Cold weather/snow flying

harmonix234 · Dec 11, 2016

Advisable? Would you recommend for or against it?

Currently in Chicago IT snowing lightly and could use the opp to get some snow shots In

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duelingglove · Dec 11, 2016

harmonix234 said:
Advisable? Would you recommend for or against it?

Currently in Chicago IT snowing lightly and could use the opp to get some snow shots In

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It can and will, just make sure she's warm before you fly and she will do fine. Guys have taken her to mountain tops and flown in extreme rain. I'd limit it to 15 min just to be safe and not go further than a mile. Check forums for post on this

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msinger · Dec 11, 2016

The Mavic manual advises not to fly in temperatures below freezing. However, it's certainly possible to safely do it with some extra care on your part. And, check out these search results for more cold weather flying topics.

EasyV · Dec 11, 2016

From the Chicago area too (SW suburbs), put my P3 4K in the air last night (~24F) as well as last sunday (~32F/0C), during the snow storm. Battery usage a bit higher than normal (but so were the winds), no issues, just make sure your batteries stay room temp prior to flying. They will heat up during the flight....

Had issues with the ipad display freezing during the snow storm, but that is because snow was accumulating on the display... last night no issues with the iPAD

EasyV · Dec 11, 2016

Here are the temp reports from HealthyDrones.com (if you don't have a subscription on HD, you need to get one, the data you get is way cool):
the first is a flight from September , where the ambient temp was mid 80's to 90F's, low winds, the second from last sunday ~32F (short flight)with winds 11mph-14mph and the third last night ~24F for 16 min or so

damaltor · Dec 11, 2016

msinger said:
The Mavic manual advises not to fly in temperatures below freezing. However, it's certainly possible to safely do it with some extra care on your part. Check out the cold weather flying tips here, here, and here. And, check out these search results for more cold weather flying topics.

Thanks for the info and links. It's -30C up here right now, so I think I'll just stay inside where it's warm, but looking forward to getting some winter shots when/if it warms up a bit.

whareable · Dec 11, 2016

Coldest ive flown is Negative 36F

Start the battery off atleast 72F and she will fly fine

Randy · Dec 18, 2016

Wow, I live in Alaska and was nervous about flying mine at -7 Fahrenheit, my old 350 QX would freak out at temperatures below +20 so maybe I'm a little too cautious when it comes to flying the Mavic in the cold.

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masmole · Dec 18, 2016

Yes as long as you start with warm batteries that just came from indoors, you should be fine. Just keep the flights shorter, not much more than 15 minutes or so to avoid the cold battery warning and possibly triggering a RTH. I just flew a few hours ago in downtown Chicago along the lakeshore path and a little bit over the lake and the air temps were in the low single digits and the wind chill factor even colder. I brought 2 extra batteries that I placed in Liposafe pouches and stuck them in the inner chest pocket of my down jacket to keep them warm. Swapped batteries twice and got around 50 minutes of flight time in the freezing cold. No issues.

JRH · Dec 18, 2016

masmole said:
Yes as long as you start with warm batteries that just came from indoors, you should be fine. Just keep the flights shorter, not much more than 15 minutes or so to avoid the cold battery warning and possibly triggering a RTH. I just flew a few hours ago in downtown Chicago along the lakeshore path and a little bit over the lake and the air temps were in the low single digits and the wind chill factor even colder. I brought 2 extra batteries that I placed in Liposafe pouches and stuck them in the inner chest pocket of my down jacket to keep them warm. Swapped batteries twice and got around 50 minutes of flight time in the freezing cold. No issues.

Are you flying a Mavic Pro? If so, did you purchase it in the Chicago area? Inquiring person in Wheaton wants to know!

masmole · Dec 18, 2016

JRH said:
Are you flying a Mavic Pro? If so, did you purchase it in the Chicago area? Inquiring person in Wheaton wants to know!

Yes, but did not purchase locally. Pre-ordered flymore combo from B&H in NYC and received it a couple of weeks ago.

Casey · Dec 18, 2016

I live in Fairbanks Alaska. If I didn't fly in cold weather i would be able to fly before June. I have flown as cold as -20F and have had no problems.

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Casey · Dec 18, 2016

Randy said:
Wow, I live in Alaska and was nervous about flying mine at -7 Fahrenheit, my old 350 QX would freak out at temperatures below +20 so maybe I'm a little too cautious when it comes to flying the Mavic in the cold.

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What part you in? I live just south of Fairbanks and haven't had an issue. I've flown as cold as -20 and haven't seen any real noticeable affects. Here's a video I made in Nenana. It's was -18.

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Romi · Dec 19, 2016

MAN @Casey I love your Alaskan videos!

MavicPilot · Dec 19, 2016

EasyV said:
From the Chicago area too (SW suburbs), put my P3 4K in the air last night (~24F) as well as last sunday (~32F/0C), during the snow storm. Battery usage a bit higher than normal (but so were the winds), no issues, just make sure your batteries stay room temp prior to flying. They will heat up during the flight....

Had issues with the ipad display freezing during the snow storm, but that is because snow was accumulating on the display... last night no issues with the iPAD

So, the P3 (have a P3A) are not very susceptible to water damage.. at least from the snow or was the snow flakey enough that you were not as concerned about it penetrating that much?

I had my Phantom (original) out years ago (accident end-of-storm flight) with a gopro, but the lens just got splotched with water marks and it was a mess... I brought her down as soon as I saw flakes.

For folks sending up the Mavic with snow, are you putting some black tape on the top of the battery to seal it out and using the lens cover?

Casey · Dec 19, 2016

Romi said:
MAN @Casey I love your Alaskan videos!

Thank you! I'm trying. This is my first time to do this.

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F6Rider · Dec 19, 2016

Casey said:
I live in Fairbanks Alaska. If I didn't fly in cold weather i would be able to fly before June. I have flown as cold as -20F and have had no problems.

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Oh MAN!! I was at Wainwright for a year, and I am a California boy!

Randy · Dec 24, 2016

Casey said:
What part you in? I live just south of Fairbanks and haven't had an issue. I've flown as cold as -20 and haven't seen any real noticeable affects. Here's a video I made in Nenana. It's was -18.

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Nice video. How cold was it at the time? I live in Tok.

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Casey · Dec 26, 2016

Randy said:
Nice video. How cold was it at the time? I live in Tok.

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-17. So far I haven't seen any thing to worry about

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Randy · Dec 26, 2016

No battery temperature warning? I was flying a friends phantom 4 in Northway at around 45 degrees and it gave me a low temperature warning, but it had been sitting in the car for hours prior.

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