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Flying in the cold

Anyone had any problems when flying in cold weather? I'd like to capture a few photos around this area after yesterdays snowfall before the snow starts melting, getting dirty etc. but am not sure just how safe it is to fly in cold conditions. The temperature here today will by 11am be 32F (feel like 35F) rising to a high of 36F (and feeling like 39F) at 3pm. I know if I do fly I should pre-warm the battery, make sure that it is also fully charged and expect shorter battery life.

But, I just want to see if there is anything else unexpected and if what real world experience has been like.

Thanks.
I was on the North Carolina coast yesterday flying with my M2P and had no issues. It was a little windy which effected the batteries run time but had no issue in 38 deg temps. I flew last winter all season long and had no issues.
 
Pen-y-Fan does attract quite a few gliders from Talgarth as well (some of which to be charitable could be described as not fully adhering to the guidelines for vfr flight regarding separation, altitudes and so on...)
I used to go from Usk and places. There are a few farm fields around here still but not many.
If you're from the Cross Keys area then you'll know where im from. Follow the river Ebbw upstream until it stops :)
I used to fly gliders out of Usk sometimes as well, it was near my aunts farm. Sometimes it was a tug and sometimes on a winch. There was one other place up the mountain a bit, sort of on the mountain side that I flew out of once. It was just a small gliding club. Do you recall that place? We used to fly hang gliders from Tredegar too in the early 70s. The Highway hang glider factory was just down from the hill side we used. Ahhh the good old days...
 
Talgarth is the other gliding place you'll be thinking of.
And yup, Usk has winch or tug launch (or did last time i looked)
 
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In the cold I use the vehicle as a base of operation, sit in the open rear hatch and keep it running so batteries, tablet and I are somewhat sheltered and warmed. On the plus side the density altitude at 20F is over 3000 feet lower than at 70F so the props are more efficient requiring less energy to make the flight. I repeated a Litchi mission a few days ago to capture a facility now covered in snow. Sadly I am not the best at keeping detailed notes but the 8 minute flight ended with 80 percent battery. I recall it ending in the 70 percent range on the much warmer day the mission was previously flown. Mavic 2 Pro. I've never tried to fly a cold drone with cold batteries both were in the vehicle at 70 degrees just prior to the flight.
 
When in use they are producing their own heat, therefore you have little to worry about. As long as you are not starting out with very cold batteries you should have no problem. Your spares should be kept in your inside pocket to keep them warm and ready for use. Don't leave them sitting out in the cold or you will have a problem when you come to use them.
I have 4 spare batteries which I keep in a warm pocket or have warmers in my camera bag. So in theory, my batteries should last as long as in warm weather. I prefer to believe what I experience than to believe the theoretical. In practice, my DO NOT last as long when in freezing weather.
 
I have 4 spare batteries which I keep in a warm pocket or have warmers in my camera bag. So in theory, my batteries should last as long as in warm weather. I prefer to believe what I experience than to believe the theoretical. In practice, my DO NOT last as long when in freezing weather.
Assuming you are agreeing with me here, your post is not quite clear as to why you were including what I wrote. To clarify on my side, if you leave the batteries out in the cold, they will not be as efficient when you go to use them as the ones you kept warm, prior to use, when flying in very cold weather. I shall assume you are saying the same thing.
 
I know up in Canada i can confirm battery efficiency is effected in cold weather I lose about a third of my flight time at -15c and be careful how far you fly I've seen a preheated battery go from 80 percent to landing in about 5 minutes due to the cold -20 weather. Iced up props and cold temperatures does not happen long as you are climatizing your drone outside for a few minutes windshield washer fluid cloth and wipe props down seems to work in this situation. . It's more when close to freezing mark and heavy fog is involved in my experience.If it's to cold to fly you'r gimbal will let you know before anything else. Slow reaction or rough movement then Its probably to cold lol Also don't bring your bird in and out of the warm to cold say when switching batteries and what have you. Leave it in the cold. When your done I always gradually warm my bird back up and in front of a fan to avoid condensation. Also cold weather does take its toll on motors and esc as far as early failure rates goes. Dji warranty seems to be covering these faults for now but just know the risk of motor failure is there. Your preflight rotation of the motors can help you detect a funny feeling motor then it probably getting close to throwing you an esc error and grounding you. This can occur mid flight however. A not enough force error message thrown means land or pray it makes it home you'll will most likely get a bunch of them in series out of nowhere without aggressive flying or windy conditions.Just hope your vlos. that's all I got for yous today. These motors are tough just not Canada tough.
 
Remember if flying in lots of cold the M2 Enterprise self-heating batteries are available and work find on all M2 models.
 
Icing on the leading edges of props is a very real issue. Can cause anything from vibration to lack of power from motors, loss of lift or at worst, loss of stability totally.
It really doesnt take much to unbalance a prop spinning at 5000rpm.

