight

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It seems to me that we are seeing the affects of wind on the 250g drones (MM) and how much of a problem it’s causing.
I’m thinking the manufacturers are going to change their design strategies and make them as low profile as possible to help combat these issues.
I also think they are going to have to rethink their strategy for allowing more angle of attack.
We don’t see sport drones having so many wind issues and many of them are even lighter.
 
I think the next step is going to be a quad-tilt-rotor... maybe even with lifting body shape and aero arms. They are already doing the tilt-rotor thing with racing quads.
 
I think the next step is going to be a quad-tilt-rotor... maybe even with lifting body shape and aero arms. They are already doing the tilt-rotor thing with racing quads.
You might be right. If they can do it and still make the weight without going even smaller in size.

it will be interesting to see what direction the industry goes for sure.
 
I think the next step is going to be a quad-tilt-rotor... maybe even with lifting body shape and aero arms. They are already doing the tilt-rotor thing with racing quads.
You have a link for these quads. Google doesn’t like my search word
 
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I think the sub 250g thing is a flash in the pan. The Mini has already shown they’re not practical because of the wind, and governments will change the laws on weight. It’s already happening here in Europe as from July any drone with a camera will need registration regardless of weight.
 
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I think the sub 250g thing is a fad. The Mini has already shown they’re not practical because of the wind, and governments will change the laws on weight. It’s already happening here in Europe as from July any drone with a camera will need registration regardless of weight.
Good point. It will definitely come down to legislation.
It will be interesting what that type of legislation has in new drone sales.
 
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Well having been an observer of this forum for a while now, this is the most interesting thread i've seen to date.

The MM is always gonna be a beginners tool; and although i've flown other - bigger craft, i love the MM.

Horses for courses as my Granny used to say. Much of the negatives i read on hear re the MM are, i feel, linked with a failure to recognise and fly within the capabilities of the MM and certainly outside the Mavic guidance.

Lots of MM "issues" could be avoided with a little preflight reading...... understanding and compliance... i feel.

Anyhow, this is a cool forward thinking thread, let's hope that Mavic take on board the sentiments of those posting above! plenty of great flying days ahead im sure only to be improved with good feedback . fly safe all!
 
Well having been an observer of this forum for a while now, this is the most interesting thread i've seen to date.

The MM is always gonna be a beginners tool; and although i've flown other - bigger craft, i love the MM.

Horses for courses as my Granny used to say. Much of the negatives i read on hear re the MM are, i feel, linked with a failure to recognise and fly within the capabilities of the MM and certainly outside the Mavic guidance.

Lots of MM "issues" could be avoided with a little preflight reading...... understanding and compliance... i feel.

Anyhow, this is a cool forward thinking thread, let's hope that Mavic take on board the sentiments of those posting above! plenty of great flying days ahead im sure only to be improved with good feedback . fly safe all!
Couldn't of said it better my self.
 
Low profile in our style of drone might only change the problem, perhaps more unstable in wind.
Catching the wind like a kite for instance.
I don't think much will help sub 250, it's just too light to be as safe as heavier aircraft I feel, this is the conclusion I've come to at least.

At the moment for travel the Mini has some appeal, if it wasn't for the various bugs we see in the crash section, and DJI addressed this with more urgency, then I'd probably have purchased one.

It seems possible alignment will happen in the coming years between various air authorities worldwide, it could eventually become a camera based rule like the UK / Euro is going, and make lightweight a non issue.

I don't think there are sports drones anywhere near the Mini weight.
Micros (tiny whoops) are commonly under 30g or so, certainly this crowd aim to trim even 2g with going lightweight frames.

Generally sports type FPV drones are around 350gm to 400gm without camera or battery, go pro session 5 type camera 75g, avg 4s battery 200g, so around 625g - 675g.
Some or the racing drones are lighter of course where they use more carbon fibre in frames etc, 180g to 220g plus battery 200g or slightly less, and often no go pro etc fitted on these, total around 400g.

The Spark is 300g ready to fly, looks ok for about same real flight time, but in a different league with power and ability.
 
Its not the shape, its the weight that why it just blows away. Example, take a golf ball, and a ball the exact same dimension as a gold ball but instead made out of styrofoam, now on a windy day toss them both in the air and see which one 'blows away'. same shape, different result.
 
I think the sub 250g thing is a flash in the pan. The Mini has already shown they’re not practical because of the wind, and governments will change the laws on weight. It’s already happening here in Europe as from July any drone with a camera will need registration regardless of weight.

I've been following the evolution of the drone industry intently for the last six years or so and I can tell you the weight classifications are most definitely not a flash in the pan. Drone regulations have been under development for the last ten years or so in consultations by several international organizations and multiple stakeholders, including Dji. The 250 gram number wasn't just picked out of the air. It's based on multiple studies and testing.

There are certain basic regulatory recommendations that came out of these consultations related to safety that are now being adopted by many countries but each country is also developing their own additional regs. Data privacy is a separate issue from safety that countries are dealing with individually or in the case of the EU, as a block. In Canada and the US for example, other than a generic mention of respecting privacy, it is not codified in their respective drone regulations. Instead, privacy enforcement, if any, is being left up to already existing legislation on the local and state or provincial level.

Bottom line is that there has already been hundreds of millions and years spent by multiple organizations and jurisdictions coming up with the regulations that are now being implemented in many countries so no, the 250g number is not a flash in the pan.
 
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