I'm wanting to fly so bad as we have been having 20 MPH winds as of late. 15 MPH ENE seems to OK based on threads I've read. What would you do?

Sorry, so today we have 15MPH and it's supposed lessen as the hours go on.

G_MEZ_G Posted at 2016-4-12 20:15
Sorry, so today we have 15MPH and it's supposed lessen as the hours go on.

I fly in 25 mph winds everyday, were I live if I didn't fly when it was windy I wouldn't fly at all.

I've heard that a lot! I'm so used to flying R/C "Toy" Quads and I have lost several, lol, that I get nervous ;) thx for your reply

i have flown in 25 mph wind, p3 handled it well. just keep eye on power level. i normally fly into the wind that way i come back with the wind helping!!!!

That's my plan, into the wind! I'm excited!

G_MEZ_G Posted at 2016-4-13 08:27
That's my plan, into the wind! I'm excited!

now remember, if you have any techy malfunctions ( I never Have) and have to switch to ATTI mode, it will be a sumbitch to fly back home and land. so i suggest you practice a lot in windy condition in open area in atti mode.

I've flown both my P2 and P3P in 20mph. I think the newer P3's handle it better but the P2 still did ok. The biggest issue for me was watching out for strong cross winds when taking off and landing. Everything was fine once in the air. Never flown a P4 so not sure about it but would assume it would do well like the P3. Now with that said, I generally stick to around 15mph.

I fly the P4 in winds up to 25, and it handles great.  I'm not sure that I would try it in higher winds, though.

I flew mine in hawaii in 20 gusting to 30.  No problems.  Just remember if you go out a far distance with a tail wind, it'll take longer to get back.

SO..... I just flew her and had an awesome flight... UNTIL... I decided... Of all days.... To test the RTH.... And I had a moment when I told myself.... NO, it's too windy, don't do it. Well I did any ways and it was working flawlessly until it go close to the ground and the wind kind of blew it close to a wooden fence and the props started hitting. I hurried and grabbed it by the landing pads and pressed the left stick down. It actually took a second to cut off and I had an error "motor obstruction" now I'm charging the battery and I threw the props away. I'm going to test her out to see if I ruined her or not. From what I understand these can sure take a beating but I'll check in a second. To all, she can definitely handle 15 MPH winds but as someone posted a second ago, it's the landing and takeoff that is the main concerns. Also, DON'T TRY RTH ON A WINDY DAY FOR THE FORST TIME! Lol. OMG, well it was a learning experience and I'll tell you what, RTH is actually pretty awesome.

If you have the experience then you can handle it.
Just remember that the strong the winds, the more battery drain you will have.

G_MEZ_G Posted at 2016-4-12 20:15
SO..... I just flew her and had an awesome flight... UNTIL... I decided... Of all days.... To test t ...

Oh NO!!!!

It handles wind very well. No worries for 15 mph.  Just be careful with wind around like 20 and over. Even 20 is ok though, just caution in 20

I touched the RTH button once I realized what what happening and well it didn't respond. Maybe I didn't press hard enough.

Pressed RTH to stop the RTH.

Totally user error! Totally!

Biggest thing about winds is to NOT use prop guards as they act like sails. Trust RTH...Repeat over and over, 'trust RTH'.

FAS1 Posted at 2016-4-12 20:50
Biggest thing about winds is to NOT use prop guards as they act like sails. Trust RTH...Repeat over  ...

I don't use prop guards.

This by the way, was the biggest part of the problem which I forgot to mention; my take off was from an easement between my house and the next door neighbors which is 40Ft wide. I took off right in the middle of this easement. On a normal day I truly believe that it would have been enough for a RTH. But in a windy day, I clearly needed more space to account for the wind. Live and Learn ;)

One thing I can recommend is some DJI Phantom 3 Landing Gear Stabilizers by PolarPro. I have been out a few times with my P3 and the wind has been around 15-20 mph and it can blow the P3 over if not careful. Once I put on the stabilizers I feel much more comfortable. Sorry to hear about your small crash with the fence. Hope it all turns out ok. :-)

I bought mine directly from PolarPro at:
https://www.polarprofilters.com/products/phantom3landinggear

Yes it's possible, but not fun at all (in my case) ... Nerve wreaking experiences all flight long, white knuckles etc. ... Better not if you're on learning ladder, leave this for later ...

G_MEZ_G Posted at 2016-4-13 09:15
SO..... I just flew her and had an awesome flight... UNTIL... I decided... Of all days.... To test t ...

You have to hand catch in high winds. Try it, its not so scary and it sure beats damaging the gimbal / camera.
The Inspire is steadier in wind compared to a P3 but that's the effect of mass.

Best to fly against the wind at the beginning of the flight. If not, make sure you give generous allowance for fighting the wind on the way back or say goodbye to your craft, especially over water or trees.

