Trusting in UAV Forecast , Windy etc

[Gkinghrn]

As a relative newbie to this hobby I’ve had a few flights out always check conditions before I decide to fly and check the various apps etc ....

So today as usual got up , looked out the window , lovely sunny day couldn’t see any wind blowing bushes etc so ventured forth .

Got out to where I was going ...rechecked all my apps for wind speed but although they all said it was Good to fly it didn’t feel like it was good to fly with a breeze blowing ...

I decided on a whim to just see if the mini would be ok in the breeze so fired it up , put it 6ft above the ground and watched as it slowly blew downwind .... So my gut instincts were right and the apps were wrong .....

Moral of the story is if it feels to windy to fly it is too windy to fly I think and treat the data from the apps with some caution ...

 

[Bosco Bear]

As a relative newbie to this hobby I’ve had a few flights out always check conditions before I decide to fly and check the various apps etc ....

So today as usual got up , looked out the window , lovely sunny day couldn’t see any wind blowing bushes etc so ventured forth .

Got out to where I was going ...rechecked all my apps for wind speed but although they all said it was Good to fly it didn’t feel like it was good to fly with a breeze blowing ...

I decided on a whim to just see if the mini would be ok in the breeze so fired it up , put it 6ft above the ground and watched as it slowly blew downwind .... So my gut instincts were right and the apps were wrong .....

Moral of the story is if it feels to windy to fly it is too windy to fly I think and treat the data from the apps with some caution ...

The wind can change a lot depending on your exact location within the town, neighbourhood, etc. The flag on our front lawn can be hanging dead still, but if I go down the street a few hundred feet to the lake it can be very brisk. Another big variable is the difference in wind speed between ground level and a couple hundred feet in the air. If I decide that it's safe to fly, I watch very closely and usually head for home as soon as the app gives me the warning.

 

[old man mavic]

the app is produced to give an overview of what many things are going on and i have found the wind speed reading is really a forecast,its not an accurate representation of exactly what is happening where you are,i have flown many times where the wind has changed direction and velocity while i have been in the air ,there are many forces that influence the wind and you just have to make the decision to fly or not based on your experience

 

[snapdog]

I still use one of these along with the UAV Forecast. Living near the ocean, the wind can vary greatly.
Ambient Weather WM-2 Handheld Weather Meter w/Windspeed

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[gnirtS]

The apps are a coarse area overview and nothing more.
They cant give you local winds on the ground or at altitude and have no idea about terrain modifiers etc.
The only real way to test is to take off and look at the roll/pitch and flying in different directions to see max speed. That or put it in ATTI mode.
Ground based instruments are generally useless the second you get above a few tens of feet in height.

 

[snapdog]

Great suggestion. I use my handheld wind meter and factor that into the UAV data. This way I can get a better feel of actual location windspeed versus UAV before I fly. Then I hover at about 30 ft. and see how steady my drone is holding.

 

[OurAngryBadger]

The apps only can get actual wind speed at 33ft and then, that's not at your actual location, it's at nearest airport typically. Wind can vary and be affected by tall buildings, trees, hills, etc.

To get wind speed at altitude they convert the 33ft ht value using log law, which is fairly accurate but still only a guess.

UAV forecast type apps are great to determine if it's a good day to go out and fly, but you should still use your best judgment at your actual takeoff location for safety.

 

[dronerdave]

An app doesn't know what aircraft you fly. For instance in higher winds a Mavic Mini handles a bit different than a Phantom. I only use wind apps as a guideline. Most are off +/- to some point but can give you an idea what you might actually encounter. I notice different areas usually have their own characteristics depending on the weathers high/low pressures as well as the terrain. In my part of California's central valley, the predominant winds blow from the northwest to southeast during good weather and just the opposite when a low pressure moves through. At one lake I fly at, during good weather the winds generally move up the canyon until about 11am, then reverse for the rest of day. I rely more on knowing the area than an app. If I do see the app showing excessive winds, at least I figure it might be too much for my likes and would probably not fly.

 

[Guitarzan]

UAV forecast type apps are great to determine if it's a good day to go out and fly, but you should still use your best judgment at your actual takeoff location for safety.

This!

 

[chiangmaicharlies]

The data supplied on UAV Forecast is certainly useful, always taking into account additional data and your own common sense, where you are.

What gets me is the advice at the top. "Good to fly" or "Not good to fly". I would have far more faith in the app if it told me why it's 'good' or 'not good'. Sometimes I appraise the data and it looks fine, but the app says 'no', other times, the data looks not nearly so good, but the app says 'yes'.

Any comments?

 

[Meta4]

Moral of the story is if it feels to windy to fly it is too windy to fly I think and treat the data from the apps with some caution ...

A forecast is just a forecast and there are lots of reasons why it might not reflect the actual conditions where you fly.

What gets me is the advice at the top. "Good to fly" or "Not good to fly". I would have far more faith in the app if it told me why it's 'good' or 'not good'.
Sometimes I appraise the data and it looks fine, but the app says 'no', other times, the data looks not nearly so good, but the app says 'yes'.

The app bases it's Yes/No on default values that aren't necessarily very good.
You can change them to suit and get a different answer.
Some of the thing it adds into the mix are completely irrelevant, like cloud cover, number of satellites or K-index.

 

[chiangmaicharlies]

A forecast is just a forecast and there are lots of reasons why it might not reflect the actual conditions where you fly.

The app bases it's Yes/No on default values that aren't necessarily very good.
You can change them to suit and get a different answer.
Some of the thing it adds into the mix are completely irrelevant, like cloud cover, number of satellites or K-index.

Thanks Meta4 - a good suggestion about changing the defaults - but I have to admit to LOL - imagining myself changing defaults until I got the answer I wanted !!

 

[BigJack73]

I have the opposite experience. The app says its too windy to fly but I feel it is not. I know the wind speed on the ground is usually lower than at altitude but I usually try to fly and see how it behaves.

 

[VenomXts]

One of the driving reasons I went from a mini to a air2 is I stopped caring as much about wind with it.

This may not be a option for you but I echo above the apps are just forecast apps. You really need to look outside and if your lucky judge by trees etc. of the conditions.

Now if im too lazy to even look out a window (been prone to do that) its a great tool to see if I want to even check lol.