Anyone have experience in flying in Arizona Heat?

[Desertdude]

My question is what happens when it gets so hot your iPhone shuts down and you get a heat warning.

It happened the other day. I was flying with my IPad Air 2 tethered to my iPhone laying in the back of my SUV. It was only 78 degrees, didn't realize it was in the sun. After awhile the phone shut down with a heat warning.

What gappens when we hit 105 consistently. I guess we just don't fly or can we fly at 82 in the morning.

 

[Wombat55]

It's not just the iPhone you have to be concerned about. The Mavic specs state a maximum operating temperature of 104˚, and I know that it can easily exceed that for days on end during the middle of the days in Phoenix.

 

[SkyRider]

I intend to fly very early to avoid the heat.

 

[TekSone]

It's not just the iPhone you have to be concerned about. The Mavic specs state a maximum operating temperature of 104˚, and I know that it can easily exceed that for days on end during the middle of the days in Phoenix.

Thanks for this info, here in NV it can be days on end where it is over 104º.

 

[BlakPhoenix]

I've flown in Australia on days around 40C (104F) and the Mavic didn't complain. It's probably good to try and keep the drone moving in those hot conditions though to ensure it's getting as much airflow over the heatsink as possible.

As for the remote and phone, I always try and set myself up in the shade somewhere. I know I don't like standing in the sun on a 40 degree day for 20 minutes!

 

[onasphere]

I was flying my Mavic Air yesterday at around 100 degrees with direct sunlight, and lost my right forward motor in flight over water. The drone was in tripod mode, and I was shooting stills. Upon noticing the drone's erratic movements, and a motor voltage error, I instinctively hit the return home button. The drone took off at high speed in the wrong direction, further over the water. I canceled return home, and manually took control, heading directly toward land. I got a message of "land immediately and check props". I breathed a little easier once I got over land, but still had a couple hundred feet to go to my location. When I got over my truck, the motor started working again. When I grabbed the drone, I felt each motor, and they were all too hot to touch except for the front right, which had apparently taken a little rest.

Conclusion: The Mavic Air can be flown, with great difficulty, with only one forward motor operating.

 

[Wombat55]

Conclusion: The Mavic Air can be flown, with great difficulty, with only one forward motor operating.

Pretty sure that quadcopters require all four motors to be operating for stability purposes. For one, having only three operating motors would cause a torque imbalance because two motors would be turning their props in one direction, and there would be only one motor turning its prop in the opposite direction.

 

[onasphere]

Pretty sure that quadcopters require all four motors to be operating for stability purposes. For one, having only three operating motors would cause a torque imbalance because two motors would be turning their props in one direction, and there would be only one motor turning its prop in the opposite direction.

Pretty sure that quadcopters require all four motors to be operating for stability purposes. For one, having only three operating motors would cause a torque imbalance because two motors would be turning their props in one direction, and there would be only one motor turning its prop in the opposite direction.

It flew horribly. I barely got it back. It was clearly having trouble modulating the prop speeds in order to answer my commands. It was pitching and yawing wildly. Front left and right rear motors were hottest, as they were doing the majority of the work. It was flying like a Chinook helicopter.

 

[Mossiback]

...Conclusion: The Mavic Air can be flown, with great difficulty, with only one forward motor operating.

Congrats on getting it back!

 

[onasphere]

Congrats on getting it back!

Thanks! I'm going to send it to California to be checked out as soon as I get home from this trip. I only regret I wasn't recording video.