I was out flying in the last weekend of November and there was fog but it was about 200 feet up off the ground . I tried to stay well below the fog but when I landed after 20 minutes in the air the props had very heavy icing on them . They were 3 times the normal thickness. The air2 did very well handling the ice . I did not fly it more that day . Little bird impressed me a lot that day . I wish I took pics of the props
 
No problems in the flight, I only used a single battery but kept the other in my pocket just in case. My biggest concern was making sure I landed on the landing pad and not in the snow. Might fly again tomorrow, depends on how the weather is.

Same here, I just did a quick flight and it is 21F here. Landing pad really comes in handy when the ground as 1ft of snow covering. Sometimes I had to move the pad under the AC due to me landing close to my building and rear sensor proximity. I do get that blue color cast on some shots with the snow, nothing I can't edit with Photoshop.
 
Over the years, I've learned to tape a "hand warmer" to the back of my phone/tablet so that the battery stays warm. It's helped me out. (I bring my drones on my back packing hikes. Works great.)
 
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These are the top 4 things to fly in the Freezing Cold.

Keep the batteries as warm as possible before the flight is number 1 Priority.

Using the Mavic 2 Wet Suit will increase the battery heat by 6 degrees and keep the overall drone warmer and make handling the drone more secure .

Realizing that the Ipad and Iphone do not negotiate the Cold well and are best used from inside the Car.

We have found the Smart Controller to be the best in the freezing temps.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic 2 in the Freezing Temps
 
I've read through this entire post which is helpful but loaded with conflicting messages about flying in the cold (e.g. it's no problem to it's a major concern). It's currently 20F/-7C where I am and I'm thinking about flying my Mavic 3 (the manual says "The operating temperature of this product is -10°C to 40°C" and so I'm inside that range). What I don't understand is when I've flown my Mavic 2 Zoom (over the past 18 months) the battery self-generates heat (it's warm after a flight) and the motors heat up, which then begs the question, what's going to freeze on the drone? Maybe the gimble is sluggish (as noted by another post in this thread)? From a physics/mechanics perspective, I don't understand where the specific concern lies (computer processor is going to freeze?).

It might be worth noting I'm going to be flying just outside my back door and so the drone will have just come from being inside and I'll probably stand inside where I have a wide view of where I'll be flying which means the controller won't get cold.

Thanks!
 
As a general rule , the problem is that if the battery is to cold , the drone simply will not start, if the drone does manage to start , the odds are in favor of a shorter flight.

Thus the reason why you want to keep the Battery as Warm as possible before taking off in below zero temps .
The gimbal can freeze and jitter also , but the main focus is on just taking off .

You should be fine flying from inside your back door, but be aware of the shorter flight times.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain and Extreme Cold Temps.
 
What I don't understand is when I've flown my Mavic 2 Zoom (over the past 18 months) the battery self-generates heat (it's warm after a flight) and the motors heat up, which then begs the question, what's going to freeze on the drone?
The battery generates heat, but that heat is conducting/radiating away. If the surrounding temperature is colder, then the equilibrium temperature will also be colder (assuming constant heat generation, which may not be a valid assumption). Temperature has an effect on chemical reactions, so changing the temperature will change the battery performance.

My M2P gives a low battery temperature warning when the cell temperature is less than 15C. It doesn't take long to raise the battery temperature from 3C to 15C — minute or two of hovering — but I notice a drop in endurance.

Being rated to -10C means that the battery should maintain an adequate working temperature when the outside temperature is -10C. People have flown colder, it would be interesting to know what internal battery temperature was when they were doing it. Was the battery running with an internal temperature of, say, 10C (which it can do, at reduced performance)?

Edited to fix typo.
 
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Also bear in mind that as soon as you move through cold air, the temp. will drop due to the wind, just like you have wind chill temps for still air temps.
 
the cold does two things it restricts battery performance ,including flight time
and for me perhaps,more concerning is its effect on the person flying the aircraft
when we fly our drones ,for the most part ,we are standing /sitting still ,and our body core temperature can drop quite a lot in a chilly breeze
admittedly this will take some time ,but it will at some point impact on your ability to make good judgments ,and is no different to what happens when your hands get really cold ,which can effect your ability to control the sticks on the RC ,so flying in cold conditions ,just requires a little more thought ,during the process ,and then a happy outcome ,will be the order of the day
 
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the cold does two things it restricts battery performance ,including flight time
and for me perhaps,more concerning is its effect on the person flying the aircraft
when we fly our drones ,for the most part ,we are standing /sitting still ,and our body core temperature can drop quite a lot in a chilly breeze
admittedly this will take some time ,but it will at some point impact on your ability to make good judgments ,and is no different to what happens when your hands get really cold ,which can effect your ability to control the sticks on the RC ,so flying in cold conditions ,just requires a little more thought ,during the process ,and then a happy outcome ,will be the order of the day
Oh yes, I've flown in the cold for a short time, only to have my finger tips freeze and go numb, so it was hard to control the drone with the sticks, since I could not feel anything. It was hard to turn it off too, with no feeling at all, it was surprising.
 
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