A Day at the Beach

The other day I found myself unexpectedly in Atlantic Beach, NC. It was not so unexpected that I could not pick up my drone from my home on the way there, however. I thought since I was going to be at the beach anyway, I would try to get some aerial pictures of the pier and water. 

Mother nature had other plans. When I arrived the wind speed was at least 20 miles per hour more than inland. It is not too unusual for the beach. The DJI Mavic Mini drone that I currently own will not handle that kind of wind speed. “A rule of thumb says that the wind may be up to two-thirds of the drone’s maximum speed (Mario).”  The Mavic Mini drone has a maximum speed of 29 miles per hour putting it right at the edge of the recommended wind gusts for flight. There is nothing illegal about flying in high winds, but there are some safety considerations.

First consideration is that the drone should be facing away from the pilot when launching the drone. High winds could potentially blow the drone at the pilot. I had my propeller guards on, but it could still potentially cause injury.

When flying the Mavic Mini drone during strong winds, the DJI FLy app will give a message that warns of high winds and requests the drone land immediately. High winds cause the return to home (RTH) function to disable and the drone could be in the sky uncontrolled.  

In addition to safety concerns, the drone could also be damaged. A slight shift in the winds could launch my drone into the ocean or be lost elsewhere. Having to locate my drone is not something I was not planning to do.

With all these considerations, I will have to try another day at the beach with my Mavic Mini drone. Maybe next time conditions will be more suitable for flying. It is best to operate safely and cautiously. There is no picture worth injury or damage.

Mario, https://tipsfordrones.com/can-a-drone-fly-in-strong-winds/, Retrieved on 4/28/2021

https://dl.djicdn.com/downloads/Mavic_Mini/Mavic_Mini_User_Manual_v1.0_en.pdf, Retrieved on 4/28/2021