Flying in rain

Oyibo VFX · Feb 8, 2017

I don't expect the MP to have even any IP class but was wondering if any of you here ever flew the Mavic in (severe) rain.

Raining season will start here soon and might be some nice muddy footage ahead

Me

Adventure is just bad planning

msinger · Feb 8, 2017

It's not a good idea to fly the Mavic in any type of precipitation since it's not waterproof.

dsd317 · Feb 8, 2017

Here are a few videos:

The rain in this next video starts at around 3:30:

In the next video, water test starts at around 9:05:

DJI Mavic Pro - Extreme Durability Test!

4wd · Feb 8, 2017

It's going to have implications later, if any rain gets in the camera you might be (at best) battling condensation for days.
But clearly no need to panic if you get caught out it can probably continue flying for several minutes.

Falkenfisch · Feb 8, 2017

.....and putting it in rice afterwards will minimize the risk of having condesation or corrosion later I guess. Happily it isn´t falling off the sky when it gets wet

Oyibo VFX · Feb 8, 2017

Maybe just buy a cheap waterproof drone for the raining season. I like my MP a little too much to jeopardise the bird

NEW GPTOYS F51C Waterproof Quadcopter with 2MP Camera - Quadcopter Patrol

enigmamdw · Feb 8, 2017

Seen guys flying without negative effect in rain(light) and snow(heavy).

chris956 · Feb 8, 2017

Water and electricity ............ erm

erkme73 · Feb 8, 2017

Falkenfisch said:
.....and putting it in rice afterwards will minimize the risk of having condesation or corrosion later I guess. Happily it isn´t falling off the sky when it gets wet

I see that people often use/recommend rice as a drying agent. I get that it does absorb moisture, but it also is very dusty. I've rescued a camera before using rice, and while the electronics did dry out, I had very fine dust inside the equipment. Some of it got on the sensor and inside of the lens - making the view cloudy.

I would suggest that if you plan on getting your MP (or any other electrical equipment that has optics) wet, pay a little more to get proper desiccant. Think of the "do not eat" silica gel bags you get in most modern electronic shipments... Just a larger bag, put inside a bag/container large enough to house both the desiccant and the electronics.

Oyibo VFX · Feb 8, 2017

Hmmm, thought of that as well. Still will be careful though.

jhroof · Feb 8, 2017

Just put a little umbrella on top...

iFlyForFun · Feb 8, 2017

erkme73 said:
I see that people often use/recommend rice as a drying agent. I get that it does absorb moisture, but it also is very dusty. I've rescued a camera before using rice, and while the electronics did dry out, I had very fine dust inside the equipment. Some of it got on the sensor and inside of the lens - making the view cloudy.

I would suggest that if you plan on getting your MP (or any other electrical equipment that has optics) wet, pay a little more to get proper desiccant. Think of the "do not eat" silica gel bags you get in most modern electronic shipments... Just a larger bag, put inside a bag/container large enough to house both the desiccant and the electronics.

Desiccant/silica packs are fantastic! I am lucky because I receive 2 pound bags inside shipments I receive in my warehouse. I save them, dry them in the oven and use them to dry the moisture out of my ski boots after a day on the slopes! They are available on Amazon.

iFlyForFun · Feb 8, 2017

jhroof said:
Just put a little umbrella on top...

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

That is some serious problem solving. I love it!!

Falkenfisch · Feb 9, 2017

Silica packs are the better solution for sure. If I use rice, I use the "paboiled" version wich is packed in plastic bags for cooking. This rice is cleaned before and it is easier to remove the bags than simple rice. Put it in a closed box together with the electronic device. It won´t get any dirt on the device and the rice does the same job.

Falkenfisch · Feb 9, 2017

.....and ofcourse the umprella-solution is the best

4wd · Feb 9, 2017

chris956 said:
Water and electricity ............ erm

It's at relatively low voltage and DC, just like circuitry on a car getting wet doesn't mean immediate sparks, however inside there's plenty of micro-circuitry and components which could be affected sooner or later.

The internals look less vulnerable than on Phantoms which had slot vents in the arms.
Mavic depends on forced ventilation from a fan behind the gimbal.
It's slightly shielded but is going to spray water inside once it starts running over the body.
The dome might help a bit if you really needed to go out in slight rain.
Motors are unlikely to be affected but want drying out ASAP afterwards.