Does Density Altitude Effect Anyones Quad’s?

[Deleted member 160650]

Has anyone ever had a lot of experience flying At high density altitudes, if so what’s if like/or the main difference?

 

[DoomMeister]

Has anyone ever had a lot of experience flying At high density altitudes, if so what’s if like/or the main difference?

High density altitude effects all aircraft. The higher the altitude the less effective the airfoils are to provide lift. In the case of a quad copter it means the motors have to work harder to get airborne. You will find control responses to be delayed and therefore easy to overcorrect maneuvers.

I would suggest going to the FAA website and downloading the Pilot’s Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge in PDF format.

 

[funflyer]

When the air is less dense, such as higher altitudes or warmer, less lift is created for anything that flies. The more dense the air, colder air as an example, more lift is generated, therefore greater performance. On a warm (85 degree) summer day it takes me about 700’ of runway to get my airplane off the ground. On a cold day, say 32 degrees, I only use about 350’ of runway. Same goes for altitude, the higher you go, the less dense the air which reduces performance.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Has anyone ever had a lot of experience flying At high density altitudes, if so what’s if like/or the main difference?

There are quite a few posts on the Forum where there are those that took there drone beyond the normal limits. and the drone did not have any issues at those extreme heights. .

There is a set ceiling that is built into the DJI drones that cannot be surpassed where the drone might not work so well.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[DoomMeister]

Has anyone ever had a lot of experience flying At high density altitudes, if so what’s if like/or the main difference?

Another thing to consider if you are flying in the mountains is the effect of winds on aircraft in that type of terrain. Wind currents can be strong and somewhat unpredictable. Read the information on winds in this FAA Safety brochure. It is published for GA aircraft, but is very applicable to UA flight as well.

 

[Cymruflyer]

Density altitude affect all things that fly. However, read those words Density and Altitude. Altitude alone affects a flying machine; however, ambient temperature affects a flying machine far more when at altitude. Therefore, it is a combination of both altitude and temp. Temperature affects the effective thickness of the air. The colder the air, the mor thick it is, the hotter the air, the thinner it is.

A cold day at 9,000 ft means you need X number of thousand feet to clear an obstacle just past the end of the runway. On a hot day you will need XX number of thousand feet to clear that same obstacle. So, it is not just altitude but the density or thickness of the air that affect performance of your flying machine.

When I had a flying school in Granby Colorado, we had about a 1,400ft runway with a slight rising ground at one end and a mountain close to the other. Therefore, all take offs were towards the low rising land side, that had a barbwire fence on the top. Our runway was 8,200ft which is high. In the summer, we would fly early morning but by about 9:30am we had to stop flying for the day, until the cooler evening around 7pm because due to density altitude changing as the morning temps increased, we would no longer be able to clear that fence safely, at the end of the runway. That's how much temps affect the thickness of the air, coupled with high altitude.

Down in Denver, if a Jumbo jet was set to take off for the UK in the summer, it had to be off the ground by mid-morning at the latest with all that weight on board. If there was a delay for any reason and it was getting close to noon, that flight would get cancelled because the plane would not be able to get off the ground, if it was really loaded down and a hot summer day.

Since you are flying a drone, you are effectively just controlling altitude with the left stick, not really power. When I say that I mean you push to get to a certain altitude, the drone works out how much power it needs to get to that altitude. In an aircraft, you control the power for the engine and use the control surfaces to increase the angle of attack to aid in climbing out. Therefore, you feel the difference Density altitude is affecting your aircraft and have to make adjustments accordingly, carefully.

With a drone, it just climbs out the same, but you don't realize how much more work those little electric motors are being asked to do, to maintain that climb rate or altitude you are holding. That's why as a drone flyer you may not be aware of what affect density altitude is having on the drone, but it is affecting its flight capabilities, none the less. So, at altitude and warm air temps, the drone will be working far harder and the battery will be getting used up more quickly than at low altitudes and warm temps. though you will probably not be aware of it through the controller in your hands. I hope that has explained it for you.

 

[Chaosrider]

When the air is less dense, such as higher altitudes or warmer, less lift is created for anything that flies. The more dense the air, colder air as an example, more lift is generated, therefore greater performance. On a warm (85 degree) summer day it takes me about 700’ of runway to get my airplane off the ground. On a cold day, say 32 degrees, I only use about 350’ of runway. Same goes for altitude, the higher you go, the less dense the air which reduces performance.

What kind of plane do you fly?

I used to fly a Turbo C-206 out of Big Bear airport in So Cal year round, elevation 6750'. It had no problem on 95º F days, but that's sort of a specialized aircraft...

Thx,

TCS