Flew in strong winds.

jats2k9 · May 14, 2017

I flew my Solo on strong winds. I bought it with the purpose of making kitesurfing videos. Yesterday I got the chance to fly it for the first time and it turned out to be stronger than I expected. Winds where 23 knots steady gusting up close to 30. Solo handled it with no problems. I honestly expected to enconter some issues. I was a bit nervous but I was stunted to see it perform.

I flew beetwen 4 to 5 pm Miami beach. Here is the wind chart.

Instagram post by Jose Antonio • May 14, 2017 at 3:09am UTC.

Fen · May 14, 2017

Thanks for this, I've been wondering how the Solo handles wind.

banjopad · May 14, 2017

Fen said:
Thanks for this, I've been wondering how the Solo handles wind.

I have never had any problem with the Solo in high winds.

czrlaker · May 14, 2017

Same here. Strong winds yesterday. I have had my drone for a year and a half. First time I ever loose connection to my control. Thankfully it made it back near crash but landed safely. It handled really well. Weird that I lost connection tho. About 50 feet away. That battery goes really really really fast.

Rex Barlow · May 15, 2017

I have no problem with high winds! I love my sole drone!

Kevin E. James · May 21, 2017

Here where I live is is windy most of the time. I actually learned how to fly...because of the positional strength of the Solo. I fly in tight places and try to set up tight shots. ...The Solo makes me a better pilot... and that is before the GPS update. I am looking for a wooden open structure (like in the simulator) to practice tight flying. I have to fly slow and plan the turns but the Solo keeps itself sable where I put it. Nice[emoji41]

Kevin E. James · May 21, 2017

Stable.. .[emoji16]

pyrate · May 21, 2017

not sure why but it seems like my APC props do better in wind than stock

John Githens · May 21, 2017

pyrate said:
not sure why but it seems like my APC props do better in wind than stock

I have the same impression from using APC props, although most of the time I now use the Master Airscrew props. But it's the whole flyable system that delivers the usable video clips. Brad Hughey left some comments on threads like this one on DIY Drones, and this other one on DIY Drones, and yet another one. Other commenters weighed in on both threads, as they like to do, for example: " ... wind causes a problem in two ways - unwanted changes to location and to orientation". Wind also reveals the limits of a gimbal subsystem. I have found that a solo can be tossed around a lot before the clips from the GoPro become unusable.

RichWest · May 21, 2017

John Githens said:
I have the same impression from using APC props, although most of the time I now use the Master Airscrew props.

Based on your Hughey reference, the why for one prop design over another. I assume your opinion is based on performance and an actual comparison. Why are you flying MAS over APC of equal? For MAS, I only seem to read about availability and color as the main reason for most users....

John Githens · May 21, 2017

RichWest said:
Based on your Hughey reference, the why for one prop design over another. I assume your opinion is based on performance and an actual comparison. Why are you flying MAS over APC of equal? For MAS, I only seem to read about availability and color as the main reason for most users....

MAS sound a little quieter to my ears and mind (not always a good thing, if you want people below to avoid being there...) and they are attractive. I'll let others opine based on their rigorously structured tests in the field.

As with so many other things, tradeoffs are made depending on your balance of objectives. Why you launch one of these small multirotor aircraft with a camera.

RichWest · May 21, 2017

John Githens said:
Why you launch one of these small multirotor aircraft with a camera.

Because a S900 didn't have training props...

I appreciate the honest reply.

wja · May 21, 2017

czrlaker said:
Same here. Strong winds yesterday. I have had my drone for a year and a half. First time I ever loose connection to my control. Thankfully it made it back near crash but landed safely. It handled really well. Weird that I lost connection tho. About 50 feet away. That battery goes really really really fast.

If your flying in cold / snowy conditions it has a big effect on battery life . Lithium batteries don't like the cold . During winter months i'd use hand warmers to keep my 3d heli & airplanes batteries warm because once they got cold they'd lose voltage fast. Cold also makes plastic brittle so even a small tip over or low crash might cause more damage than it would on a warm day... as far as wind the solo will handle more wind thanks to its power and weight.

Zeitgeist · May 21, 2017

I have flown in 30mph

Ethan Endres · May 22, 2017

Every time I fly in wind my gimbal goes sideways along with my video feed, the first time it happened I freaked out.

Vegasrobbi · May 23, 2017

I have lots of flights on my Solo in the wind and it does great. My H is better in the wind but my P's don't handle the wind well. First video Solo follow orbits in 30 mph winds. Second video wind is to much, the gimbal maxed out and went into some kind of limp mode beeping.

Craig L. Johnson - USMC · May 28, 2017

I flew my solo in strong wind this last Saturday up in Chicago, on Lake Shore Drive by the lake. I was impressed how my solo handle the winds. The video was great also. My solo did burn thru the battery a little quicker when I was landing. I see why Chicago is called the windy city

nosheep · May 28, 2017

When you guys fly in heavier winds, how do you orient the solo in regards to the wind when taking off? In other words, do you position the craft facing into the wind or some other direction? Thanks!

BillHally101 · May 28, 2017

I test flew mine for the first time on Friday morning, it was quite windy. Took off into the wind a good few times and I was very happy with the way Solo reacted to the wind, it was every bit as good as if not better that my Hexcopter with six motors. So far so good am pleased. Bill