Drone Wind Limits: How Much Wind Can Your Drone Take?
Every manufacturer quotes a number: “max wind speed resistance, 10.7 m/s”. It sits in the spec sheet, it sounds like a limit, and it gets misread constantly.
What that number says is how much wind the drone can hold position in and fly normally through — under laboratory conditions, in level flight, on a full battery, at room temperature. It is not a clearance. It is the point at which the aircraft gives up.
Below are the manufacturer figures for 47 models, converted to km/h and Beaufort. First, the three reasons not to fly anywhere near them.
Why the manufacturer’s limit is not your limit
1. The wind at 120 metres is a different wind. Your weather app reports wind at 10 metres — that is the standard the meteorological services agreed on. On the way up, surface friction falls away: over built-up terrain the wind at filming altitude can easily be twice as strong. You take off in 15 km/h and fly up into 30. There is more on this in the weather guide.
2. Gusts are what catch you, not the average. Over land, gusts typically run 30 to 60 per cent above the mean wind. At 25 km/h average, peaks of 35 to 40 km/h are perfectly normal. The spec sheet describes sustained wind, not the peak.
3. The way back is the expensive one. Downwind is effortless. Coming back into the wind costs the drone several times the power, and in the cold the battery has less to give anyway. The reserve you need is not measured on the outbound leg.
Which gives a rule of thumb, and no more than that: plan for around 70 per cent of the manufacturer’s limit as your average wind. That leaves headroom for the gust margin and covers the flight home. The column is in the table below — as guidance, not as a manufacturer figure.
Wind limits by manufacturer
Every value is a manufacturer figure for sustained wind, converted from m/s. The guidance in the last column is 70 per cent of it and does not come from the manufacturer. Where a manufacturer publishes no wind resistance at all, the table says so, rather than inventing an estimate.
DJI
| Model | Weight | Class | Wind limit | Bft | Plan for 70 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air 2S | 595 g | none¹ | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Air 3 | 720 g | C1 | 43.2 km/h (12 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Air 3S | 724 g | C1 | 43.2 km/h (12 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Avata | 410 g | none¹ | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Avata 2 | 377 g | C1 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Avata 360 | 455 g | C1 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| FPV | 795 g | none¹ | 43.2 km/h (12 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Flip | 249 g | C0 | 38.8 km/h (10.8 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Lito 1 | 249 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Lito X1 | 249 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Matrice 4T | 1219 g | C2 | 43.5 km/h (12.1 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Matrice 4TD | 1850 g | special | 43 km/h (11.9 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Mavic 2 Pro | 907 g | none¹ | 29 km/h (8.1 m/s) | 5 | 20 km/h |
| Mavic 3 | 895 g | none¹ | 43.2 km/h (12 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Mavic 3 Classic | 895 g | C1 | 43.2 km/h (12 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Mavic 3 Pro | 958 g | C2 | 43.2 km/h (12 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Mavic 3T | 920 g | C2 | 43.2 km/h (12 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Mavic 4 Pro | 1063 g | C2 | 43.2 km/h (12 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Mavic Air | 430 g | none¹ | 36 km/h (10 m/s) | 5 | 25 km/h |
| Mavic Air 2 | 570 g | none¹ | 37.8 km/h (10.5 m/s) | 5 | 26 km/h |
| Mavic Mini | 249 g | none¹ | 28.8 km/h (8 m/s) | 5 | 20 km/h |
| Mavic Pro | 734 g | none¹ | 36 km/h (10 m/s) | 5 | 25 km/h |
| Mini 2 | 249 g | none¹ | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Mini 2 SE | 246 g | none¹ | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Mini 3 | 248 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Mini 3 Pro | 249 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Mini 4 Pro | 249 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Mini 4K | 246 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Mini 5 Pro | 249 g | C0 | 43.2 km/h (12 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| Neo | 135 g | C0 | 28.8 km/h (8 m/s) | 5 | 20 km/h |
| Neo 2 | 151 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
Antigravity
| Model | Weight | Class | Wind limit | Bft | Plan for 70 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A1 | 249 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
Autel ²
| Model | Weight | Class | Wind limit | Bft | Plan for 70 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EVO II Pro V3 | 1191 g | C2 | 75.6 km/h (21 m/s) | 9 ² | 53 km/h |
| EVO Lite 640T Enterprise | 866 g | C1 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| EVO Lite+ | 835 g | C1 | 54 km/h (15 m/s) | 7 | 38 km/h |
| EVO Nano+ | 249 g | none¹ | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
FIMI
| Model | Weight | Class | Wind limit | Bft | Plan for 70 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X8 Mini V2 | 245 g | none¹ | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| X8 SE 2022 V2 | 768 g | none¹ | 43 km/h (11.9 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
| X8 Tele | 780 g | none¹ | 43 km/h (11.9 m/s) | 6 | 30 km/h |
HoverAir
| Model | Weight | Class | Wind limit | Bft | Plan for 70 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HoverAir X1 | 125 g | C0 | 28.4 km/h (7.9 m/s) | 5 | 20 km/h |
| HoverAir X1 Pro | 191 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| HoverAir X1 Pro Max | 192 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
Hubsan
| Model | Weight | Class | Wind limit | Bft | Plan for 70 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zino Mini Pro | 249 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
Potensic
| Model | Weight | Class | Wind limit | Bft | Plan for 70 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atom | 249 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
| Atom SE | 249 g | C0 | 38.5 km/h (10.7 m/s) | 6 | 27 km/h |
Ryze
| Model | Weight | Class | Wind limit | Bft | Plan for 70 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tello | 80 g | none¹ | not published | – | – |
V-Coptr
| Model | Weight | Class | Wind limit | Bft | Plan for 70 % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Falcon Mini | 249 g | C0 | 29 km/h (8.1 m/s) | 5 | 20 km/h |
¹ “none” means no C-class label. These drones fall under the legacy rules — where you may fly them depends on weight, not on a class marking. What counts is always the sticker on the aircraft itself.
