FIRST
How heavy must a Quadcopter be to resist moderate Wind outside?
SECOND
I was thinking about hanging a weight (taking the form of a protective landing platform) hanging from the middle point of the quadcopter (possibly even on a ball socket joint) to counter wind induced off balances or gyro effects. Anyone else tried this?
THANKS.
I think motor power would be more a factor than weight. Also aerodynamics of the copter.
Course, larger motor for more power also equals more weight.
The response time of a quadcopter to external forces is a function of the motor Kv and prop size. The higher the Kv and smaller the prop the faster it can correct for wind. The lower the Kv and larger the prop the slower it can correct due to prop mass and motor rpm. The trade off is the smaller the prop the smaller the thrust (lift) and as the prop gets smaller and motor Kv gets higher, the the current draw increases lowering the battery life (flight time). If there was a simulator that allowed you to enter Kv, and prop size as well as wind speed, you could try different combinations to find the best match but simulators (that I have seen and used (I have Reflex XTR and it doesn't have quadcopters) do not usually account for flight time because they assume a battery with infinate flight time (or gas engine with unlimited fuel). I don't think RTF (Ready to Fly) weight is as critical as thrust to weight ratio.
Fantastic Answer Raschemmel. Thank you.
I would love to see someone try mounting a servo driven gimble-mounted gyroscope with pitch & roll detection and a feedback loop that rotates the gimble and tilts the gyroscope to compensate for pitch & roll but I don't know how you would get the flight
stabilization controller to work in tandem with the gyro system so they don't fight each other and go into a runaway oscillation.
It might be possible but it would be non=trivial..
Weight is not the issue. Bees and small birds fly in strong winds. Power and control are the key factors.
...R