Drone crash in cold weather

[rcdean]

I was able to fly my Mavic Air at 16 degrees Fahrenheit for around 4 - 5 minutes before I brought it back. That was at an elevation of 12,000 feet near Loveland Pass. I warmed up the drone and batteries with my car heater before the flight. Seemed to do ok. I did that 3 different times within an hour getting shots of Arapahoe Basin, Loveland Pass and Loveland Ski Area near Eisenhower / Johnson tunnels. If you are going to do it, I would do short flights after warming it up. Maybe bring a big net to catch it

 

[ppauley]

Besides the frigid temperatures, could radio signals from the blast zone have added to the problem?

I'm thinking you're on to something here. Blast zones use radio transmissions to... well set of the charges.

 

[sar104]

I'm thinking you're on to something here. Blast zones use radio transmissions to... well set of the charges.

No they don't.

 

[ABChop]

I was flying today too, temp was -12 C.
No problems at all. 3 flights, batteries lasted like they normally do.
I kept them warm before using is all.

 

[ABChop]

 

[dgronjord]

I did three flights with my Mavic Air today at about -12 to -15 C ground temperature without problems. The only difference was the batteries lasted a bit shorter than usual.

I took care to keep the batteries warm inside my jacket before flights and put the drone into a bag before bringing it inside to avoid condensation problems (same procedure as with my normal cameras). Also, I hovered for about minute before rising up to let it warm up and to check for any unusual behaviour.

 

[ABChop]

I flew this morning-15 outside
Battery temp was 19.1 C when I took off.
After 15 minute flight it was 21.9 C
No issues at all.
Happy flying!!

 

[JDawg]

I flew this morning-15 outside
Battery temp was 19.1 C when I took off.
After 15 minute flight it was 21.9 C
No issues at all.
Happy flying!!

Good info!

 

[Mavhawk]

We still have no idea whether or not the crash was caused by cold weather. I would want to see the flight log before I passed judgement.

This seems pretty reasonable. Would the flight log show the state of the battery and show if it dropped off suddenly in power? Sounds like a plan. Marc.

 

[JDawg]

This seems pretty reasonable. Would the flight log show the state of the battery and show if it dropped off suddenly in power? Sounds like a plan. Marc.

Yes but I don't think him or "his friend" will provide the data.

 

[Sailbyc]

1-replace your props(plastic) by Carbon fiber because plastic break so easily in cold weather

The mounting clips are still plastic on a carbon fiber prop, right? So, I can see it helping against small branch hits, but not for cold brittleness since the point of failure would now be the clip. Hmmm