Weather & Flight
Drone Wind Calculator
Check current wind and gusts against your drone's real safety margin.
Planning aid only — not certified flight-planning software or airspace clearance. Always verify results against your own aircraft's manual and check current regulations before flying. Full disclaimer.
This is an informational calculation based on the limit you selected — not a guarantee that flight is safe or legally authorized. Always follow your drone manufacturer's published limits and your judgement on the day.
Two ways to set your limit
- Use my drone profile. The limits come from the drone profile selected on UAV Meteo, the same ones the home page uses to rate conditions. Choose this if you have already set up a profile for your aircraft.
- Enter a wind rating. Type your drone's maximum wind resistance from its spec sheet, and the calculator builds the limits from it:
| Band | Sustained wind | Gusts | For a 40 km/h rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Good | up to 0.7 × rating | up to 0.85 × rating | wind ≤ 28, gusts ≤ 34 km/h |
| Caution | up to 1.0 × rating | up to 1.2 × rating | wind ≤ 40, gusts ≤ 48 km/h |
| Not suitable | above 1.0 × rating | above 1.2 × rating | anything higher |
Spec sheets give the rating in different forms. Enter it in the unit shown next to the field, converting first if needed:
| Spec sheet says | In km/h |
|---|---|
| 10.7 m/s | 38.5 km/h |
| 12 m/s | 43.2 km/h |
| Level 5 (Beaufort) | up to about 38 km/h |
| Level 6 (Beaufort) | up to about 49 km/h |
To convert m/s to km/h, multiply by 3.6. You can look up many models, with the rating already converted, in our drone limits database.
Reading the margin
The margin is how far the wind is below the upper end of the caution band, as a percentage of it:
- for sustained wind, that is the rating itself;
- for gusts, it is 120% of the rating.
Example: a drone rated at 40 km/h, in 18 km/h wind gusting to 25 km/h:
- wind margin: (40 − 18) ÷ 40 = 55%;
- gust margin: (48 − 25) ÷ 48 = 48%;
- both values are inside the Good band (up to 28 km/h wind and 34 km/h gusts).
A margin close to zero means you are at the edge of what the drone was tested for. A negative margin means the wind is above it.
Which wind to enter
Enter the wind where the drone will fly. Loading the forecast for a location fills in the wind and gusts at 10 m above the ground, which is the standard height for weather forecasts. If you plan to fly at 100 m or more:
- check the wind at that height in Wind at Altitude;
- if it is stronger, enter that value as the sustained wind instead;
- keep the 10 m gust figure, since gusts are only forecast at 10 m, and don't assume the air higher up is smoother.
Near cliffs, ridges, buildings and treelines, the real wind can be much gustier than the forecast for open ground.
Margin isn't the whole picture
A good margin at take-off doesn't guarantee an easy flight home. Before relying on the result, consider:
- The return leg. A tailwind on the way out becomes a headwind on the way back. Use the Return-to-Home calculator.
- Battery and temperature. A cold or half-empty battery gives the drone less power to fight the wind. See how cold weather affects drone batteries.
- How the wind changes. Check the next few hours in Flight Window. A good margin now means little if gusts double in an hour.
Our guide to drone wind ratings explains how manufacturers test their ratings and why flying at the rating is risky.