Mavic Mini Wind data VS Mavic 2 Pro - airdata

[chriscuk]

So I keep on seeing lots if people comment that the wind data calculated on airdata is based on the spark and it could be ~30% out so I flew the two drones at the same time over my driveway and tried to keep them in line with each other. With the ~30mph gust the mini did try and escape whilst the 2pro just hung on in there. The mini did also lose a bit of altitude compared the the 2pro.

The mini doesn't seem to have logged as many data points as the 2pro but I'll let the numbers speak for themselves...






The test wasn't over a very long period of time so it's hardly conclusive but I chickened out when i was getting blown towards a field.

As for the wind speeds being at different heights I get that BUT its down to the mini being a bit naff with its height data. They were both at pretty much 33m AGL but the mini decided it was a chunk lower. I had both drones facing each other and they were in the mid point of each others cameras for as much of it as i could control - apart from when the mini decided to chicken out and lose about 5m altitude all on its own.

 

[zeusfl]

In my opinion, they are pretty close. You will never see the exact same numbers. Even having both drones next to the other at the same time you will see the same number. It will be close but not the same. I guess the test was a success.

 

[chriscuk]

Yeah I never expected them to be identical but they are far closer than the "30% difference" I was expecting to see.
The little guy did well in the wind and if I'd have gone over to the field to fly first I'd have probably left it up there a bit longer.

I've only had the 2pro a week but it really does give you that extra sense of security in the wind. It just hung there like a rock on a bit of string whilst the mini was like a, well, less steady thing. The mini did well and only drifted off at the strongest of gusts and I was able to bring it back very easily.

If there was more than just the one of me I'd have probable have gone higher too but it was too risky trying to fly two drones at once deliberately in high wind.

The only reason I actually did it for as long as I did was the wind was blowing to the fields so if it did blow off course I could just crash land there.

 

[sar104]

Yeah I never expected them to be identical but they are far closer than the "30% difference" I was expecting to see.
The little guy did well in the wind and if I'd have gone over to the field to fly first I'd have probably left it up there a bit longer.

I've only had the 2pro a week but it really does give you that extra sense of security in the wind. It just hung there like a rock on a bit of string whilst the mini was like a, well, less steady thing. The mini did well and only drifted off at the strongest of gusts and I was able to bring it back very easily.

If there was more than just the one of me I'd have probable have gone higher too but it was too risky trying to fly two drones at once deliberately in high wind.

The only reason I actually did it for as long as I did was the wind was blowing to the fields so if it did blow off course I could just crash land there.

Actually I think that they indicate a discrepancy of more than 30%. If you compare the 8 - 15 m and 15 - 23 m wind speeds they are around 50% higher on the MM. I don't trust the highest values (~ 30 mph) for the Mini because it would not have been stable at that wind speed.

 

[chriscuk]

Sar, the values for height were wrong - on the mini or pro - If you just see them side by side and ignore the actual altitudes they're a lot closer this way. I had both up in the air and I tried to keep them mid/center in the camera.

Also at 30mph the mini DID blow off course and it couldn't maintain it's location. The max gust I was stood watching both views and you could see them level then the mini just zipped out of frame.

 

[BudWalker]

So I keep on seeing lots if people comment that the wind data calculated on airdata is based on the spark and it could be ~30% out so I flew the two drones at the same time over my driveway and tried to keep them in line with each other. With the ~30mph gust the mini did try and escape whilst the 2pro just hung on in there. The mini did also lose a bit of altitude compared the the 2pro.

The mini doesn't seem to have logged as many data points as the 2pro but I'll let the numbers speak for themselves...

View attachment 92420


View attachment 92421

The test wasn't over a very long period of time so it's hardly conclusive but I chickened out when i was getting blown towards a field.

As for the wind speeds being at different heights I get that BUT its down to the mini being a bit naff with its height data. They were both at pretty much 33m AGL but the mini decided it was a chunk lower. I had both drones facing each other and they were in the mid point of each others cameras for as much of it as i could control - apart from when the mini decided to chicken out and lose about 5m altitude all on its own.

You might interested in the wind data that the Mavic Mini produces. The data can be seen in the .DAT. Take a look here

Mavic Mini Wind Calcs

 

[sar104]

Sar, the values for height were wrong - on the mini or pro - If you just see them side by side and ignore the actual altitudes they're a lot closer this way. I had both up in the air and I tried to keep them mid/center in the camera.

Also at 30mph the mini DID blow off course and it couldn't maintain it's location. The max gust I was stood watching both views and you could see them level then the mini just zipped out of frame.

You need to look at the time-based wind map to determine that. There is no way to establish height as a function of time from the wind-height profile.

 

[chriscuk]

Annoyingly the time stamps are flight duration unless they log a UTC stamp too. I know I took off about 15-20 secs apart and the gusts occured at the same time in the flight less 15secs.

 

[sar104]

Annoyingly the time stamps are flight duration unless they log a UTC stamp too. I know I took off about 15-20 secs apart and the gusts occured at the same time in the flight less 15secs.

Take a look at the DAT file as suggested by @BudWalker to see how its wind values compare.

@BudWalker - have you compared the Mini DAT file wind data with AirData windspeeds?

 

[BudWalker]

Take a look at the DAT file as suggested by @BudWalker to see how its wind values compare.

@BudWalker - have you compared the Mini DAT file wind data with AirData windspeeds?

I've looked some. DatCon needs to do more before it's easy to compare the .DAT wind data against the values presented by AirData. E.g., a wind direction needs to be derived from g_status_wind_x and G_status_wind_y. But, there is general agreement between the two.

 

[sar104]

I've looked some. DatCon needs to do more before it's easy to compare the .DAT wind data against the values presented by AirData. E.g., a wind direction needs to be derived from g_status_wind_x and G_status_wind_y. But, there is general agreement between the two.

Wind direction = atan2(-G_status_wind_y, g_status_wind_x) should work nicely...

 

[BudWalker]

Wind direction = atan2(-G_status_wind_y, g_status_wind_x) should work nicely...

Yep, been doing that with my calculator. Just haven't gotten around to implementing it in DatCon.

 

[chriscuk]

I'll look at the DAT files later, just looking after the kids now they're home from school but adjusting for take off times I get these rough numbers. Sure, it needs more of a flight duration and more samples and maybe a few more drones for good measure.

1min ish - (mini) 11.52 VS 10.47 (m2p)
2min ish - (mini) 24.83 VS 22.41 (m2p)
3min ish - (mini) 29.73 VS 29.17 (m2p)

 

[BudWalker]

Wind direction = atan2(-G_status_wind_y, g_status_wind_x) should work nicely...

How about
Wind direction = atan2(G_status_wind_y, g_status_wind_x) instead?

 

[sar104]

How about
Wind direction = atan2(G_status_wind_y, g_status_wind_x) instead?

That's the direction that the wind is blowing to, but wind direction is always quoted as direction from which the wind is blowing, giving:

atan2(–g_status_wind_y, –g_status_wind_x)

 

[BudWalker]

That's the direction that the wind is blowing to, but wind direction is always quoted as direction from which the wind is blowing, giving:

atan2(–g_status_wind_y, –g_status_wind_x)

I continued this sub-thread over on
Mavic Mini Wind Calcs