² Autel states a Beaufort force rather than a speed (“Level 8”). The values here correspond to the upper bound of that force — in practice, then, on the optimistic side.
Beaufort, km/h, and what it means outdoors
| Bft | km/h | How you recognise it | For a drone |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 6–11 | Leaves rustle, you feel the wind on your face | no problem |
| 3 | 12–19 | Thin twigs move, flags stand out | no problem |
| 4 | 20–28 | Dust and paper swirl up, small branches move | the edge of comfortable for light drones |
| 5 | 29–38 | Small trees sway, whitecaps on lakes | sub-250 g drones visibly struggle |
| 6 | 39–49 | Large branches move, an umbrella gives up | at or above the limit of most consumer models |
| 7 | 50–61 | Whole trees in motion, walking gets hard | heavy machines only, and they won’t enjoy it |
| 8 | 62–74 | Twigs break off | outside what consumer drones are built for |
That middle column is not folklore — it is the original Beaufort scale, which was invented precisely to estimate wind without an instrument. If you have no anemometer with you, it is still the best method you have.
What else eats into the limit
Cold. Below 10 °C a LiPo battery loses noticeable capacity, below 0 °C a great deal of it. A flight that gives you 20 minutes in summer might give you 13 in January — and the headwind on the way back is exactly the same.
Weight and accessories. ND filters, prop guards, a heavier battery variant: anything that makes the drone more sluggish moves the limit down. Prop guards are the underrated item here — they act like a small sail.
Wind direction at edges. Building corners, forest edges, cliffs and embankments create turbulence and downdrafts that no forecast mentions. An onshore wind at the coast and the lee side of a hill are the two classic places where a drone gets pushed down without warning.
Your own experience. A pilot who has already brought a drone home manually in wind has reserves that someone who has only ever flown in still air does not. That is in no spec sheet.
Checking the wind before take-off
For your launch point Hoverpoint shows not a single wind figure but a profile through the altitude band — wind and gusts at several steps up to 120 metres, each with direction. Before you take off you can see whether it gets calmer or rougher up there, and at what height it turns.
Add your drone to the hangar and the app knows its wind limit from the same database this table comes from — and tells you, for the place and time you picked, whether the wind fits. With no conversion on your part.
Free, in the browser too, at web.hoverpoint.info.
Frequently asked questions
How much wind can a drone take?
Most consumer models state 10.7 to 12 m/s, which is 38 to 43 km/h — Beaufort 6. Light models under 200 grams sit below that, around 28 km/h. Plan with roughly 70 per cent of whatever your model states.
How much wind can the DJI Mini 5 Pro take?
DJI states 12 m/s, which is 43.2 km/h. For sustained wind I would draw the line at about 30 km/h.
Is the manufacturer’s limit a legal limit?
No. EU drone regulation names no wind figure. It does require you to conduct the flight safely and to stay within the operating limits of the aircraft — and that operating limit is precisely the manufacturer’s figure.
Why does the number in my app differ from this page?
Some manufacturers state a Beaufort force rather than a speed, and some change the figure with a firmware update. If a value here is off, write to me — this table comes from the same database as the app.
Does the gust count, or the average wind?
The average wind for the data sheet, the gust for the crash. That is what the safety margin is for.
Can I fly in Beaufort 5?
Legally, yes. In practice it depends on the model: 29 to 38 km/h sits just under the limit for a 250-gram drone — it will fly, but it will fight, and the footage shows it. Anything from 900 grams up takes it far more calmly.
More guides for drone pilots
- Drone rules in Germany
- Drone weather: when is it safe to fly?
- NOTAMs for drone pilots
- Flying a drone abroad: rules for 140 countries
- EU drone licence: A1/A3 or A2
- Drone flight log: rules, content, template
- Drone wind limits by model
Try everything for free: Hoverpoint for Android and iOS, or straight in your browser at web.hoverpoint.info.
Note: this page reflects the situation as of September 2026 and is neither legal advice nor an official clearance. The regulations in force at the time of your flight are what count.