Mavic in WIND; How does it compare to larger drones?

[KiterTodd]

I was wondering if the Mavic does better in wind because it is small and light,
or if larger drones do better because they have more powerful motors?

So, for comparison, if you have flown the Mavic in wind, and also something like a P3, P4 or 3DR; what's your take on wind performance?

I was out this weekend flying in 12-22 mph wind (according to a local wind meter). I think most of the time I was in the mid teens. I would regularly get high wind warnings on screen, but the Mavic did fine. It would hold station without a problem.

Landings were a little off in that it didn't seem as accurate as usual. In sport mode it would fly high 20s against the wind, and could reach 40mph with the wind. In normal mode it seemed to max out at 10-12mph when flying against the wind.

Afterward, a friend of mind was flying his 3DR Solo in 15-25 mph wind. I would say it was sustained at around 20 mph. His 3DR did fine. I asked him if he had any wind warnings, which he didn't, but I don't think the interface on that drone tells him. I kind of felt like that would have been too much wind for the Mavic, but I didn't put it up.

About a month ago I had the Mavic up in high 20s, and it didn't like it. I don't have the actual wind reading but the Mavic would not hold station when high gusts would come through. I was a little scared that the gusts would take it away so I kept that session very short.

Wondering what others feel the Mavic's usable wind range is, and how it compares to larger drones you've flown?

Thanks!

 

[CactusJackSlade]

I think it does just fine compared to my P4P. I will say that I've had my P4P up in higher winds than the Mavic, not because I did not think it could not handle it,but I just do not enjoy flying (if good video is my objective) in higher winds. I've had my P3P up in winds at a solid 25 with gusts to 30+

 

[Gerald Ellis]

Wondering what others feel the Mavic's usable wind range is, and how it compares to larger drones you've flown?

Thanks!

I think it is as good as the P3A or maybe slightly better. I do know that when flying slowly close to the ground and/or coming in for a landing the Mavic is much better at holding position in strong winds. Probably due to the increased satellite count and maybe the bottom sensors. I have flown a couple of flights with 12 MPH gusting to 20 MPH winds with the Mavic and it is surprisingly stable even when yawing fast. The P3A would move all over the place when yawing quickly. I don't make a habit of flying on real windy days though especially with Litchi missions far out where I can't really see how the wind is affecting it. The FPV screen is not a good way to judge how the wind is affecting the craft because of the gimbal. Maybe I'll try it one day with the gimbal turned off and see what it's doing up higher where the wind is probably stronger. I do have a weather station so check the wind before I go out.

 

[noka]

I flew the Mavic in 35 mph gusts and it was "managable" - Sport Mode of course. Video still was super smooth.

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[Alex_S]

We had a P3A and a Mavic up in the air on a beach with 18 to 22 knot winds. On the Mavic screen we had strong wind warnings. From the observation of both the P3 pilot and me the Mavic pilot it seemed the Mavic did slightly better in hover mode when it comes to position hold stability. However the quality of video from both drones were excellent despite the strong winds.

 

[rydfree]

The Mavic can "handle" 20 mph winds ok but it's all according to your definition of "handle ,lol . The gimbal does a great job of steadying the video so it's hard to tell what the Mavic is actually doing but it is exerting a lot of energy to stay put . Heavier aircraft almost always do better fighting wind .

 

[KiterTodd]

Good to hear that, for the most part, nobody is noting a dramatic difference between the drones. I chose the Mavic for it's portability, but I do want to film some wind sports from above as @noka did (thanks for sharing that.)

The Mavic can "handle" 20 mph winds ok but it's all according to your definition of "handle ,lol . The gimbal does a great job of steadying the video so it's hard to tell what the Mavic is actually doing but it is exerting a lot of energy to stay put . Heavier aircraft almost always do better fighting wind .

That's a good point. I was thinking the surface area of the larger drones would be a detriment, but you also have to take into account that a lighter craft will get tossed easier.

 

[Pablo]

Sport mode aside, I'd say it's a lot worse at handling windy conditions than my P3 was. Flick it over to Sport mode though and it cuts through the wind no problem.

 

[Malavic]

The Mavic can "handle" 20 mph winds ok but it's all according to your definition of "handle ,lol . The gimbal does a great job of steadying the video so it's hard to tell what the Mavic is actually doing but it is exerting a lot of energy to stay put . Heavier aircraft almost always do better fighting wind .

I know that I took off with my Mavic yesterday and while it was a little breezy on the ground, I didn't think much of it. I am on a mountain, such as they are in NW New Jersey, and I got up above the trees around 1500MSL(150AGL) and it was doing fine. I started heading NW and it's barely moving, creeping really, I thought something was broken...I flipped it into Sport and it moved ok. I turned it around it to return and immediately it shot to 41mph. I guess the moral of my story is that it's deceiving how well it fights the wind.

 

[KiterTodd]

Sport mode aside, I'd say it's a lot worse at handling windy conditions than my P3 was. Flick it over to Sport mode though and it cuts through the wind no problem.

Thanks for the reminder, I meant to ask this...

...so, I can see where Sport mode is going to help it go faster when you give it throttle, but does it impact it's ability to hold station?

What I mean is, the Mavic will apply whatever power is needed to attempt to hold a fixed GPS position. Is this autonomous action and the power required capped by Nomal/Sport mode limits, or will it apply as much as it can regardless?

The reason I ask is when you shift to Sport mode the priority is speed and then camera movements become jerky. So, it's good to have Sport mode when needed, but it's not ideal for filming.

 

[dmyers7]

Not mentioned here. A word of caution: If the GPS signal temporarily drops out like it has on one occasion for me and others on this forum, be ready to flying it manually because the position hold is going to stop working and it with fly away in the air mass that's carrying it at the speed of the wind. Wind is not blowing the Mavic, it's carrying the flying device with it and the Mavic has to fly In the opposite direction to hold it's position. If you don't have experience flying this bird in ATTI mode and no display (just in case that drops also) you could end up loosing it fast in these conditions. Also remember that the speed of the wind generally increases as you depart the earth because the friction across the ground and obstacles (trees and buildings) have less of an effect; meaning: the Mavic may seam fine flying against the wind close to the ground but runs out of capability as the wind speed increases the higher you go.

 

[dmyers7]

Wind warning banners are gone in the latest updates. Gives an audio que

 

[KiterTodd]

Wind warning banners are gone in the latest updates. Gives an audio que

550 or 600? You probably mean 600. I had it up yesterday and was still getting the wind banners.
I mean, I do like to know about. Never had an issue with the banners..

 

[dmyers7]

550; 600 just came out. Have not tried 600 yet.

Was flying in some crazy gusts over the weekend and got audio ques instead of the red banner.

I'm on iOS, what are you running?

 

[KiterTodd]

550

Well then that's odd. I flew 550 yesterday. Got the little purple wind warning pop-ups per usual.
I'll upload 600 tonight and see if I still get them next time I fly...

 

[newnan3]

I had some high winds recently and the MP struggled to move forward against it. I actually had to put it into Sport mode in order to get back to where I wanted. Was actually a pucker moment for a sec...