In how much knots the mavic is able to fly?
Want to capture kitesurfers.

I have flown mine with up to 30km/h wind. You get the warning on the screen but it holds position. Just take care of not going too far as you will use much more battery if you have to come back facing wind.

It felt like it couldn't hold much more than 30km/h though.

Vincent T Posted at 2016-12-23 09:48
I have flown mine with up to 30km/h wind. You get the warning on the screen but it holds position. Just take care of not going too far as you will use much more battery if you have to come back facing wind.

It felt like it couldn't hold much more than 30km/h though.

I was in 20 MPH plus was bouncing around a bit and got a lot of wind warning on the controller.
but it was still ok  

You should be fine filming kitesurfers, just try to make sure that you have enough battery in case you have a headwind coming home.
I've seen people lose their aircraft by flying far away and they have a headwind coming back and the aircraft is fighting the wind and cannot make it back.

If you are going to fly in anything more than light winds, try to make sure to take-off and plan your flight-path into the wind, that way you will always have the wind assisting you back home if anything goes wrong or the conditions change.
Also remember that even at 100ft the wind can be much stronger than ground level.

We had pretty strong winds yesterday and I was flying the Mavic in a river valley which is sheltered from the general wind flow. At first the winds were light enough in the valley to fly without concern but were much stronger at higher altitudes. The winds did shift a little which increased the winds in the valley so I shut down and went home. Be aware that weather conditions, especially winds, are constantly changing and plan accordingly. Also if you are flying any distances at all, keep in mind that the winds where you are and where the drone is, might be much different.

Windwarning i get also very often, but even in low wind conditions.
20mph are 17knots, that would be ok to surf.
Thank you Ken and Harbourside, good advice.
I will post pictures if i get some.

Thank you Rick A i will bear that in mind too. Is there a limit in windspeed that the mavic can handle?

Today the bird was out in round about 25knots (28mph). It was very gusty, but the mavic has handled it very good.
As i go up to 20m the mavic don't hold the position, it was shifting very slowly with the wind but not because of to less power, i could bring it back against the wind with my right stick.
Then the wind was going up a little bit and it was getting to strong. Full pull on the right stick couldn't bring it against the wind any more. I was getting a little bit nervous but could land it safely on the ground.

From a Kitesurfer view you can use the mavic in winds vor 12 qm kites and the bigger once.
Wind for 9 qm kites i would avoid, there is not enough safety on top of it.

I've been very impressed with flying in high winds. I'm in Fuerteventura with serious gusts (30 knots) with no real issues. Definitely sensible to fly out into a head wind and back with the wind though.

You can also try to switch to sports mode when in stronger winds. That's what I usually do when it's fighting to come back...

gnom Posted at 2016-12-24 01:44
Thank you Rick A i will bear that in mind too. Is there a limit in windspeed that the mavic can handle?

A fresh breeze is defined as 29-38 kph (19-24mph) which I believe is the upper limit for the Mavic Pro. But keep in mind, as winds increase, the potential for problems go up as well. Winds generally increase as you go up in elevation, winds are lighter closer to the ground. Topography can also affect wind direction and wind speed. In narrow valleys or draws, wind speeds can dramatically increase and will follow the terrain. In mountain regions, wind flow changes with weather patterns or with the time of day. In the afternoon, with daytime heating, upslope winds can occur, in the evening as the air temp cools, down slope winds can occur in the same location. Generally speaking, winds in the early morning or the evening are much lighter due to day time heating. Helicopter pilots take special courses for mountain flying due to the topographic effects of wind as well as the effect that increased elevation has on the performance of aircraft. As mentioned before, winds can also be different from where you are and where the Mavic is. Personally, my preference would be to only fly in light wind conditions but I have taken my Mavic out to practice flying in higher winds so I I have a feel for how the aircraft flies and responds in with changing winds. Wind is a very critical element to flight safety.

Big kite in 15 knots.

gnom Posted at 2016-12-29 14:56
Big kite in 15 knots.

That's  great photo.

Maverikster Posted at 2016-12-26 08:22
You can also try to switch to sports mode when in stronger winds. That's what I usually do when it's fighting to come back...

As long as you're paying very close attention...  If it flips to ATTI in sports mode it will not hold position and you'll need to take manual control.

Here it is,
there were 16/18 knots with higher gusts during take off (I received gimbal warning).

During your flight for safety please consider that kitesurfers can reach easily 30m of altitude jumping (kite lines are 24m).

There are really two questions that should be considered. One is "in how much wind can you safely control the Mavic?". The other question is "in how much wind can you get stable video?".  

Both questions clearly depend upon pilot experience and not just wind speed but gust factor. The other day it was blowing well over 25 mph and the Mavic was easy to fly in Sport mode (without Sport mode it would fly fine but have trouble going back into the wind).  It even got great video.    On another day it was blowing maybe 5 to 8 mph steady but gusty abruptly over 25 mph. This made it impossible to get smooth video during the gusts and dangerous to fly near obstacles or the ground.

I think 30knots is the maximum Windspeed it can handle, and this is awesome. In sportmode it can go 32knots, so windspeed over this will be a problem.
I would not recommend to fly in 30knots because of the possible gust, but if the wind is stable and you go upwind to location and downwind back, you can go out in rearly strong conditions with the baby.
Hopefully Mavic 2 will have an anemometer build in.