Cold weather flying

terradriller · Dec 27, 2017

So it's 3 degrees F this morning warming to maybe 17 degrees F this afternoon. Just curious about how cold some of you folks have flown your Mavic.
I flew my Phantom 3 A last year when it was maybe 20 degrees with no problem.

Happy flights[emoji106]

Blind T · Dec 27, 2017

terradriller said:
So it's 3 degrees F this morning warming to maybe 17 degrees F this afternoon. Just curious about how cold some of you folks have flown your Mavic.
I flew my Phantom 3 A last year when it was maybe 20 degrees with no problem.

Happy flights[emoji106]

I fly in the cold all the time. The other day it was around 14 degrees and I flew my MP from the passenger seat of my truck, while my buddy drove. We flew almost 7 miles for 20.5 minutes. I always fly from inside my truck, I am looking to do some early morning shots tomorrow when it is supposed to be -9.

Anthony Viscomi · Dec 27, 2017

The only issue that I have with flying in the cold are my fingers get numb

naturecannon · Dec 27, 2017

Your antenna will shrival.

On serious side, Just keep your Batts warm before flight. I believe the biggest danger in the cold weather would be in a conditions where ice could builds on the props.

MountainMan2017 · Dec 27, 2017

Yupper ;just warm up your batteries , Flight packs, controller and monitor screen . Keep everybody warm and youll be fine. just watch out for moisture and ice build up.

terradriller · Dec 27, 2017

Thanks guys

51 Drones · Dec 27, 2017

-15F today. Flew no problem but a lot of condensation on the MP when I brought it in, so I warmed it up slowly in the garage first.

terradriller · Dec 27, 2017

51 Drones said:
-15F today. Flew no problem but a lot of condensation on the MP when I brought it in, so I warmed it up slowly in the garage first.

**** that's cold

Blacksmith · Dec 27, 2017

51 Drones said:
-15F today. Flew no problem but a lot of condensation on the MP when I brought it in, so I warmed it up slowly in the garage first.

It's a lot safer to seal it in plastic bag before bringing it in from the cold. Take it out when the Mavic gets to room temperature. Camera people do that routinely.

WillyWonka · Dec 27, 2017

Learn from the airports in the cold north. Please follow strict de-icing procedures on your "wings" otherwise crashes are imminent

bsimon · Dec 27, 2017

I flew in - 5F yesterday and the Mavic flew just fine. Biggest problem is the winter wind. Watch out for condensation when you bring it inside, though

terradriller · Dec 27, 2017

bsimon said:
I flew in - 5F yesterday and the Mavic flew just fine. Biggest problem is the winter wind. Watch out for condensation when you bring it inside, though

One other mentioned the condensation....hadn’t thought of that. Thanks

MQuinn · Dec 28, 2017

-11f here last night. Worth it because the sun looks so cool when its that cold out.

bsimon · Dec 28, 2017

Forgot to mention this: maybe it's just my cheap phone, but after being out in the cold for a bit my phone started becoming very unresponsive and laggy. The RC worked with no issues, but it was difficult to change the camera settings, access intelligent flight modes, etc. since my phone's touchscreen wasn't working very well.

Tbredhed · Dec 28, 2017

terradriller said:
So it's 3 degrees F this morning warming to maybe 17 degrees F this afternoon. Just curious about how cold some of you folks have flown your Mavic.
I flew my Phantom 3 A last year when it was maybe 20 degrees with no problem.

Happy flights[emoji106]

My first post, I've been watching the cold weather flying thread for a bit. I bought my MPP about 10 days ago and finally decided I was going for a flight here. It has been -35C/-30F for over a week but just went and did it yesterday. The temperature at take off was -24F the flight went fine although only lasted about 7 minutes as my hands were totally frozen near the end and I had to use rth to bring the drone back. Besides that it was a great first flight.

Anthony Viscomi · Dec 28, 2017

Tbredhed said:
My first post, I've been watching the cold weather flying thread for a bit. I bought my MPP about 10 days ago and finally decided I was going for a flight here. It has been -35C/-30F for over a week but just went and did it yesterday. The temperature at take off was -24F the flight went fine although only lasted about 7 minutes as my hands were totally frozen near the end and I had to use rth to bring the drone back. Besides that it was a great first flight.

I have a few FPV buddies that fly with this:
Turnigy Transmitter Glove (2.4Ghz/Neckstrap Ready)

Blind T · Dec 28, 2017

I flew today at -28 C. My coldest flight yet. I got a Gimbal Motor Overload warning. And it took a long time to connect as well. Other than that...no problem.

locoman · Dec 28, 2017

Anthony Viscomi said:
I have a few FPV buddies that fly with this:
Turnigy Transmitter Glove (2.4Ghz/Neckstrap Ready)

I am not that desperate yet, to invest in one of these, to fly when it is that cold. Has been way below 0 the past week in western Wisconsin, but got up to a whopping 4 degrees F this morning. I have flown when it has been in the teens, Mavic did well, fingers did not.

Anthony Viscomi · Dec 28, 2017

locoman said:
I am not that desperate yet, to invest in one of these, to fly when it is that cold. Has been way below 0 the past week in western Wisconsin, but got up to a whopping 4 degrees F this morning. I have flown when it has been in the teens, Mavic did well, fingers did not.

Yeah it is a bit extreme to fly with one of these