- Joined
- Apr 2, 2015
- Messages
- 187
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- 16
I need some advice on flying in windy conditions, because where I live is a mountain channel with tricky gusts. I know there are lots of threads on flying the P3 in the wind, but after having crashed one from 100' altitude in high winds, I am now pretty scared of the wind!
Last Christmas Eve (2015), it was a windy day. I didn't have my anemometer with me, but my guess would be that the wind speed was in the 20's (mph). My wife cautioned me not to fly, but I told her people posted on the web that they can fly a Phantom at pretty high wind speeds. So I flew anyway. Right at take-off, the Phantom was carried backwards by the wind, even though it was in P mode. I then pushed the right stick forwards to stabilize the Phantom, and after that the GPS seemed to do its job. So I just went forwards and upwards as usual without thinking much about the wind. At about 100' up and about 300'-400' ahead of me, the Phantom suddenly fell from the sky faster than I could do anything about it! (Maybe there was nothing I could have done at that point anyway.) There was snow on the ground, and the gimbal and a rotor or two broke, and the body had a crack in it. If it hadn't been for the Square Trade drops-and-spills warranty I would have tried to fix it. But instead I got a check for the amount of the purchase.
I used that check to buy another P3A, this time more than $200 cheaper. However, Square Trade would no longer sell a warranty for Phantoms! Too many crashes, I guess.
Today, I was ready to fly in the evening, and there was a breeze that seemed tricky, but the anemometer never read more than 10 MPH. However, as soon as I armed the Phantom 3, a gust came along and knocked the Phantom over, breaking a rotor and scratching up another one. I replaced the broken rotor, but decided to pack up instead of fly.
So here's my question: had I decide to go ahead and fly instead of packing up, would I have been all right? Maybe the Phantom was easy to get knocked over by the wind because it had just started up??? However, my first P3A fell from the sky after having flown for a few hundred feet, and so I was afraid the new P3A might also fall from the sky even if I could get it initially under control.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Thanks in advance!
Last Christmas Eve (2015), it was a windy day. I didn't have my anemometer with me, but my guess would be that the wind speed was in the 20's (mph). My wife cautioned me not to fly, but I told her people posted on the web that they can fly a Phantom at pretty high wind speeds. So I flew anyway. Right at take-off, the Phantom was carried backwards by the wind, even though it was in P mode. I then pushed the right stick forwards to stabilize the Phantom, and after that the GPS seemed to do its job. So I just went forwards and upwards as usual without thinking much about the wind. At about 100' up and about 300'-400' ahead of me, the Phantom suddenly fell from the sky faster than I could do anything about it! (Maybe there was nothing I could have done at that point anyway.) There was snow on the ground, and the gimbal and a rotor or two broke, and the body had a crack in it. If it hadn't been for the Square Trade drops-and-spills warranty I would have tried to fix it. But instead I got a check for the amount of the purchase.
I used that check to buy another P3A, this time more than $200 cheaper. However, Square Trade would no longer sell a warranty for Phantoms! Too many crashes, I guess.
Today, I was ready to fly in the evening, and there was a breeze that seemed tricky, but the anemometer never read more than 10 MPH. However, as soon as I armed the Phantom 3, a gust came along and knocked the Phantom over, breaking a rotor and scratching up another one. I replaced the broken rotor, but decided to pack up instead of fly.
So here's my question: had I decide to go ahead and fly instead of packing up, would I have been all right? Maybe the Phantom was easy to get knocked over by the wind because it had just started up??? However, my first P3A fell from the sky after having flown for a few hundred feet, and so I was afraid the new P3A might also fall from the sky even if I could get it initially under control.
What are your thoughts on this issue? Thanks in advance!