A drone with a weight of less than 250 g has significant regulatory advantages in many countries. However, there seems to be some uncertainty about the actual weight of the new DJI Mavic Mini.
I weighed mine on an A&D GX-400 precision balance, which has a readability of 0.001 g and uses an internal motorized weight to adjust (“calibrate”) itself.
With the gimbal cover removed and a battery installed, but without a micro SD card, the Mavic Mini came in at around 247.23 g:
The takeoff weight including a micro SD card was 247.49 g:
Before anyone asks, I don’t have a traceable calibration certificate for this demo scale. However, I did test it using a 200 g and a 50 g class F1 weight, which gave me readings between 250.002 g and 250.004 g. I’m therefore confident that my drone has a takeoff weight of less than 248 g.
What does this mean for your Mavic Mini? Not that much, as we don’t know DJI’s manufacturing tolerances. However, I have not yet seen a credible claim that any Mavic Mini weighs more than 249 grams. Speaking of tolerances, my three batteries have the following weights:
- 99,15 g (used above)
- 99.29 g
- 98.75 g
The Japanese version of the drone uses lighter batteries with a lower capacity to stay below 200 g.
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what does the mini Mavic weight WITH the prop guards on it ?
Prop guards add around 50 g to the weight of the (original) Mavic Mini.
So if I put accessories on my mavic mini, such as camera sun hood, extended landing gear and motor covers, my mini would likely be greater than 250 grams. If that’s the case would I now need to register the mini with the FAA ?
If you exceed a takeoff weight of 0.55 pounds, “including everything that is on board or otherwise attached to the aircraft”, it seems you will have to register your drone. See: §48.15 Requirement to register