the biggest problem with adding lights to the
Mini 2, or any 250g drone for that matter, is the weight of the lights plus where do you actually put them, without compromising the lower sensors ,or the GPS module on the top ,and also the impact that fitting them could have on flight time and performance
it states in the new CAA cap 1789 that from the 22nd July 2022, that in order to fly a drone at night then it will have to have a green flashing light fitted to the top
There is a lot to consider. More things to deal with in the UK than in the states. Let's assume that almost automatically you're going to be over the 250g classification. If that isn't an issue, then some of it has to deal with how powerful the drone is because obviously the motors will have to compensate for more weight how ever heavy or light. But having said that, a
Mini 2 does pretty well with strobes if you choose the right ones.
On my
Mini 2 I will typically, during the day fly with one strobe on the bottom, a Firehouse ARC II or ARC V and a red and green strobe, either mounted on the front arms or front and back of the
Mini 2. On the
Mini 2 the R/G strobes are small, about 4g each. The ARC II is about 8g and the ARC V 13g. At night I'll also add and ARC V to the top (clear... thought Firehouse makes a green one but unsure if Firehouse is available in the UK).
Below is are images of how I set up the strobes on my
Mavic 2 Pro for night flying. During the day I do not use a strobe on top. Also I've attached images of different strobe configurations on my Mini. Again on the Mini I often do R/G front and back, sometimes using the "headlight" attachment on the front for red (for better orientation.
I would imagine that the additional weight cuts my flight time but I don't do range tests and really don't time my flights. But one would think that the bigger the drone the better it handles the small extra weight of the strobes. I really haven't experienced any GPS issues. And, as it can be seen, I attach the bottom strobes clear of sensors and vents.
Edit: One more thing... On some drones (i.e. Mini) to mount a strobe on the bottom would probably require leg extensions. This could definitely impact the 250g limit, though one ARC II or a couple smaller strobes would keep you under 250g. The leg extensions themselves could potentially blow past 250g. No big deal in the US, but EU and UK another rules standard.
Hi all.
