Wind - how much is too much?

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I've read in the manual where it's advises not flying in more than a gentle wind. I've talked with people who have flown in 20 mph winds.

What's your guidance? What is too windy to fly?
 
My measurement is based on my hair. If the wind can mess up my hairdo, I call it a day.
 
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Your Phantom can fly at more than 30 mph. 20 mph is no issue at all.
Put yours up sometime and play around to see how it handles it.
Just don't put up in high winds and go a long way downwind first.
 
Meta4 said:
Your Phantom can fly at more than 30 mph. 20 mph is no issue at all.
Put yours up sometime and play around to see how it handles it.
Just don't put up in high winds and go a long way downwind first.
Your speed is limited in GPS mode. Fly upwind first so that on the return you're downwind in case the battery is too low to get all the way back.
 
pjginfl said:
I've read in the manual where it's advises not flying in more than a gentle wind. I've talked with people who have flown in 20 mph winds.

What's your guidance? What is too windy to fly?

Depends on what you're comfortable with... 20 mph is about as high as I've gone.

As another poster said.... Keep in mind the extra work it takes to fly against the wind when planning the battery life :)
 
I was just out there in strong wind.
The bureau map for my area showed winds of about 20mph gusting to 25mph (33-40kph).
I reckon some of the gusts were above that.

I had no issues handling it, even taking some close up footage of the windblown trees.
Even had some fun letting it go in Atti mode and watching the speed get up to 20mph.

Watch out though!! Landing ain't so easy.
In 6 landings, a gust tipped it twice.
Think I'm going to practice some hand catching, for such occasions.
 
Keep in mind though the wind speed increases the higher you go. What could be 20 MPH on ground level could be 60 MPH 300 feet up.
 
LordEvil said:
Keep in mind though the wind speed increases the higher you go. What could be 20 MPH on ground level could be 60 MPH 300 feet up.
This the key point - sometimes it is plain astonishing how much stronger the wind is even just above tree top height.
It's also quite difficult to accurately estimate unless you have a weather station close by.
Looking at online forecasts is a very poor guide to actual conditions at your location.
 
4wd said:
LordEvil said:
Keep in mind though the wind speed increases the higher you go. What could be 20 MPH on ground level could be 60 MPH 300 feet up.
This the key point - sometimes it is plain astonishing how much stronger the wind is even just above tree top height.
It's also quite difficult to accurately estimate unless you have a weather station close by.
Looking at online forecasts is a very poor guide to actual conditions at your location.

Thanks for all the great feedback!! Much appreciated! Good guidance!
 
I enjoy Mitch's videos, always with humor.

Personally, I'm cautious above 15 mile per hour. The gusts are killer for two axis gimbal videos.

(If the temperature too cold, the windchill from four props during a hand catch is almost unbearable)
 
Unless you put the money in my had to buy new quad, there is no way I would ever consider a flight in that much wind.
 
Flying in 15mph winds at the edge of Lake Pontchartrain. The Phantom flew great. Stable. Could hold GPS position within +/-2feet. Color and contrast edited.
 

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Fyod said:
My measurement is based on my hair. If the wind can mess up my hairdo, I call it a day.

You still have hair?
 
mendezl said:
Flying in 15mph winds at the edge of Lake Pontchartrain. The Phantom flew great. Stable. Could hold GPS position within +/-2feet. Color and contrast edited.

It looks as if you were about to get soaked!
 
PhantomFanatic said:
Fyod said:
My measurement is based on my hair. If the wind can mess up my hairdo, I call it a day.
:mrgreen:

You still have hair?

:mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Impressive video.
 
PhantomFanatic said:
Fyod said:
My measurement is based on my hair. If the wind can mess up my hairdo, I call it a day.

You still have hair?

Hey, I never said everyone is able to use my sophisticated wind measurement system. ;)
 
mendezl said:
Flying in 15mph winds at the edge of Lake Pontchartrain. The Phantom flew great. Stable. Could hold GPS position within +/-2feet.
You are much more brave than I am. Would never consider it.
 
flying at the river one day.. after having my P2V+ for about two weeks.. and 30flights or so.. Flying in what I would call 'breezy' conditions full 10+ sat lock on GPS mode... at the end of a 8 min flight or so.. Bring it in kinda high to clear the trees..about 40 feet or so.. slowly bring it down and all of a sudden... BAM!...It just takes off at High speed over the water.. about 20 feet altitude... away from me.. And Im thinking.. "its the dreaded fly-away ive read so much about' I flick my S-1 to failsafe.. and it rises.. and starts to come back.. to my relief... when it starts to hover over some rocks.. I switch it back to GPS and regain control.. and start the slow decent ...and Bam!... It happens again.. it just takes off on its own... and it dawns on me... IT''s the sudden strong unpredictable wind gusts... Not a 'fly-away'

since then.. Im alot more cautious about flying in wind...
 

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