Wind Speed Relative To Drone Weight

[Wreckhunter]

That only really applies for the small time the drone would be making changes to address any wind changes.
You would also have to consider the cross-sectional area that's exposed to the wind, but in the grans scheme of things, those things are trivial issues when you are wanting to get your drone home against a headwind.
Gusting would mostly just be the difference between dealing with a headwind or dealing with a stronger headwind.

If your drone has a strong tailwind, the flight controller tilts the drone less because it doesn't have to fly as fast when the airmass is already moving in the direction of travel.
I'm not sure how you would define or measure "more efficient headway" but it wouldn't make any difference to the flyer.
Both would cover the distance very easily.


It's not worth the effort of getting into the complexity of vector mechanics for those vague, non-specific situations, particularly when the effect is trivial for the drone flyer who didn't plan his flight and has to work out how to get his drone back after flying off too far with a tailwind.

I understand that many people can't get their heads around the non-importance of the drone's weight when it comes to dealing with strong winds.

Here are the simple facts.
DJI give accurate specs to show the maximum speed each model can achieve.
That's the max airspeed that that drone, with that weight, cross-sectional area etc, can penetrate air
The weight etc is already factored into that maximum speed.
A drone that can push through the air at 15 metres/sec is always going tobe able to push through the air faster than a drone with a max speed of 10 metres/sec, regardless of the weight of the drone or the direction and speed that the airmass is moving.

If you want to think that the weight of the drone is a significant factor, consider the DJI Minis.
All three have the same weight (250 grams) but different top speeds.
Mini - 8/13 metres/sec Normal/Sport Mode
Mini 2&3 - 10/16 metres/sec
Is a headwind going to have the same effect on their ability to get home?

Oh boy,here goes bigger drone,more weight,larger props more powerful motors.
Equals what, weight is a significant factor in headwinds.This is simple physics.
Have you flown a larger heavier drone,and compared it to a mini drone in strong winds ?
I am not talking about a little breeze either ,and am talking about flying it into a strong headwind.
Better look back and check to see how many mini drones were lost in fly aways.
This is called simple physics,makes sense but you will not buy it,of course not.
Please do not reply,as I am done.

 

[Meta4]

Oh boy,here goes bigger drone,more weight,larger props more powerful motors.
Equals what, weight is a significant factor in headwinds.This is simple physics.
Have you flown a larger heavier drone,and compared it to a mini drone in strong winds ?
I am not talking about a little breeze either ,and am talking about flying it into a strong headwind.
Better look back and check to see how many mini drones were lost in fly aways.
This is called simple physics,makes sense but you will not buy it,of course not.
Please do not reply,as I am done.

I won't reply to any more of these ridiculous posts that ignore facts and have no understanding of basic physics.
I've gone over it too many times and there are always more people that refuse to accept truth.

 

[Wreckhunter]

I won't reply to any more of these ridiculous posts that ignore facts.
I've gone over it too many times and there are always more people that refuse to accept truth.

Oh wow,your right and the world is wrong one of those

 

[Phantomrain.org]

There are only a few of us that even fly in severe winds, as it most often involves a storm of some kind, or heavy rain.

The only time the Weight of the drone really matters is when its on the Actual Ground , But when they get in the AIR everything EQUALS out. The Speed of the Drone than becomes the Critical Factor confronting a head Wind or Gust.

This can be proven if you hover all 3 Drones up 3 ft in the air you will find they all drift over about the same amount.

With that Said : Bigger Drones equal Faster speed and more Power and Longer battery life thus have more Control to Navigate thru the wind before the Drift gets to far.


For those trying to get great video : It becomes about the CAMERA FLIP :
This again is a big factor of flying in the wind, thus the bigger drones have the advantage .

Here is a Mavic 3 That I let get taken by the Wind , Was not in any mode , just letting it do what the wind wanted to do with it , unable to holds is position as any other drone would have been the same.

This is the Mavic 3 getting caught in some very strong winds maybe 50 mph

This was nothing more than a test of how the drone would react going very slow in the wind down the river into the headwind.

You can skip the first minute of me showing the wind, as it was to strong to hear me.

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This is the Mini 2 Drift on a Hover with 12 mph winds , the Mavic 3 Drifts the Same amount in the Air ;
As Rule of Thumb for flying in the wind, if the Drone shifts over more than 6 to 7 ft at take off , your in for an Adventure and anything more than that , your going to need a lot of Practice to get it back.

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Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain.

 

[anotherlab]

As others have mentioned, it's not a factor of the weight of the drone but a factor of the thrust generated by the motors. Larger drones have more powerful motors, capable of more thrust.

The following chart was posted on dronesgator.com and goes by the max wind speed is 2/3 of the max speed of the drone.

