Flying below freezing

[Bad Santa]

What kinds of considerations need to be in place to fly in temps below freezing?
I'm sure there's the possibility of icing if the humidity is right but what others?
I probably won't want to fly if it's actively precipitating (snow or freezing rain)

Anything else to worry about?

I'm thinking of going up to the ski slopes.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Keep batteries warm till you insert in drone right before liftoff. Hover a bit after liftoff to ensure that battery juice gets flowing and the drone behaves correctly.
I have flown an Air2S down to around 20F in Alaska with no apparent ill effects, but at relatively low altidues and not in fog/clouds

 

[RadioFlyerMan]

Bringing a cold drone into to a humid indoor environment may induce condensation on critical systems, especially the camera. It depends on the drone as to how well it’s sealed. When in doubt, bag it before bringing it indoors and then let it warm up.

 

[JimWest]

Fingerless gloves.

 

[Rchawks]

Your batteries will drain faster and it's something to keep a closer eye on.

 

[Felix le Chat]

What kinds of considerations need to be in place to fly in temps below freezing?
I'm sure there's the possibility of icing if the humidity is right but what others?
I probably won't want to fly if it's actively precipitating (snow or freezing rain)

Anything else to worry about?

I'm thinking of going up to the ski slopes.

Something to watch for - With the mini 3 pro (the mini 4 pro has the same camera/gimbal design.... even though the sensor is slightly different) there was/is a tendency for the lens to fog in cold/freezing conditions.

My mini 3 pro still does this in sub-zero conditions regardless of trying every possible solution. It's probably down to the camera heating up a lot during use.

Minimised the fogging by fitting a K&F Concepts UV filter which acts as a thermal baffle between the cold air and the outer glass of the camera casing... better than it was, but still happens.

 

[careless]

What kinds of considerations need to be in place to fly in temps below freezing?
I'm sure there's the possibility of icing if the humidity is right but what others?
I probably won't want to fly if it's actively precipitating (snow or freezing rain)

Anything else to worry about?

I'm thinking of going up to the ski slopes.

I won't fly in freezing rain but have flown the Air 3 at 10 degrees across the Ohio river about 2 miles out and back at 200 ft. up from inside my truck without any problems.

 

[old man mavic]

@Bad Santa ,you mentioned ski slopes ,so you will be flying predominately over snow ,be aware that the downwards sensors could have trouble recognising the terrain beneath the drone, and if it is sunny ,then the glare could confuse the OA ,and cause it to malfunction

 

[PHZ]

What kinds of considerations need to be in place to fly in temps below freezing?
I'm sure there's the possibility of icing if the humidity is right but what others?
I probably won't want to fly if it's actively precipitating (snow or freezing rain)

Anything else to worry about?

I'm thinking of going up to the ski slopes.

All great suggestions above. If you are flying with an RC N-1 and some auxiliary screen, watch out for the dreaded cold battery shutdown. It happens in the blink of an eye, and is not recoverable until the device’s battery warms. Keep it warm like the drone’s batteries when not in actual use.
This has two “hot hands” activated and taped to the center of the back of the iPad, covered by the top section of a small insulated cooler. It’s just above 0 F. in this photo. From a now retired Inspire 2.

 

[Arnold LeVine]

do you take off from that metal table? No compass problems?

 

[PHZ]

do you take off from that metal table? No compass problems?

There is some metal in the table, legs and a couple of spare supports. The top is plastic. A Walmart special. Folds in half and is portable. Tried many DJI drones on here and rarely does the compass bark.

 

[Arnold LeVine]

My mistake, I thought it looked like a metal top, not plastic.

 

[DarR-T]

It's minus 8c right now. Lake is Ski-Doo hard.
I was out with the Air 3S but it's a hassle to protect it from condensation when coming-in and the prep it takes.
Screw-it. Use the NEO. Check the wind, boot-it-up, wait for enough satellites, open the office window and fly the NEO right out over the lake. No drama, Don't care and lets have some fun just flying and observing. On the way back, Open the window and fly-in on manual. Love this little guy.

 

[DarR-T]

What kinds of considerations need to be in place to fly in temps below freezing?
I'm sure there's the possibility of icing if the humidity is right but what others?
I probably won't want to fly if it's actively precipitating (snow or freezing rain)

Anything else to worry about?

I'm thinking of going up to the ski slopes.

First, you need to let the drone cool down to ambient temperature (without the battery) prior to take-off. Otherwise, you may get a "Gimbal Overload" which will eventually sort itself out but it's disturbing until it does.
Second, After the flight, don't bring it into the house, cottage, shelter, castle, cottage or love shack without having it in a plastic bag to let it thaw at room temperature. If you don't, condensation may wind-up in your camera lens. On the ski slopes, ask for permission as it's private property and you're most likely to fly over people. Look at my avatar.

 

[akdrone]

Your batteries will drain faster and it's something to keep a closer eye on.

Larger drones like the Mavic series are almost entirely unaffected in terms of battery life down to 0F if you start with a battery at room temp. Even at -40F you can get 15min from a Mav 3 battery so at temps like +10F there may be some loss of flight time, but very little. Smaller batteries, particularly those that are exposed to the air like the Avata 1 are much more affected by cold temps.

 

[Mark_Y]

It's minus 8c right now. Lake is Ski-Doo hard.
I was out with the Air 3S but it's a hassle to protect it from condensation when coming-in and the prep it takes.
Screw-it. Use the NEO. Check the wind, boot-it-up, wait for enough satellites, open the office window and fly the NEO right out over the lake. No drama, Don't care and lets have some fun just flying and observing. On the way back, Open the window and fly-in on manual. Love this little guy.

When I fly my NEO in the snow, I use packing tape to cover the top buttons and USB port. I have not had any issues with fogging of the lens so far. The NEO return to me dry and I change the battery and I take off again for more fun.

 

[DarR-T]

When I fly my NEO in the snow, I use packing tape to cover the top buttons and USB port. I have not had any issues with fogging of the lens so far. The NEO return to me dry and I change the battery and I take off again for more fun.

The fun of the NEO is that it's expendable. Who cares if it gets damaged at that price.
You can just get out there and have a blast knowing you have little at risk.
I would never dare go out the window and back with an Air 3S.

 

[Dusty DJI]

do you take off from that metal table? No compass problems?

I have always taken off on top of my tonneau cover on my truck bed. It's aluminum but the truck frame is steal. I have never had a compass calibration warning. That's been with the spark, mini, mini 2 and 3, air, air 2s, and now the air 3s ( which I may be selling shortly )
Only time I have gotten a warning about the compass was when I was launching from the ground at glass butte in eastern oregon, probably due to the mineral and iron ore content around me.

 

[GroovyGeek]

Something to watch for - With the mini 3 pro (the mini 4 pro has the same camera/gimbal design.... even though the sensor is slightly different) there was/is a tendency for the lens to fog in cold/freezing conditions.

My mini 3 pro still does this in sub-zero conditions regardless of trying every possible solution. It's probably down to the camera heating up a lot during use.

Minimised the fogging by fitting a K&F Concepts UV filter which acts as a thermal baffle between the cold air and the outer glass of the camera casing... better than it was, but still happens.

Has anyone tried RainX or similar treatments to control fogging/freezing

 

[sonicracer]

I was flying the Mini 4 Pro at 0 deg.C and up in the fog cloud this weekend. It came back with water droplets on the body and ice on the propellers. No lens fogging and no battery problem.