DJI's high wind warning comes on if the Phantom calculates a wind more than 7 metres/second or 15 miles/hr..Out flying this morning and got a warning that wind speeds were high, brought it down and came home. The bird seemed stable as there was no drift and little shake.
How do you judge when you shouldn't be flying due to wind?
I had just such a scenario with my Mavic Pro this last spring. I had my assistant flying the Mavic as I was getting my Inspire 2 ready, and the wind suddenly increased dramatically. Mavic was at 300 feet, and downwind. I got this sick sounding response from assistant saying "it's not coming back..." I took the controls, and sure enough, with full right stick forward I could see the home position receding. I quickly descended to about 75 feet, and tacked back and forth at 30 degrees from the wind, and safely back home. I praised my assistant for reacting quickly to a situation he was not prepared to deal with. Good learning experience...There are my tips for flying in a strong wind. Jump up off the ground quickly and gain about 10 feet of altitude. Then let it hover for a while. If the drone can't hold position there, land and go home! Also land quickly, like you are landing on an aircraft carrier. Wind is generally stronger at altitude. To check the winds aloft at your flying location, turn off GPS for a few seconds and see which way the drone moves. This will tell you the direction of the wind. Next go up to the altitude you want to fly at in the up-wind direction. See if you can made headway directly into the wind. Take note of how much throttle it takes to move forward. Once at altitude up-wind, again turn off the GPS and watch the numbers HS ( Horizontal Speed). The drone will start to move downwind rapidly. This will give you the wind dirction and strength. Don't fly downwind if there is a strong wind. You may not have to power or battery life to get back home. If you initiate RTH, again watch the HS numbers to insure they are decreasing. Take note of which way the drone is facing on your screen. If the drone is facing the home point, and the HS is showing a speed reading, but the distance from home is increasing. You've got a big problem! At that point I think I would initiate "Auto-land" and take my chances of where is comes down. Otherise, you'll have a fly-away and a lost drone. Also, point the camera down so you can get some sort of idea where it is coming down. If you still have a video feed, you might be able to manuver it to a safe landing. I alway "Cache Locally" so I have a copy of what the camera sees.
Just my 3 cents! Yes...3 cents. It was payday yesterday and I feel generous!
I had just such a scenario with my Mavic Pro this last spring. I had my assistant flying the Mavic as I was getting my Inspire 2 ready, and the wind suddenly increased dramatically. Mavic was at 300 feet, and downwind. I got this sick sounding response from assistant saying "it's not coming back..." I took the controls, and sure enough, with full right stick forward I could see the home position receding. I quickly descended to about 75 feet, and tacked back and forth at 30 degrees from the wind, and safely back home. I praised my assistant for reacting quickly to a situation he was not prepared to deal with. Good learning experience...
Good job! You got to watch those numbers! They can tell you a lot about what is going on, or about to go on, with the drone in flight.
Lucky you didn’t have to get your chauffeur to take the car ahead of the flight trajectory to retrieve it from an autoland on critical battery. That’s the best story I have seen yet, apart from some of the guys on you tube hand catching after swimming for it. All happy endings are good ones.I had just such a scenario with my Mavic Pro this last spring. I had my assistant flying the Mavic as I was getting my Inspire 2 ready, and the wind suddenly increased dramatically. Mavic was at 300 feet, and downwind. I got this sick sounding response from assistant saying "it's not coming back..." I took the controls, and sure enough, with full right stick forward I could see the home position receding. I quickly descended to about 75 feet, and tacked back and forth at 30 degrees from the wind, and safely back home. I praised my assistant for reacting quickly to a situation he was not prepared to deal with. Good learning experience...
That was good video, subbed you!I have flown my P4 in 20+ mph wind with gusts up to 30+/-. I only did it twice and is not something I would try unless I had to. In both cases I was in Maui and the trade winds around the Kapalua and Hana areas had picked up.
The first time, I was trying to get some video of a blow hole in the area. Once in a lifetime kinda thing as I had never been to the Island before and I didn’t want to waste the opportunity. Nerve wracking to the say the least. Once I was up and flying, the P4 fought like a champ. Very difficult to hold position and even more to bring it back when a gust of wind blew it off track, but with some patience I was able to get to where I wanted to be. Landing was the trick. No way it was going to land on a flat surface, would have just been blown over. Could have hand caught, but even that is hard when the thing and shifting all over the place. Ended up landing behind a rock that was blocking a good portion of the wind.
The second time was on the other side of the island, near Hana. It was blustery when I took off heading just off shore. Was getting some video of the waves coming in against the volcanic rock. It got really windy about 10 min into my flight. Trying to get it home scared the bejesus out of me. Full power against the wind and it barely moved, or even was pushed back. Waves starting climbing so I couldn’t bring it lower for fear of hitting a breaker, and higher up the winds were more consistent and stronger. I started working it side to side in hopes of catching a lull, which eventually I hit. Was able to get it back on shore and eventually into an area semi protected from the wind. Was sure I was going to lose it that second time.
Did get some good video, would in no way risk trying it a third time.
You can buy a digital anemometer online for less than $20. Use the device to measure the wind speed and overtime learn where the boundary is.