Drone Model	Wind Resistance Level	Max Wind Speed
DJI Mavic Mini	Level 4	13‑18 mph (20‑28 kph)
DJI Mavic Mini 2	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Air 2	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Air 2s	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic 2	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic 2 Pro	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic 2 Zoom	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Phantom 4 Pro	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Air	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Pro Platinum	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Spark	Level 4	13‑18 mph (20‑28 kph)
DJI Phantom 4 Advanced	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Pro	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI inspire	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
Phantom 4 Pro V2.0	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Phantom 4 RTK	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Matrice 300 RTX	Level 7	33 mph (53 kph)

 

[rwilliam99]

As others have mentioned, it's not a factor of the weight of the drone but a factor of the thrust generated by the motors. Larger drones have more powerful motors, capable of more thrust.

The following chart was posted on dronesgator.com and goes by the max wind speed is 2/3 of the max speed of the drone.

Drone Model	Wind Resistance Level	Max Wind Speed
DJI Mavic Mini	Level 4	13‑18 mph (20‑28 kph)
DJI Mavic Mini 2	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Air 2	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Air 2s	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic 2	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic 2 Pro	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic 2 Zoom	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Phantom 4 Pro	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Air	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Pro Platinum	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Spark	Level 4	13‑18 mph (20‑28 kph)
DJI Phantom 4 Advanced	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Mavic Pro	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI inspire	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
Phantom 4 Pro V2.0	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Phantom 4 RTK	Level 5	19-24 mph (29-38 kph)
DJI Matrice 300 RTX	Level 7	33 mph (53 kph)

That is really interesting. I thought the larger drones would be a higher level than the minis (except for the original mini). I've never heard of the Matrice before but that looks to be a completely commercial drone. I've seen pictures of it but didn't know its name I guess.

Thanks for posting this.

 

[MS Coast]

Better look back and check to see how many mini drones were lost in fly aways.
This is called simple physics,

Actually, that's called anecdotal evidence, not physics. It's often unquantifiable and frequently unreliable.

Drone flight physics has to do with repeatable phenomena involving forces, mass, velocity, acceleration, drag, and such.

 

[MS Coast]

The following chart was posted on dronesgator.com and goes by the max wind speed is 2/3 of the max speed of the drone

That's saying that the Wind Resistance Level is a function of maximum speed only. Per that table, both the Mini 2 and the Air 2S exhibit the same "wind resistance."

 

[Phantomrain.org]

There were a lot of fly aways on the Mini 1 : This drone was very weak in power and speed and should have never been released , thus the release of the Mini 2 very shortly afterwards

As soon as they made the Mini 2 : We were able to make a really nice Rescue Jacket for it because it was so much stronger of a drone. Notice the Mini 1 was very low.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[LGLDSR73]

That only really applies for the small time the drone would be making changes to address any wind changes.
You would also have to consider the cross-sectional area that's exposed to the wind, but in the grans scheme of things, those things are trivial issues when you are wanting to get your drone home against a headwind.
Gusting would mostly just be the difference between dealing with a headwind or dealing with a stronger headwind.

If your drone has a strong tailwind, the flight controller tilts the drone less because it doesn't have to fly as fast when the airmass is already moving in the direction of travel.
I'm not sure how you would define or measure "more efficient headway" but it wouldn't make any difference to the flyer.
Both would cover the distance very easily.


It's not worth the effort of getting into the complexity of vector mechanics for those vague, non-specific situations, particularly when the effect is trivial for the drone flyer who didn't plan his flight and has to work out how to get his drone back after flying off too far with a tailwind.

I understand that many people can't get their heads around the non-importance of the drone's weight when it comes to dealing with strong winds.

Here are the simple facts.
DJI give accurate specs to show the maximum speed each model can achieve.
That's the max airspeed that that drone, with that weight, cross-sectional area etc, can penetrate air
The weight etc is already factored into that maximum speed.
A drone that can push through the air at 15 metres/sec is always going tobe able to push through the air faster than a drone with a max speed of 10 metres/sec, regardless of the weight of the drone or the direction and speed that the airmass is moving.

If you want to think that the weight of the drone is a significant factor, consider the DJI Minis.
All three have the same weight (250 grams) but different top speeds.
Mini - 8/13 metres/sec Normal/Sport Mode
Mini 2&3 - 10/16 metres/sec
Is a headwind going to have the same effect on their ability to get home?

Being new at this I am really the least informed. That said I can only equate it to a Piper Cub and a C-5M Super Galaxy both flying into a strong headwind. Here you're talking both greater speed, greater mass and weight with the C5.

The C5 will obviously prevail due to all three.

