Going to be 15 mph wind on Sat and 20 mph wind on Sunday. Too risky to fly? How high should I fly if I decide to deal with the 20 mph wind?
Weather says 20 mph wind tomorrow
- Thread starter vjdave
- Start date
They thing is there are always wind gusts that are higher than the current wind speeds. The higher you go the wind speeds will increase quickly.
with 20+ mph wind your phantom will be struggling to make it back home, with 30mph+ winds, you phantom may not be able to make it home.
if for some reason you attempt, make sure you fly INTO the wind so that a return to home will be made WITH the wind.
with 20+ mph wind your phantom will be struggling to make it back home, with 30mph+ winds, you phantom may not be able to make it home.
if for some reason you attempt, make sure you fly INTO the wind so that a return to home will be made WITH the wind.
That's kind of a loaded question. Should be how high do you dare? Those 15 -20 mph winds forecasted are usually ground level winds. When you get 50ft and higher then you're into a whole new ballgame - gusts are different and crosswinds come into play. I use to avoid windy days and still do with a couple of my quads - too much invested and not worth risking crashing but I have one that's made up of spare parts and I use it to experiment with - it's more of a kamikazee quad. As a matter of fact flew it today in 15 mph winds with gust up to 25 using ground station - 1 1/2 mile round trip. Winds knocked it around abit but it did the route and I landed it manually.
To answer your question - fly it to your comfort level.
To answer your question - fly it to your comfort level.
If you have to even ask that question, it suggests you haven't been flying long enough and I would certainly not fly in those conditions. Even an experienced flyer probably shouldn't fly in 20mph winds... the gusts can be higher and could be very hard to control. You will also go through your battery much quicker.
vjdave said:
Go fly and have fun. It's challenging but not a big deal. Make sure you have ATTI mode available in case the wind picks up and is blowing more than GPS mode can handle.
race3 said:
If you use the wind to your advantage in ATTI mode you will not go through your battery quicker. You should try it out for yourself.
Would this help to understand how wind speed changes by altitude
http://www.knmi.nl/samenw/hydra/faq/profile.htm#grafiek
http://www.knmi.nl/samenw/hydra/faq/profile.htm#grafiek
I have a VP2 weather station and it's surprisingly difficult to quickly assess wind speed compared to what it is actually recording.
You tend to become 'acclimatised' during periods of strong winds and think it has dropped but it is still gusting quite high when you check.
I've found anything above 15mph is rather risky.
You may find a sheltered area alongside a wood or tall hedge you can use it safely but be wary of going high.
There is very often a spell near sunset when winds fall lighter, but be careful because they can return very suddenly too.
You tend to become 'acclimatised' during periods of strong winds and think it has dropped but it is still gusting quite high when you check.
I've found anything above 15mph is rather risky.
You may find a sheltered area alongside a wood or tall hedge you can use it safely but be wary of going high.
There is very often a spell near sunset when winds fall lighter, but be careful because they can return very suddenly too.
Thank you all for your input. This would be my 2nd flight with my P2V+ so the assumption that I have not had enough experience yet to deal with the challenge of flying in wind is correct.
Currently the wind is 6 mph and predicted to be as high as 14mph today. I may take it for a short flight at the park to see how it handles.
Tomorrow the forecast is for 20 to 30 mph winds. I will NOT fly tomorrow at all. Not worth the risk to me.
Currently the wind is 6 mph and predicted to be as high as 14mph today. I may take it for a short flight at the park to see how it handles.
Tomorrow the forecast is for 20 to 30 mph winds. I will NOT fly tomorrow at all. Not worth the risk to me.
I am happy to report that I went flying today with 6mph wind gusting to 14mph wind and had no issues as far as the wind is concerned. Brought her up to 600 feet. That is the highest I've flown yet...but I've only flown twice. :lol:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa4O12YEej0
I did witness the first "alarming' message on the DJI app on my phone which only appeared for about 2 seconds during the flight while I was at the highest altitude: "Phantom Lost Control Signal". Scared me to death.
I am happy to report that my GPS from DroneMods arrived in the mail today so this is the last flight I'll do without the DroneMods GPS attached for a little more piece of mind. :mrgreen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pa4O12YEej0
I did witness the first "alarming' message on the DJI app on my phone which only appeared for about 2 seconds during the flight while I was at the highest altitude: "Phantom Lost Control Signal". Scared me to death.
I am happy to report that my GPS from DroneMods arrived in the mail today so this is the last flight I'll do without the DroneMods GPS attached for a little more piece of mind. :mrgreen:
vjdave said:
You're assuming the forecasters have a clue. They don't. Buy a cheap anemometer and test the wind yourself before takeoff. Set your own limits and live within them.
If I listened to the forecasters today, I'd be in my cellar geeking out on a computer. RAIN... WIND... THUNDER... LIGHTNING...
I golfed thirteen holes today and flew my P2V for nearly twenty-three minutes... They have billions of dollars in satellites, sonar, radar, etc... what they don't have is a clue. It's not their fault, weather is just plain unpredictable.
The winds today were around 15 mph according to my anemometer, with gusts around 25 mph. When I first took her up I was a bit concerned with wind speed. After around ten minutes in the air in a controlled environment... not a problem and off we went... I had a really nice flying day today and really didn't even expect to get off the ground after considering the weather forecasts...
-slinger
Mori55 said:
ok no video till I get a new camera or new vision + to finalize the file but these may hold you over
I was doing speed runs in atti in the dark at 200ft winds doing 25-30mph + then somewhere near 75mph
I noticed it really seemed low as it approached me
I glance off the speed and look at the Altitude and oh $#@% 85 ft and dropping
hard to judge Altitude in the dark
I hit full reverse and jam the left lever up .
it screams over my head and just misses the house whew I thought for a moment then i here the terrible sound of a weed wacker and a thud
%#$&^$&^ didn't make it over the 60ft tree in back of house.
Guess my 76mph record on the vision may be broked as now Im lighter
No camerahave to get a new flytrex also as it was broken in the crash so I cant prove I broke it tonight
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gunslinger said:
I agree with you and this is a great idea! I am going to buy a cheap anemometer online right now.
vjdave said:
Actually I got the idea from Pull_up. (that guy's always costing me money...)
-slinger
Just consider this when listening to weather predictions, being a weatherman is the ONLY job where you can get a raise or promotion while being WRONG 50% of the time...
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