Does anyone know what the lowest temperature that the mini can be flown in? It is -10 C /14F. I read that the battery needs to warmup before the mini will take off but I dont
Cold weather flying
- Thread starter Rex Peters
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Some of my message was cut off but what I like to know is what is the cold temperature affects on the battery.
Hey guys, I actually found some info under the “Tips” section. No specs but that’s ok. This is a good opportunity to test out the battery efficiency for the mini in winter conditions. I will let you know what I find out.
Jet skier
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I have had one battery pop up from cold-weather flying. You are supposed to launch and let hover for a minute or two before flying The manual says
Jet skier
Well-Known Member
Thanks, I just wondered what is considered too cold to fly. I don’t want to damage it but I also can’t wait till spring... lol
Piranha
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Itsa good idea to keep batteries at least in warm pocket before flight in cold conditions! Better to warm them ina car 
Jet skier
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I flew a lot last winter but never one it was below 10°F. The manual says 14 Fahrenheit is the minimum
Piranha
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Just put them under the front window or under the passanger legs and switch heat blower to it
Chrislaf
Well-Known Member
Don't have a MM, but I have flown both my Spark and Phantom 3 Standard in temps as cold as -25ºC (-13ºF) with very little reduction in battery time as long as my batteries are warm before flight. Not sure about the MM's battery as it is Li-ion. The cold does have an effect on my Spark gimbal - it often sticks when pitching, whereas I haven't noticed any effects on my P3S gimbal.
For me, the hardest part of flying in cold weather is keeping my fingers and feet warm. I have thin gloves but in really cold weather they just delay getting cold a short time. What I have been doing is using hand warmers. I put hand warmers in my thick gloves and make sure my hands are warm before flight then use the thin gloves during flight. After the flight I warm my hands back up in the thick gloves.
One other thing you will need to be aware of is that your flying device also has a battery and unlike the drone, the battery doesn't heat up as you use it so be prepared for it to shut off and to fly with your transmitter only. In addition the touch screen on most devices becomes much less sensitive in cold weather and may not work. Example, I was out yesterday and it was only around -3ºC but there was a stiff wind chill of about -7ºC. My iPhone XR's screen still worked but it was much less sensitive especially since my fingers got cold (wasn't using gloves).
Hope this helps.
Chris
For me, the hardest part of flying in cold weather is keeping my fingers and feet warm. I have thin gloves but in really cold weather they just delay getting cold a short time. What I have been doing is using hand warmers. I put hand warmers in my thick gloves and make sure my hands are warm before flight then use the thin gloves during flight. After the flight I warm my hands back up in the thick gloves.
One other thing you will need to be aware of is that your flying device also has a battery and unlike the drone, the battery doesn't heat up as you use it so be prepared for it to shut off and to fly with your transmitter only. In addition the touch screen on most devices becomes much less sensitive in cold weather and may not work. Example, I was out yesterday and it was only around -3ºC but there was a stiff wind chill of about -7ºC. My iPhone XR's screen still worked but it was much less sensitive especially since my fingers got cold (wasn't using gloves).
Hope this helps.
Chris
another consideration to be aware of in very cold weather,is make sure you dont push the boundaries of battery life, by running them down to very low levels of charge better to fly them down to around 40% and no more as in the cold as the voltage drops ,it can suddenly get critical very quickly due to the cold temperature no batteries work at there best in very low temps no matter what type they are
Thank you all for you cold weather input. It was all good information. I appreciate it.
Cheers.
Cheers.
I leave spare batteries in a cooler or box with handwarmers.The handwarmers do need some air to function.
jsosborn
Member
Thanks, all. I've been wondering about cold weather flying, and indoors is just not cutting it. I'll be trying some sub-freezing flying this week after a couple of snow storms roll through.
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We have been flying in the freezing Rain today and all is well , the biggest threat you have in the extreme cold is not the Drone but the Equipment, both the ipad and the Iphone and android have failure points much more than the drone does.
We flew down to 6% on the battery , its the iphone that is the weak link in the flight as is extreme heat.
Will be posting the videos of today flights in the ice rain. Flew out about 3000 ft back and fourth a few times.
Drone was solid .
Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your drone in and out of the storm
Coal
Cool ! Looking forward to your videos. I would however like to ask about the motor coverage. From the picture, yours appear uncovered. Any concerns in regard of their life span?
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