bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

Howdie. I had no idea this section existed... Might want to do a few posts in the main photography section announcing it, and inviting people to join.

Anyway, yes, I have flown drones a LOT, and do have my part 107 certificate, as well as the wonderfully overpriced liability coverage.

My question is, when shooting something like a wedding, at what point do you all say "sorry, this is too much wind" or do you just do it anyway?

I have in my contract that it is contingent on weather, but I won't charge anything if bad weather stops me from flying.

A few weeks ago, I had a groom that really had his heart set on getting drone photos, and bragged to all his friends that he had hired me to do that. Well, the day before the wedding, I let him know that the forecast looked bad, but I would try. The actually wedding day, there were gusts over 35 mph, and I just didn't want to risk flying near the guests, and over and around trees and water with that kind of situation. He seemed fine with it, but has made a few comments about it not being "that windy."

I have never come up with an actual "wind speed" that would go in a contract, but I'm thinking that it may be a good idea to avoid someone trying to come back on me later, if I have something numerical that can't be challenged.

jeep_daddy Loc: Prescott AZ

My Mavic Pro says it will fly in up to 22mph winds safely. Actually I think you can practically fly in winds up to the max speed of the drone but I wouldn't fly in anything that windy unless it was in the open and there are no trees or buildings etc.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

I've seen where they "claim" to be safe up to a certain windspeed, but I think you are correct, if I put a number to it, and if the location makes the safe flight impossible, it may be harder to "back out" of the shoot. I will do whatever I can to make the clients happy, but not at the risk of injuring someone or something.

I think too many people underestimate the damage, even a small drone can make. I've gotten severe cuts enough to make a trip to the emergency room, when someone flew into me. That tends to make me be a bit overly cautious, but also makes me cringe when people tend to dismiss the rules as "inconvenient."

When flying RC planes, I had to rush a guy to the hospital that stuck his arm through the ark of a prop, and turned his forearm into ground beef. Never did get all the blood out of that car. It looked like a war zone.

jayd Loc: Central Florida, East coast

Let common sense prevail.

bkyser Loc: Fly over country in Indiana

yeah, after I thought about it, a number would make it definitive, but there are other issues besides just a flat number. I can handle wind in an open field, that I couldn't handle safely in a "wind tunnel" through a bunch of trees.

Nice to have people to bounce ideas off of. Adding this to my wedding photography is new to me.