This year, the Santa brought me a Mavic bird! After watching a ton of video’s, reading a lot, ... I had already a hole lot of fun flying the drone.

On this last day of the year it’s very windy (Belgium) so my next question is...


What’s the “windspeed limit” most of you guys/girls fly?  Or what parameter do you use to make this weather decisions?

It's officially 24MPH for the Mavic. Note wind speeds increase the higher you climb. The drone air speed will be massively impacted by stronger winds so keep it in clear visual line of sight at all times and you'll also experience horizon tilt issues with the gimbal. I find Ideal wind speeds for the Mavic to be under 10MPH.

A CW Posted at 2017-12-31 02:57
It's officially 24MPH for the Mavic. Note wind speeds increase the higher you climb. The drone air speed will be massively impacted by stronger winds so keep it in clear visual line of sight at all times and you'll also experience horizon tilt issues with the gimbal. I find Ideal wind speeds for the Mavic to be under 10MPH.

I have flown in some stiff winds, no choice living in the UK! as the previous poster, wind speed increases with altitude so even going 10m up can see a significant increase in wind strength.

So stay low(ish) and stay up wind so that when you need to come back the drone is carried by the wind rather than fighting it.

Also bear in mind you will get significant turbulence off any obstacles upwind of the drone, some of which could produce strong downdrafts, strong enough to flip the Mavic or push it into the ground.

A strong wind in open space will present less of a challenge that areas of buildings or trees, the effect can carry along way from the obstacle too.

Nothing wrong with flying in challenging conditions, to hone your skills, but its something you should practice when you have a fair bit of fair weather flying under your belt.

Have fun though :-)

Buzzyone Posted at 2017-12-31 03:36
I have flown in some stiff winds, no choice living in the UK! as the previous poster, wind speed increases with altitude so even going 10m up can see a significant increase in wind strength.

So stay low(ish) and stay up wind so that when you need to come back the drone is carried by the wind rather than fighting it.

Good points.

Buzzyone Posted at 2017-12-31 03:36
I have flown in some stiff winds, no choice living in the UK! as the previous poster, wind speed increases with altitude so even going 10m up can see a significant increase in wind strength.

So stay low(ish) and stay up wind so that when you need to come back the drone is carried by the wind rather than fighting it.

Great advice.

I can say that I've truly challenged the mavic in high winds of around 38-45km/h (could have been even higher so I did fly a little bit higher too. Wile the mavic handled the wind like a pro it was a very scary experience to land it in a tight area as I felt like I had no control over the drone as the wind was taking over. I wouldn't dare to fly in such high speed ever again, so I wouldn't recommend it either. Might be worth waiting a few more days to fly, especially if you are not experienced.

Flown twice in NL today. Mavic stable and steady. In sports mode 72 kph down wind. Up wind 3.3 kph. Pretty much the limit.
If you are new to droneibg bettet practice first. Gusts can throw her off trajectory and the cam may tilt leaving you clueless for a couple. Happy flying.

For me, limit when flying the MP would be probably 15-20 mph. Beyond that, too shaky for video shots.

travelrikk Posted at 2017-12-31 05:17
I can say that I've truly challenged the mavic in high winds of around 38-45km/h (could have been even higher so I did fly a little bit higher too. Wile the mavic handled the wind like a pro it was a very scary experience to land it in a tight area as I felt like I had no control over the drone as the wind was taking over. I wouldn't dare to fly in such high speed ever again, so I wouldn't recommend it either. Might be worth waiting a few more days to fly, especially if you are not experienced.

I've flown in wind like that as well. Just be careful of battery levels. Flying into the wind uses a lot more, so allow yourself plenty of power to get home. I once was trying to return home in strong winds, the Mavic was actually going backward in sport mode full throttle. I ended up flying in a zig-zag so I wasn't going straight into the wind, scared the crap out of me! I didn't think I would get back, landed with 8% battery left.

All very excellent advice from everyone!!!!

I had an inkling to fly today and never should have did it.
First of all, the temperature was around 18 degrees Fahrenheit. The ground level winds appeared to be quite calm. But, when the Mavic got into the air, about 150 feet, I immediately got high wind warnings. But, I still decided to ascend even higher to about 230 feet and the Mavic was now about 1500 meters away from me. Now, the wind warnings were popping up constantly and I decided to return home.

When, I turned around and started back, I could not even get to 2 mph and realized the bird was blowing sideways. Started getting nervous after about a minute and a half not making any progress and battery getting low. Now, I was thinking about doing a RTH but decided that would be a bad move and would not help since it was coming back fighting high winds.
So. I switched into Sport mode and started to follow my flight line back. Luckily, the Mavic showed up overhead in about two minutes. I was very lucky that Sport mode was enough to overcome the high winds and it came back at about 15 mph.

I think the best thing to do is not panic and figure out a good way to get out of a hairy situation. Needless to say, after it landed, I packed it up for the day......lol
The only good thing that occurred was being put into that learning experience for future reference.

So for the metrically challenged, 10mph = ~16kmh = ~8.6 knot wind speed as optimum?

You lucked out.  Many people don't realize that RTH is limited in speed and will actually come back slowly in most cases.  Your best bet was SPORT mode and you chose correctly.  RTH would have left you droneless.

