Max Winds for P4P Flights

[jdharrin]

Sitting here reading through the P4P manual and surprised it's rated to fly in winds up to 22 MPH. Not having anything to compare against, I just assumed I'd stay grounded if the winds were anything over 6-8 MPH. How high do the wind speeds have to be to keep your drone in the case?

 

[Blessed77]

25mph or lower if you want any usable video.

But phantoms can handle 35-40mph winds if tested to their max. Basically full throttle just to crawl.

Now an Inspire will stay stable in 50-60mph.

 

[Blessed77]

For pleasure I wouldn't choose to fly in anything over 15mph.

 

[Bakersfield Quad]

I flew in 10-15mph yesterday, no problems. It took more battery to go against the wind, so I made sure to keep an eye on battery voltage.
But, other than hearing the motors working sometimes, it flew normal, even when the wind moved around the hills. Video was smooth, so I guess 10-15mph smooth air, is OK.
The thing to remember is, 30mph max in P mode, so 22mph is probably not far off.

 

[Meta4]

Sitting here reading through the P4P manual and surprised it's rated to fly in winds up to 22 MPH. Not having anything to compare against, I just assumed I'd stay grounded if the winds were anything over 6-8 MPH. How high do the wind speeds have to be to keep your drone in the case?

It all depends on what you want to do, particularly how far you intend to fly and what direction relative to the wind.
If you are only needing to fly close or upwind, the Phantom can handle more wind than you'd expect, although launching and landing may be tricky.
But if you want to fly quite a distance downwind, you'd better be careful as RTH is a slow driver and slow RTH + a strong headwind = lost drone.

Here's a shot I took this week quite a distance out with true winds at 19 knots (22 mph)
I only went out because the return flight would not involve fighting a headwind coming home.

People tend to over-estimate wind speeds.
Away from shelter, the wind felt strong enough that few people would even consider flying in those conditions.

 

[Bakersfield Quad]

The only real fatal error is, winds more than max speed. 45, you say, pretty fast, but not really.
I flew my first distance solo as a student pilot. It was a nice day, sun, good visibility, winds were light.
I got into The Cessna 172, capable of over 150mph. The flight was short, 40 miles, over a 4,600' pass the down to an airfield on the high desert., piece of cake, have all day and I planned on a nice stop at the restaurant.
Take off, great, flight over, wonderful, landing, test book. I was beaming as I shut it down and waited for the prop to stop. Getting out, to set the chocks on the wheels, the wind picks up, suddenly! I look west, back to home, nothing, no clouds, it was supposed to be light winds.
I jump back inside, fire it up and head for the runway, I wanted out of there, Mojave had a bad rap for this.
I get off the ground, lots of wind, but it get to Hyway 58, the pass,loaded with trucks, going uphill. They are passing me!
Full throttle, I try to keep up ,until 20 minutes later, I reach the other side of the pass and it accelerates, ahead is a sea of white, the valley is socked in!
Total time elapsed, less than one hour.
Lessons,,
Predictions are educated guesses.
Winds can change instantly.
Fast is relative to windspeed.

 

[embayweather]

I would agree with 15mph, around force 4. It is capable of more but it gets less enjoyable very quickly as the average speed rises.

 

[PaulSouthport]

Meta4, that photo is epic!

 

[dayviduk]

Great photo..

 

[John Locke]

I've flown in 25mph wind, measured in an ATTI drift. The occasion was to shoot kite surfers. I could only do about 7mph (phantom 3p) when flying into the wind, but the video turned out great.

 

[YogiFlyer]

It all depends on what you want to do, particularly how far you intend to fly and what direction relative to the wind.
If you are only needing to fly close or upwind, the Phantom can handle more wind than you'd expect, although launching and landing may be tricky.
But if you want to fly quite a distance downwind, you'd better be careful as RTH is a slow driver and slow RTH + a strong headwind = lost drone.

Here's a shot I took this week quite a distance out with true winds at 19 knots (22 mph)
I only went out because the return flight would not involve fighting a headwind coming home.

People tend to over-estimate wind speeds.
Away from shelter, the wind felt strong enough that few people would even consider flying in those conditions.

Haha...which 3 letter agency do you have chasing you after taking that pic? I suspect if you look, you will have black suburbans following you.

 

[Ccattie]

If you never take another drone photo, you're fine because you hit it outta the park. Wow.

-c

 

[tml4191]

Phantom 4 Pros are tough as nails. I flew in wind speeds of around 20 mph with no problem!

 

[Deleted member 1555]

I flew in South Dakota with 35 mile an hour steady winds. It handled great but the battery drains really fast.

 

[Bakersfield Quad]

As long as you take max flying speed into your flight plan, along with battery observation, you should be ok in wind.

 

[lickitysplit11111]

Sitting here reading through the P4P manual and surprised it's rated to fly in winds up to 22 MPH. Not having anything to compare against, I just assumed I'd stay grounded if the winds were anything over 6-8 MPH. How high do the wind speeds have to be to keep your drone in the case?

I try to fly when its under 10 mph but I went out a few times when it was between 15-20 but I just stay closer to my take-off point (1 mile) and always watch the battery

 

[shockwave199]

I only fly in winds higher than 10-12mph aloft at the height planned when I have to. For recreation, I always look for winds between 5-10mph tops. Anything more and it defeats the purpose of a fun, relaxing flight.

 

[Kranmc]

Flew a couple of weeks ago - offshore winds of about 15-20mph. Flew to about 3/4 mile offshore. Heading back it was a tough slog, so I brought the P4 down to about 20 feet off the water (to get into the "wind shadow" of the shoreline and made it back without problem.

 

[Miltrez]

Go to Amazon and get you a handheld anemometer. I fly routinely here in Oklahoma in steady wind of 15-20 w/gusts up to 25 and only go through batteries as a detriment. Mind you, you MUST keep and eye on the bird and DO NOT rely on GPS to save your @$$. Know how to fly of the nanny setting P and it's no big deal.

 

[CharlieU]

The only real fatal error is, winds more than max speed. 45, you say, pretty fast, but not really.
I flew my first distance solo as a student pilot. It was a nice day, sun, good visibility, winds were light.
I got into The Cessna 172, capable of over 150mph. The flight was short, 40 miles, over a 4,600' pass the down to an airfield on the high desert., piece of cake, have all day and I planned on a nice stop at the restaurant.
Take off, great, flight over, wonderful, landing, test book. I was beaming as I shut it down and waited for the prop to stop. Getting out, to set the chocks on the wheels, the wind picks up, suddenly! I look west, back to home, nothing, no clouds, it was supposed to be light winds.
I jump back inside, fire it up and head for the runway, I wanted out of there, Mojave had a bad rap for this.
I get off the ground, lots of wind, but it get to Hyway 58, the pass,loaded with trucks, going uphill. They are passing me!
Full throttle, I try to keep up ,until 20 minutes later, I reach the other side of the pass and it accelerates, ahead is a sea of white, the valley is socked in!
Total time elapsed, less than one hour.
Lessons,,
Predictions are educated guesses.
Winds can change instantly.
Fast is relative to windspeed.

I remember a flight years ago flying a Piper Arrow 200 from Missouri to Calif. Motor homes were passing me on the highway. Wife and three kids filled all the milk cartons. Had to make an unscheduled landing at Tucumcari for fuel and an overnighter. 60 knot ground winds reported in Albuquerque. Yes, fast is relative to windspeed.