Maybe that only makes sense to me (highly likely, lol).

Best,

Lyman

 

[mobilehomer]

Very simple to prove. Add enough weight to a Mini 2 to equal a Mavic 3. See how it does in the wind next to a Mavic 3. The heavier drones ALSO have stronger motors and bigger props. And to contradict the previously posted chart, my Mini 2 does not handle the wind nearly as well as my Air 2S! Even though they are rated the same.

 

[rwilliam99]

Very simple to prove. Add enough weight to a Mini 2 to equal a Mavic 3. See how it does in the wind next to a Mavic 3. The heavier drones ALSO have stronger motors and bigger props. And to contradict the previously posted chart, my Mini 2 does not handle the wind nearly as well as my Air 2S! Even though they are rated the same.

One question - how do you define "handle the wind"? Does the mini 2 get moved around more while hovering? Or does it have more trouble returning to home in a strong wind? Or do you have some other definition? I'm wondering if some of this discussion is just due to how people define "wind resistance".

As for the "simple to prove" I don't think what you propose will work since adding the additional weight to the mini 2 will push it past the engineered weight it was designed to carry and it will be under powered as a result.

 

[mobilehomer]

One question - how do you define "handle the wind"? Does the mini 2 get moved around more while hovering? Or does it have more trouble returning to home in a strong wind? Or do you have some other definition? I'm wondering if some of this discussion is just due to how people define "wind resistance".

As for the "simple to prove" I don't think what you propose will work since adding the additional weight to the mini 2 will push it past the engineered weight it was designed to carry and it will be under powered as a result.

Harder to fly, pushed around, hovering, all of it is worse than the Air 2S. As for the second question, that is PRECISELY the premise of this whole thread. Weight is not as much a factor as power. One way to put it is the Mini 2 has the right amount of power for it's size. The larger drones can be seen as being overpowered. The latter is far better than the former.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

That only really applies for the small time the drone would be making changes to address any wind changes.
You would also have to consider the cross-sectional area that's exposed to the wind, but in the grans scheme of things, those things are trivial issues when you are wanting to get your drone home against a headwind.
Gusting would mostly just be the difference between dealing with a headwind or dealing with a stronger headwind.

Thanks for coming back with your reply on this, I appreciate rational respectful conversation.

I agree with the above.

Cross sectional aspects are important somewhat, with gusts and variable direction of those.
This is what gusts will catch more on both smaller and larger aircraft.

As mentioned, the larger drones have motors suitable to cope with those generally, and mass / inertia resistance.
Smaller drones are going to buffeted around a lot more, and require a lot more corrections by the flight controller.
This is obviously why battery depletion with smaller, lighter drones and wind can be an issue.

Look at many Mavic style model of aircraft.
They are quite sleek compared to Matrice, Phantom, Inspire etc, motor sizes would be interesting to compare to the larger model in % of motor size increase to cross sectional increase.
I bet the Mavics might have motors with significantly less % in power requirements comparing to the larger cross section designs.

I'm not sure how you would define or measure "more efficient headway" but it wouldn't make any difference to the flyer.
Both would cover the distance very easily.

I know, it's hard to define . . . it'd be like trying to compare battery flight times of various batteries one might own, replicating a flight and its little idiosyncrasies would be almost impossible to do accurately.
But yeah, coming home with those headwinds with any drone is sure sweet to do

If you want to think that the weight of the drone is a significant factor, consider the DJI Minis.
All three have the same weight (250 grams) but different top speeds.
Mini - 8/13 metres/sec Normal/Sport Mode
Mini 2&3 - 10/16 metres/sec
Is a headwind going to have the same effect on their ability to get home?

Exactly !!
Those are DJI specs in still air.

To answer you question above, if a steady wind the mini 2 has the edge of course.
The Mini with its li-ion battery might also struggle to deliver power needed under duress.

But in the mass / weight difference conundrum, there's no mass / weight difference between them to compare.

Back to your link . . .

Air 2 - Would you fly your drone in this wind?

Surely area presented to the wind will make a difference to how much a drone is affected. The cross sectional area is already a factor into the drone's still air max speed Though not sure why the Yuneec H520 did so well vs the P4 and Inspire, as . . . Top speed from manufacturer specs. H520...

mavicpilots.com

It was pointed out by the most highly qualified physicist in the forum (SAR104) in the link above . . .

He said you and BigAl07 were talking about different scenarios, and you both were discussing different scenarios.

It's important to read the following posts #43 and #45.
You attempt to make your view correct there more than once between those replies, and the top speed / steady wind thing IS correct for sure, totally agree with you.

Wind is hardly ever steady though, one direction, one speed, there are very few places / times this happens anywhere.