I generally reference to UAV Forecast before I head out flying. If I see the wind speed is over 20 mph, then I would just wait until it calms down a bit. In addition, I purchased an anemometer from Amazon, to ensure that the wind speed is less than 20 mph before I lift off. To me, it's not worth the risk to fly out my $1K drone and keep worrying that it'd drift away.

A CW Posted at 2017-12-31 02:57
It's officially 24MPH for the Mavic. Note wind speeds increase the higher you climb. The drone air speed will be massively impacted by stronger winds so keep it in clear visual line of sight at all times and you'll also experience horizon tilt issues with the gimbal. I find Ideal wind speeds for the Mavic to be under 10MPH.

Thx for the advice!

Buzzyone Posted at 2017-12-31 03:36
I have flown in some stiff winds, no choice living in the UK! as the previous poster, wind speed increases with altitude so even going 10m up can see a significant increase in wind strength.

So stay low(ish) and stay up wind so that when you need to come back the drone is carried by the wind rather than fighting it.

Thx for the advice!

travelrikk Posted at 2017-12-31 05:17
I can say that I've truly challenged the mavic in high winds of around 38-45km/h (could have been even higher so I did fly a little bit higher too. Wile the mavic handled the wind like a pro it was a very scary experience to land it in a tight area as I felt like I had no control over the drone as the wind was taking over. I wouldn't dare to fly in such high speed ever again, so I wouldn't recommend it either. Might be worth waiting a few more days to fly, especially if you are not experienced.

Thx for the advice! Patience is always a better solution in these cases I guess.

Never fly faste Posted at 2017-12-31 06:04
Flown twice in NL today. Mavic stable and steady. In sports mode 72 kph down wind. Up wind 3.3 kph. Pretty much the limit.
If you are new to droneibg bettet practice first. Gusts can throw her off trajectory and the cam may tilt leaving you clueless for a couple. Happy flying.

Thx for the advice! And you really searched/reached the limits of the Mavic there I guess.

FatherXmas Posted at 2017-12-31 14:58
I've flown in wind like that as well. Just be careful of battery levels. Flying into the wind uses a lot more, so allow yourself plenty of power to get home. I once was trying to return home in strong winds, the Mavic was actually going backward in sport mode full throttle. I ended up flying in a zig-zag so I wasn't going straight into the wind, scared the crap out of me! I didn't think I would get back, landed with 8% battery left.

Thx for the advice! The zig zag is a great “backup” plan!

Rickyber Posted at 2017-12-31 18:09
All very excellent advice from everyone!!!!

I had an inkling to fly today and never should have did it.

Thx for the advice! Sport mode can be a “backup” indeed.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-12-31 19:44
You lucked out.  Many people don't realize that RTH is limited in speed and will actually come back slowly in most cases.  Your best bet was SPORT mode and you chose correctly.  RTH would have left you droneless.

I agree !!!

As I was reviewing the video of the flight, after I turned it around and started to head back, you can sense the strength of the wind. The Mavic's forward progress is barely noticeable in the video, even though I have the stick pegged. Also, you can notice the sideways trajectory it is taking.
But, when I let off the stick, and switch to sport mode, the video jumps as if it is going into overdrive......lol

Then, it starts heading back along the path I am guiding it on.

Pretty harrowing experience and I was lucky as you stated.

i do not have a wind speed measuring devise so the parameters i use are as follows.

My system of working out if the wind is at a safe level to fly in.
At low wind speed you will not hear the wind passing yr ears. The higher the wind speeds you will.
When the wind is up then i am sometimes twsiting my head to get a sense of wind direction and wind strength.
When i begin to hear the wind rushing past my ears then i begin to pay constant attention to the wind strength and direction. When flying and then becomming aware of the wind sound past my ears then i will start to fly upwind of my home position (if i am not ready to come home) - this way my home run can be with the wind instead of against it.
When the wind sound past my ears gets louder i know the wind is picking up and if i am still down wind then i will switch to sport and make getting back to home point my priority.
When flying over windy cliff tops and especially over wind funel valleys be aware that the wind is probably significantly stronger in those situations - there are often no environmental markers at these places to give you an idea of the wind speed is - so for safety you must assume that if there is wind where you are then there is probably wind where you are flying (be that over a cliff or over a valley) and that the wind there is probably much stronger there than where you are.
When flying in wind be sure to have yr battery warning settings set a bit higher - rather get home with spare battery.

Bekaru Tree Posted at 2018-1-1 12:04
i do not have a wind speed measuring devise so the parameters i use are as follows.

I have an inexpensive weather station I got on Amazon, was only about $50 USD. I stick the anemometer up in the air on a piece of antenna mast pipe. Besides being useful, it looks like I know what I'm doing to the folks watching.

Living in the UK we get quite a bit of wind. Have flown my Mavic Pro in 20mph winds and it did ok. Coming back I faced a headwind which it struggled with. I popped it in sports mode and the Mavic then did ok. I did get an "Over Current Discharge Warning". Had to back off a bit. I would recommend caution when flying in winds above 15mph. I now use the "Hover" app which gives me local weather conditions and wind strengths.