What drone for fighting wind?

[slozukimc]

What drone do I need to fight the wind where I live? It never quits! 14mph steady and 32mph gusts today. Pretty much the norm.

Mike

 

[BigAl07]

14mph isn't bad with some models out there but that 32mph gust is asking for problems and a very UN-FUN flight. Sometimes it's just better to no fly and not risk your equipment.

 

[slozukimc]

14mph isn't bad with some models out there but that 32mph gust is asking for problems and a very UN-FUN flight. Sometimes it's just better to no fly and not risk your equipment.

Only problem is that if I wait for good weather here I will never fly. Where I am the wind is rarely much less than it is today.

Mike

 

[db4476]

Only problem is that if I wait for good weather here I will never fly. Where I am the wind is rarely much less than it is today.

Mike

In that case, a bigger drone is required, so forget the mini's. Air 2, Air 2s or the Mavic 3. Problems increase with wind speed, requiring greater skills and caution during flights.

Cheers!

 

[Howard70]

I fly three drones - Mini 2, Air 2 and Mavic 3. The Mini 2 can fly in some winds, but isn't as stable as the other two and battery life is very limiting if fighting winds. My Air 2 does OK, but not as well as my Mavic 3. I think the larger rotors, more powerful motors and greater battery life give the Mavic 3 a serious advantage.

If you do fly in windy conditions a couple of thoughts:
1. it can be helpful to fly upwind outbound so that your drone returns downwind, possibly giving you a better chance of getting back to home point before the battery gets too low.

2. Watch out for topographic features that funnel winds (valleys, passes, canyons) or cause uplifts (ridges. exposed mountains) as winds altered by them can simply overpower your drone preventing it from reaching you or avoiding a crash.

3. Starting each flight with a fully charged battery can also provide a small extra cushion of time if things get tricky.

4. Consider paying extra attention to keeping within line of sight and having some alternative landing spots in mind just in case!

I've crashed one drone (my first Air 2) and that happened when winds came up while I was shooting panoramas at sunset. I wanted one more shot... Made it back to home point OK in 25 mph steady wind but as I was landing a strong gust blew my unsecured landing pad into the air and swatted the drone out of the sky like a pesky mosquito when she was only 5' off the ground. Winds bring surprises!

Added in edit - Oh yeah - If you get a DJI drone consider investing in DJI Care.....

Howard

 

[Deleted member 103366]

1. it can be helpful to fly upwind outbound so that your drone returns downwind, possibly

case in point of what NOT to do is this one

 

[WyomingCB]

Only problem is that if I wait for good weather here I will never fly. Where I am the wind is rarely much less than it is today.

Mike

We're very much in the same boat.
Wait for weather to cooperate and we'd never get any air time.
Anything under 10 mph, I consider CALM and that rarely happens. We had high wind warnings and gusts over 70 mph just a couple of days ago. Tomorrow afternoon is supposedly 15 mph, gusting to 30. Friday afternoon supposedly 25 mph, gusting to 50. It's nice today except light snow, cloudy with fog, and a balmy high of 5° F. HaHa.

 

[PHZ]

14mph isn't bad with some models out there but that 32mph gust is asking for problems and a very UN-FUN flight. Sometimes it's just better to no fly and not risk your equipment.

An Inspire 2 is the drone you are asking for. A rock star in the wind.

 

[BigAl07]

An Inspire 2 is the drone you are asking for. A rock star in the wind.

I wasn't asking I was replying to the OP

 

[Bebopperoo]

Not even a competition. The DJI fpv is your only, and by far your best choice. Handles winds up to 130kph (manual mode), and will auto land for you if the wind is too strong.
Few pleasures in life like floating in the hurricanes, or using a100kph wind as a tailwind to experience 240kph speeds.
This is not only made for wind, but fantastic to fly in all conditions.

 

[slozukimc]

Not even a competition. The DJI fpv is your only, and by far your best choice. Handles winds up to 130kph (manual mode), and will auto land for you if the wind is too strong.
Few pleasures in life like floating in the hurricanes, or using a100kph wind as a tailwind to experience 240kph speeds.
This is not only made for wind, but fantastic to fly in all conditions.

I honestly never gave the FPV a thought in that aspect. You make very good points. A drone designed to go 90mph is certainly going to handle wind well. I have homebuilt fpv’s but none with the cool dji features I like. Been looking into a Flamewheel F550 hexacopter……..