20 mph gusts at sea level - easy. if you are at a high elevation (10,000' and up)  where the drone may not react fast enough to counter the wind - probably not a good idea. Try to take off from hand and snag it... don't let the wind knock it down as it's about to take off and land.

Remember that wind speed increases with height when deciding whether to fly or not. At 1000 feet you can add 50% of the surface wind speed and at 2000 feet it can be as much as double the surface wind.  

Couple of informative vids on YouTube that highlight what can go wrong if you underestimate conditions........



http://youtu.be/QlKqBX5kRjo

The GPS  keeps the Phantom very stable. On a windy day you will notice that a good gust of wind will make it sway a bit but for the most part it does a very good job. Where it gets a bit tricky is takeoff and landing. You will have to work both sticks on takeoff and when landing and shutting down do not do a CSC to shutdown. Just pull the throttle back slowly and you should be fine. It is very helpful to build your ATTI skills on a calm day to get a good feel of control with the sticks.

G_MEZ_G Posted at 2016-4-12 18:22
I've heard that a lot! I'm so used to flying R/C "Toy" Quads and I have lost several, lol, that I ge ...

Word to the wise.    Note the amount of angle pushing into the winds....
Published on Jan 18, 2016

Dangers of flying a drone in windy, gusty conditions. Taken 1/17/2016 in eastern NM. Winds at ground level were 8-16 mph from the NW. Crash occurred in higher, swirling gust that hit from the SE.

Broken props -no biggie. IMU failure - a little more of a problem to sort out. Overall, no other damage to the drone.

Added: All's well. The IMU is now reset and the drone is ready to fly again - hopefully, minus the sudden stop.

Mike-the-cat Posted at 2016-4-13 13:48
You have to hand catch in high winds. Try it, its not so scary and it sure beats damaging the gimba ...

Yes, the hand catch is what I need to learn. I assume, once in your hand, that the motors will shut down by pulling the throttle down all the way just like manual landing?

R&L Aerial  Posted at 2016-4-12 20:18
I fly in 25 mph winds everyday, were I live if I didn't fly when it was windy I wouldn't fly at al ...

Are you in Kansas?

G_MEZ_G Posted at 2016-4-13 07:08
Yes, the hand catch is what I need to learn. I assume, once in your hand, that the motors will shu ...

Yes shutdown just like you landed...  Catching comes in real handy I prefer this method when landing with high winds or rough surface.

It flys well in high winds (around 15-20mph) but I like to have an open area to take off and land just so that any gusts of wind will not make me make a stupid move and crash it into something. I trust the P3P but don't trust myself to not make a mistake since I haven't been flying long.

G_MEZ_G Posted at 2016-4-12 21:35

O..... I just flew her and had an awesome flight... UNTIL... I decided... Of all days....

I touched the RTH button once I realized what what happening and well it didn't respond. Maybe I did ...

I knew that was coming...

Don't forget.
With in 20m of the home point, RTH won't do anything except tell the quad to land..

knupla2 Posted at 2016-4-13 07:52
Word to the wise.    Note the amount of angle pushing into the winds....
Published on Jan 18, 201 ...

The windmill was hardly turning? It looks like you just flew right into it?

Capt. Wild Bill Posted at 2016-4-13 08:33
Are you in Kansas?

We're not in Kansas anymore scroto.

G_MEZ_G Posted at 2016-4-13 20:08
Yes, the hand catch is what I need to learn. I assume, once in your hand, that the motors will shu ...

Yes, that's the way to do it. When you get the hang of it, it will become the default mode of landing in rough country.

I do it all the time with the Inspire when hiking.

DJI-Tim Posted at 2016-4-13 02:52

Doesn't the manual say not to exceed wind speeds of 30 ft / sec?  (10/s is the literal wording)

If that's the recommendation you'd make, why not re-write that part? Might be a good idea

I flew last week Friday in 20mph wind out over the ocean. It was fine flight wise but the distance it was able to travel in the amount of time was so much less, flying in to the wind going out and I made a loop and came back with a crosswind wasn't a great idea. Landing was very tricky , had lots of space to work with but the phantom was getting swayed in the wind. I brought it down and it was fine. Won't be doing that again. Not worth the loss in flight time

ARM-001 Posted at 2016-4-13 17:44
Remember that wind speed increases with height when deciding whether to fly or not. At 1000 feet you ...

no way... this is just some guy who was flying phantom 1 or 2 or NAZA FC in manual mode... Don't know if  people in our days know what is manual mode...

DJI-Tim Posted at 2016-4-14 11:49
no way... this is just some guy who was flying phantom 1 or 2 or NAZA FC in manual mode... Don't k ...

Agree. it looked very similar to what a Syma X5C type quad would react.