If you ran a preflight check today and your score looks different from what you expected, here is why.
We updated the safety score to version 2.0 -- and have continued refining it since. The biggest changes: wind thresholds are now specific to your aircraft class, surface wind no longer tells the whole story, and controlled airspace carries more weight in the score than before.
Why one wind threshold was wrong for everyone
The original score penalized any wind over 15 mph the same way regardless of what you were flying. A DJI Mini 3 pilot and a DJI Matrice 350 pilot at the same location got the same score.
That was wrong. The Mini 3 has a rated maximum wind resistance of 10.7 m/s (~24 mph). The Matrice 350 is rated to 15 m/s (~33 mph). At 25 mph sustained wind, the Mini 3 is operating above its rated limit. The Matrice 350 has significant margin left. These are not equivalent risk situations.
What changed in Score v2.0
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Wind thresholds by aircraft class:
| Class | Example | High wind threshold | Danger threshold |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mini/Nano (<250g) | DJI Mini 3/4 Pro | 20 mph | 23 mph |
| Standard (250g-2kg) | DJI Mavic 3, Air 3 | 23 mph | 28 mph |
| Heavy/Pro (>2kg) | Matrice 350, Skydio X10 | 28 mph | 34 mph |
Precipitation scored from 15% -- a 20% chance of rain is not trivial for electronics. Now starts at -3 and scales to -15 for near-certain precipitation.
Compounding risk -- when multiple categories are simultaneously elevated, total risk is greater than the sum. The score adds -4 or -8 when two or three categories carry elevated penalties simultaneously.
Population density proxy -- urban area (-5) and suburban/park (-2) ground-risk factors informed by the SORA framework.
What changed since v2.0
Wind altitude profile (new):
Surface wind no longer tells the whole story. A calm 5 mph at ground level can become 22 mph at 400 ft AGL -- well above the danger threshold for a Mini drone. UAS SkyCheck now fetches wind data at four altitude levels (33 ft, 262 ft, 394 ft, 591 ft) from Open-Meteo and scores the increase:
- +5-9 mph increase with altitude: -3
- +10-14 mph increase: -6
- +15+ mph increase: -10
The Advisor tab also explains this when it fires -- "Surface conditions do not reflect what your drone will encounter at altitude."
LAANC penalty recalibrated:
LAANC Required was previously -10. It is now -15. Controlled airspace authorization is a meaningful operational constraint -- you need to open a separate app, authorize, and actively manage your ceiling. The old penalty put it in the same range as moderate gusts. The new value better reflects the operational weight.
Proximity double-penalty removed:
The airspace proximity gradient (-1 to -5 for being near a Class B/C/D boundary) previously could stack on top of a LAANC penalty for the same airport. This was double-counting the same condition. The proximity penalty is now suppressed when LAANC is already required.
Full penalty breakdown visible:
The score card now shows all penalties, not just the top three. Tap "+N more factors" to see every deduction. A score of 74 should be explainable -- you should be able to see exactly where every point went.
Score displayed as an instrument gauge:
The score is now rendered as a 140° SVG arc that fills left-to-right as the result counts up over 800ms. The same ease-out-cubic animation drives both the arc and the number, so they move in sync -- the same visual language as an instrument panel reading rather than a webpage refreshing. Every penalty deduction is visible below the gauge so you can see exactly where each point went.
What this means for your score
LAANC-only locations with no other flags now score 85 = EXCELLENT, which is the correct label for a straightforward controlled airspace authorization with good weather. Previously they scored 90 but any moderate wind would push them to CAUTION -- now the thresholds are more consistent.
Locations where surface wind looks fine but altitude wind is high will show a lower score than before. That is the correct direction -- the pilot needs to know.
Full methodology
The complete scoring methodology -- all thresholds, empirical basis, regulatory references, and limitations -- is published in the repository for anyone who wants to review or cite it.
UAS SkyCheck, a product of SudoKodes LLC