Mike

 

[slozukimc]

Not even a competition. The DJI fpv is your only, and by far your best choice. Handles winds up to 130kph (manual mode), and will auto land for you if the wind is too strong.
Few pleasures in life like floating in the hurricanes, or using a100kph wind as a tailwind to experience 240kph speeds.
This is not only made for wind, but fantastic to fly in all conditions.

About the FPV. Is there a way to use it with an external display instead of the goggles?

 

[Arnold LeVine]

Ken Heron posted an interesting youtube video on this subject

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

Another option is the Yuneec Typhoon H Plus. This Hexcopter is very stable and handles wind well. I have flown commercial jobs in 38mph winds with gusts to 45mph. Although these wind speeds are not desirable, when needed this drone can handle it.

 

[surfbird]

About the FPV. Is there a way to use it with an external display instead of the goggles?

yes it is. There is some hack for it, without osd, and you still need the goggles.

FPV can handle wind very well, but to get any useable footage you must fly in acro, since there is no roll stabilization on the gimbal. If you not flying in acro, you will be grossly disappointed!!

I would go with a mavic2 or 3, hack the attitude parameters. (and atti-mode)
I've flown in 20m/s, but you have plan your flight very very well. Reminds me of skydiving landings in high wind .

The max speed if mavic2 is 22m/s in 40degrees attitude. You can't fly in more than that, I would say. The mavic3 is probably 1-2m/s more

An example, Mavic2. 15m/s. The start of the clip is flown downwind in 30m/s in atti-mode (no speed-limit). It hardly moves into the wind though, took >5min to get there...

 

[Crouching Leopard]

Not even a competition. The DJI fpv is your only, and by far your best choice. Handles winds up to 130kph (manual mode), and will auto land for you if the wind is too strong.
Few pleasures in life like floating in the hurricanes, or using a100kph wind as a tailwind to experience 240kph speeds.
This is not only made for wind, but fantastic to fly in all conditions.

Interesting wind test video for the DJI FPV. Mine has struggled to get back in windy conditions when the battery gets below around 25%.

Max Wind Speed Resistance
39-49 kph (25-31 mph)

Also, its lack of horizontal gimbal restricts its video stability to vertical only, with about 10 degrees of electronic horizontal stabilization. See in the video how the image is all over the place. I agree that its an exhilarating drone to fly but not for the inexperienced or faint hearted.

I would say the M2 pro would be a good starter or M3 if you have the cash.

 

[Bebopperoo]

This video is precisely how not to fly in wind, especially the end, if you can watch that far (i am being nice).
Normal mode and sports mode have no place in windy conditions, unless you can't fly this drone properly yet. The altitude hold and gps stabilization mean the drone is constantly fighting the wind pointlessly, and the battery drains extremely quickly, while the pilot experiences very little of the actual floating sensation.
Use n mode to get airborne and s mode to land. Switch to manual asap . Once there, use your momentum to descend and rev just enough to stay on the currents.
Manual enables you to go with the wind, or against it, while being part of the air currents.
High wind and gps/altitude hold don't go well together, manual mode was made for wind, and nowadays instead of not flying if the wind is over 15mph, nowadays at least 15mph is a prerequisite.

 

[Bebopperoo]

Plus, u get 40 percent more speed and power in manual mode.. limited only by your imagination (u can use that DJI)

 

[Crouching Leopard]

This video is precisely how not to fly in wind, especially the end, if you can watch that far (i am being nice).
Normal mode and sports mode have no place in windy conditions, unless you can't fly this drone properly yet. The altitude hold and gps stabilization mean the drone is constantly fighting the wind pointlessly, and the battery drains extremely quickly, while the pilot experiences very little of the actual floating sensation.
Use n mode to get airborne and s mode to land. Switch to manual asap . Once there, use your momentum to descend and rev just enough to stay on the currents.
Manual enables you to go with the wind, or against it, while being part of the air currents.
High wind and gps/altitude hold don't go well together, manual mode was made for wind, and nowadays instead of not flying if the wind is over 15mph, nowadays at least 15mph is a prerequisite.

Thats why I said this drone is not for the faint hearted or inexperienced.

 

[slozukimc]

That video was actually quite helpful to me. I have racing drones that will easily handle the wind but I want the gps and altitude hold and a better camera than my old Gopro. I really just want a video drone that handles high wind well. The fpv seems to do that and makes it where a novice like me can let go of the sticks and have it stop as well as hover in place for pics and video in very windy conditions. I understand that it is made for ripping around and going fast but that power can also be used for stabilization for folks like me.

Next question: How does the fpv camera compare to my M1X?

Thanks, Mike