The new DJI Mini 3 Pro is an amazingly designed tiny consumer drone from DJI. It has high-end features at a relatively affordable price which makes it a good drone for the beginners market.
It only weighs 249 grams which makes it ideal for flying without registration with the FAA and other agencies.
Although the tiny weight makes it unique in the drone market, it also raises some eyebrows about its ability to fight wind during flight.
Today, we are going to discuss the DJI Mini 3 Pro wind resistance and see how it flies in high wind conditions.
The DJI Mini 3 Pro has level 5 wind resistance. It can resist a wind speed of up to 10 m/s (24 mph). Anything more than that and you will risk crashing or losing your drone.
If you want to get general information, you can read my detailed article on drone wind resistance levels but in this article let’s explore the DJI Mini 3 Pro wind limit in particular.
How do drones resist wind?
The ability of the drone (or any aircraft) to stay stable in the face of a high blowing wind is called its wind resistance. It is dependent on the geometrical shape of the drone, the size, and the power of the rotors.
When you fly your drone in perfectly still air, the only force acting on the drone is the gravity (downwards) and the push of the rotating propellers (upwards).
If the drone is hovering in one place in still air, there are no side forces on the drone. But when the wind starts blowing, the drone will feel a slight push on the windy face.
The drone’s IMU will detect this push and tilt the drone slightly towards the wind so that the propellers can generate enough force against the wind to stay in place.
This process is highly automatic, and the IMU calculates the wind speed and the corresponding tilt angle in real-time so that the drone does not move in any direction without input from the pilot. The wind forces are perfectly countered.
But when the wind speed increases, the drone will also increase its tilt angle and propeller speed to generate the required force to counter the wind force.
There is a limit to how much tilt the drone can bear without crashing face forward. Once the maximum tilt is reached, the drone will start moving along with the wind without any input from the controller.
That’s when we say the wind resistance is reached and the drone cannot fly safely anymore. At this point, it is highly recommended to land the drone.
DJI Mini 3 Pro wind resistance
Now that we know what wind resistance is and how your drone counters wind forces by tilting in the direction of the wind, let’s explore what the safe wind limit for Mini 3 Pro is.
The manufacturer recommends that you should not be flying your Mini 3 Pro when the wind speed is greater than 10.57 m/s or around 24 miles per hour. This wind speed can sway small trees around, and you can feel a slight push on your body.
But we all know that manufacturers design products with safety in mind. You can certainly fly your Mini 3 Pro in winds stronger than that, but it would be a little risky.
Since DJI doesn’t want any liability on its head if you crash, they have set a pretty low limit for the wind resistance value.
In practice, you can fly your Mini 3 Pro (or any DJI drone) 30% – 40% above the manufacturer’s listed value, and you will be fine.
Another slightly unknown fact is the max speed specification. The DJI Mini 3 Pro can fly at a max speed of 16m/s (36 mph) when put in Sports mode.
That means, it can stay and hover in place at the same wind speed. Theoretically, this is the absolute maximum wind speed the drone can actually handle before it is blown away.
However, if you are a new pilot and don’t know how to handle your drone in an emergency, I would NOT recommend taking off in windy conditions.
To summarise:
- The officially listed wind resistance limit is 10 m/s (24 mph)
- Theoretically, Mini 3 Pro can handle as much as 16 m/s (36 mph) wind but is highly risky.
DC Rainmaker actually did a pretty cool wind test on the new Mini 3 Pro and flew it in a high wind blowing close to 15 m/s without crashing.
If you see the video feed, it’s absolutely amazingly stable. Check out the video all the way to the end.
How to measure wind level before flying?
Now, this is the important part. How can you know if the blowing wind on a certain day is suitable for flying or not?
As I discussed in my wind resistance levels article before, a Beaufort scale chart is usually used to identify the strength of blowing wind without using any measuring tool or instrument.
As per the Beaufort scale, the DJI Mini 3 Pro has a level 5 wind resistance which is sufficient wind to “move or sway small trees”.
So if you are out there in the field and see small trees moving rather violently, cancel your plan and go get a beer instead.
If the wind can swing small trees on the ground, it can throw your 250 gram Mini 3 Pro away at 100 ft altitude as well (Wind speed increases as you go up)
You can also use a small handheld device called an anemometer to measure the speed of wind at ground level.
Again, keep in mind that the speed of wind at ground level is far less than what your drone will face at a height of 50ft or 100ft. The high you go, the windy it gets.
PRO TIP: If you ever face high wind warning while flying your drone, just decrease your altitude and get near to the ground where wind levels are low.
Summary – DJI Mini 3 Pro max wind speed
To summarise our discussion, here are the main points we covered.
- The ability of any drone to stay in place against a blowing wind is called its wind resistance.
- Wind resistance varies from drone to drone and is dependent on physical shape, size, and rotor power.
- DJI Mini 3 Pro is a small and lightweight drone that can resist a wind speed of up to 10.7m/s or 24 miles per hour.
- In extreme conditions, it can sustain wind speed of up to 16 m/s or 36 miles per hour but you should never push your drone to that limit.
- Always check the wind speed at ground level by using the Beaufort scale or a portable anemometer before your flying session.
- If you face sudden high wind conditions during your flight, just bring your drone to near ground level where the wind is blowing more gently.
I hope this short article is helpful and answers your question. If not, you can always ask in the comments section below. Happy flying!
Super specific guidance thanks. I’m new to this as time and appreciate everyone who gives me the benefit of their experience. I tend to look at the trees of around 50ft and if they are being pushed about I keep my Mini 3 Pro in its box! I have read that around cliffs anywhere, thermals and ricocheted winds can rapidly transport a light drone well out of your comfort (and control!) zone.