Question about Flying in Winds
- Thread starter TexasStar15
- Start date
I came to California after Living in West Texas I don't miss the wind and the Dust You are getting pretty close with those wind speeds Not serious wind BUT You will burn thru the batteries faster Don't forget the Charger.
John, as a rule of thumb, I don't fly when winds are over 15 mph. However, I know the Air 3 can handle it, I just don't chance it. If you do, I would be very careful and keep the distance as short as possible.
You should be fine with winds <20 mph if you're careful. Be aware of the wind direction and try to make your flights upwind of your home point. Be mindful of the battery level and don't let the drone get so far downwind that you have difficulty returning. And be aware of locally higher windspeeds around objects like buildings and significant landforms.
Look into using the attitude indicator to understand how the drone is responding to wind.
Look into using the attitude indicator to understand how the drone is responding to wind.
That's probably going to touch off some opinionated discussion. Here's my contribution.
Performance in wind is a matter of not only weight, but power, top speed attainable, top speed allowed by the control system, tilt and pitch range allowed by the control system, and physical form factors. Both drones are perfectly adequate for flying in wind conditions that a reasonable person would want to fly in.
With respect to stability for camera work, turbulence is a far greater concern than wind speed. Nice steady laminar airflow isn't a big problem.
My rule of thumb is if my gimble cant keep up its to much wind... Air3 is a beast and wind isnt going to take it down... Now just make sure you can get back with battery life and if your trying to fly in between things then that's a different game cause it can get blown around some and you don't want to clip a tree branch.
Just be aware that wind speed generally increases with altitude, so, if you encounter excessive winds, flying lower will inevitably reduce the wind speed. Those forecasted wind speeds are at ground level. Winds at 100 or 200 feet AGL will be faster! If your drone is losing headway into the wind, pop it into Sport mode and fly lower.
I was reading through to see if anyone made this point. This’ll get you out of a lot of trouble.
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2018
- Messages
- 8,101
- Reactions
- 13,287
- Age
- 54
There is some great advice , but one thing you want to be aware of is a remote landing spot , this will help a lot with Panic if you get caught up on a low battery. Sometimes just being aware that you have one is comforting .
I also would on a very windy day 20/25 mph take your drone up in a hover position about 10 ft and watch and listen to the drone so you gain some confidence in how it reacts . Prepare for a constant strong wind warning for the entire flight.
We have found in Extreme winds that taking off and landing is really the hardest part of the flight. Strong Gusts can whip your drone around so your take off area is critical as is the Landing .
Panic will cause you to fly the entire flight in Sport mode , you only really need that in the head wind , this will help you save your battery an allow for some nice cinematic footage at the same time.
Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain, Negotiate Strong Winds and Land on the Water.
I also would on a very windy day 20/25 mph take your drone up in a hover position about 10 ft and watch and listen to the drone so you gain some confidence in how it reacts . Prepare for a constant strong wind warning for the entire flight.
We have found in Extreme winds that taking off and landing is really the hardest part of the flight. Strong Gusts can whip your drone around so your take off area is critical as is the Landing .
Panic will cause you to fly the entire flight in Sport mode , you only really need that in the head wind , this will help you save your battery an allow for some nice cinematic footage at the same time.
Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain, Negotiate Strong Winds and Land on the Water.
Last edited:
I can't give you advice on your Air 3, but I can tell you that these drones will handle more than you would think. I fly an I2 and a Mavic 3 . Just got back from an oilfield assignment in far West Texas and winds were anywhere from 20 to 55 mph, the Mavic 3 handled them all. Battery consumption decreases as the winds ramp up and you have to be cognizant of what the wind direction is when you are bringing it back to you, but I would think that you'll be good in the 20-25 range, probably wouldn't push it beyond that.
Man, and once you get up around 4,000 feet, it gets really challenging.
- Joined
- Feb 8, 2018
- Messages
- 8,101
- Reactions
- 13,287
- Age
- 54
Now i know why DJI has the Alt limit , and that jet stream is no joke.
My dream of going to the moon with my drone shattered.
Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water,
My dream of going to the moon with my drone shattered.
Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water,
Preplanning multiple dry ditch landing spots is essential when range testing or when you have flown too far away because conditions have suddenly changed and your expected tailwind is now a headwind, especially when flying over water. Any port in a storm, as they say!
What are your feelings about the mini 4 pro? I will be attending the solar eclipse in Texas, south of Waco is the plan. My plan is to go up to about <400ft for about 8 minutes, straight overhead, then rtn to home, IOW straight up then straight down, no distance travel at all and with the extended battery. What would you think are the wind considerations in this case? PS, new pilot.
Thanks
Thanks
Winds do tend to increase with Altitude but also with direction ! In the Northern Hemisphere the winds will turn clockwise so surface you may have a wind of 270/10 Kts while higher up it could be 290 / 15 Kts
Temp drops roughly 2 deg C per 1000 feet and that is a consideration on battery life.
Finally TAS increases with altitude so although the drone may fly at 50 mph at Sea level, At 7000 feet it could be 56 mph TAS
That should be just fine. It’s not going to blow away. If you get it up 200 or 300 feet and it can’t hold a hover, which is unlikely, you might stop at those altitudes. Otherwise, go for it!
The Mini 4 Pro doesn’t have the air resistance of the Air 3, but I have seen my Air 3 put itself at basically a 45° angle to hold its hover in a hella wind.
Similar threads
DJI Drone Deals
1. Mini 2
2. Mini 3 Pro
3. Mini 4 Pro
4. Air 2s
5. Air 3
6. Avata 2
7. Mavic 3 Pro
8. Mavic 3 Classic
2. Mini 3 Pro
3. Mini 4 Pro
4. Air 2s
5. Air 3
6. Avata 2
7. Mavic 3 Pro
8. Mavic 3 Classic
New Threads
-
Mini 2 St Anne's church in Cork City, Ireland- Started by FlyingDutchman90
- Replies: 0
-
-
-
-
3 Arkutino beach, Ropotamo river and biggest sand dune
- Started by alex_markov
- Replies: 0
Forum statistics