The question is . . . does weight / mass of a drone affect how it handles wind ?
After reading all that again, I'm going with "it depends" from here on.

Thanks for the continued debate on this, it is good to read / consider others input and thought processes.

 

[Meta4]

Those are DJI specs in still air.

To put that another way, those are all air speeds.
A 15 m/s drone pushing straight into a 14 m/s wind would have a ground speed (what you see on screen) of 1 m/s, but it's still achieving an airspeed of 15 m/s and making slow headway while a 10 m/s drone is being blown backwards at 5 m/s, but still achieving an airspeed of 10 m/s.

The drone with the higher airspeed (or still air speed) is always going to push through air faster, whether the air is moving (wind) or not.

Wind is hardly ever steady though, one direction, one speed, there are very few places / times this happens anywhere.

I don't see that this has much importance.
A faster drone has the power to respond to those changes quicker than a slower drone, whatever the speed or direction of the wind is.

The question is . . . does weight / mass of a drone affect how it handles wind ?
After reading all that again, I'm going with "it depends" from here on.

You'd have to define what you mean by handles wind.
I fly in windy conditions a lot.
For me, handling wind means being able to get out, do the job and get back safely in windy conditions.
Looking into the data from so many lost drone incidents, I think that's a good definition for most (possibly all?) flyers.

 

[Meta4]

As others have mentioned, it's not a factor of the weight of the drone but a factor of the thrust generated by the motors. Larger drones have more powerful motors, capable of more thrust.

Looking at DJI's consumer range, their larger drones fly faster, but the generalisation doesn't hold when you look beyond DJI consumer drones.
Some large drones fly very fast like heavy cine drones with advertised speeds around 30 m/s, but there other large drones can be quite slow like DJI's Agras T3 which weighs 26.4 kg, but a top speed of 10 m/s (same as the original Mini).

Yuneec made some slow drones.
Their H520 at 1.645 kg has a top speed of 13.3 m/s.
Their old Q500 was huge but painfully slow - 1.775 kg and only 8 m/s.
It was said that a flyaway was not a problem because you could always run after it and catch it.

The following chart was posted on dronesgator.com and goes by the max wind speed is 2/3 of the max speed of the drone.

DJI have never defined what they mean by wind resistance and it's hard to make sense of the numbers they show.
It's further confused when they quote a range for some drones and a single number for others.
I recently flew a Phantom 4 pro in what I believe was the strongest winds I've flown in (measured at 34 knots/17.5 m/s or 39 mph.
According to DJI's specs the max wind resistance for that model is 10 m/s - what that means or how it's useful for the drone flyer is a mystery..

 

[Eagle Eye 62]

The weight of the drone isn't what matters.
The speed the drone can fly at is what's important.

That is not entirely true. Weight does play a factor (heavier objects don't get thrown around as easily). Also, larger props and a wider distance between the props ads to the stability in the wind. I have a Mini3 Pro and a Mavic 3. The Mavic 3 is way more stable than the Mini3 Pro. That being said, it really isn't noticeable until the winds get up into the 20 mph or greater range.

 

[baddog]

The weight of the drone isn't what matters.
The speed the drone can fly at is what's important.

What does speed have to do with wind tolerance, just curious?
Weight is a factor in resisting winds but so is the aerodynamics of the drone. The new Mavic 3 has better wind-tolerant rating than the Phantom line ever did but it is lighter in weight. That is because it is more aerodynamic, the arms are much thinner than the original Mavic line of drones, and its body is more sleek as well.

 

[Meta4]

What does speed have to do with wind tolerance, just curious?
Weight is a factor in resisting winds but so is the aerodynamics of the drone. The new Mavic 3 has better wind-tolerant rating than the Phantom line ever did but it is lighter in weight. That is because it is more aerodynamic, the arms are much thinner than the original Mavic line of drones, and its body is more sleek as well.

I'd be interested to know what DJI means by max wind resistance.
As far as I can tell from lots of flying and reading the numbers they give in the specs for each model, it really has no meaning.
See the last para in my previous post above.

 

[GPM Drones]

Greetings,

I am considering purchasing a DJI Mini Pro 3 but given it's <249g weight it begs the question if it's too light to handle the winds we have here in in Northern Michigan. While I've only been here a very short time the winds appear to consistently range from 10 - 20MPH with gusts to 30MPH. (On that note I notice that both speeds and weight are given in Metric only but am unsure why).

Would I not be better off starting with a heavier Drone for stability?

Thank you!

Lyman

I have flown MM3 in wind over 25mph. Not far nor high, but it works between 25 and 30. Check mfgr rating. I think it's rated above 35 mph. A kilometer is aprox .6 miles.