Flying in wet weather!

[Oconnb910]

Okay so I have had several drones over my period of this Hobby and I see several references on occasion of bad weather flying!
So currently I am flying the mavic pro and the Phantom 4 Pro Plus and I have gone out there and flown in pretty bad weather! The point here is that it seems there's a giant fear of getting our drones wet. But from what I can tell so far and I can honestly say that both of my drones have gone through pretty freaking wet weather! So I'm kind of curious if there is some kind of Fear Factor being generated out there unnecessarily!
So for example I had a mavic pro do a FlyAway and ended up in a tree as I found out 4 5 months out of the year which meant it was up in that tree through torrential downpours heavy winds high heat super low temperatures lots of snow and all of a sudden this thing showed up drop to the ground person found it and returned it to me.
I give it a little bit of a clean up I did open it up wiped out the spider webs from the four spiders that side to take refuge in it sprayed the motors with WD-40 cleaned up everything else even took the battery stuck it on the charger and charged it to 100%. The next day I took it outside into my complex and decided to give it a little test after I synced everything up again and amazingly this thing flew just as brand new.
I really don't think we give DJI enough credit for the construction of their equipment! If this thing was able to withstand all of this and fly as if it was brand new what the hell. Also this does negate all of the paranoia and worries that I have seen over so many chats in our forms here! Like I said I just wiped off this drone recharge the battery and I'm still flying it today like 4 months later! Battery is still perfect the Drone is still perfect! So this is my testimonial of DJI building a perfect craft!

 

[macoman]

You have balls to fly an expensive aircraft in bad weather and not only that, if God forbid that something happened in bad weather and u aircraft crashed. You know that DJI warranty does not cover bad weather? You will be screwed.

 

[RayOZ]

Electronics, water, conductivity, short-circuit, fried electronics, crashed drone, common sense. Anything else I missed?

 

[Mavflyer]

Okay so I have had several drones over my period of this Hobby and I see several references on occasion of bad weather flying!
So currently I am flying the mavic pro and the Phantom 4 Pro Plus and I have gone out there and flown in pretty bad weather! The point here is that it seems there's a giant fear of getting our drones wet. But from what I can tell so far and I can honestly say that both of my drones have gone through pretty freaking wet weather! So I'm kind of curious if there is some kind of Fear Factor being generated out there unnecessarily!
So for example I had a mavic pro do a FlyAway and ended up in a tree as I found out 4 5 months out of the year which meant it was up in that tree through torrential downpours heavy winds high heat super low temperatures lots of snow and all of a sudden this thing showed up drop to the ground person found it and returned it to me.
I give it a little bit of a clean up I did open it up wiped out the spider webs from the four spiders that side to take refuge in it sprayed the motors with WD-40 cleaned up everything else even took the battery stuck it on the charger and charged it to 100%. The next day I took it outside into my complex and decided to give it a little test after I synced everything up again and amazingly this thing flew just as brand new.
I really don't think we give DJI enough credit for the construction of their equipment! If this thing was able to withstand all of this and fly as if it was brand new what the ****. Also this does negate all of the paranoia and worries that I have seen over so many chats in our forms here! Like I said I just wiped off this drone recharge the battery and I'm still flying it today like 4 months later! Battery is still perfect the Drone is still perfect! So this is my testimonial of DJI building a perfect craft!

Yes, dji knows these will be flown outside, so they took extra precautions to make them more durable. But...at the end of the day, they are electronic devices. I shouldn't have to do any more explaining from this point, as it should be obvious where it is going.

 

[lolo780]

After a 36.6km flight. Dry with compressed air right after and warm it up.

 

[Pcarlsen]

It depends on how bad you want to fly. I've flown RC for many years, and a little rain has never been a problem (obviously not on gas/methanol powered planes) for the motor, nor the remaining electronics inside. However, it depends on the build of the craft.

A mavic has a lot of PCB, and it's relatively exposed as moisture can enter through the air inlets and outlet - and possibly through the joints. Another concern is that you cant vent the craft as such - best hope it to put it in a warm place and pray that any moisture inside will evaporate.

To be honest, I don't think you have to be insanely careful with your mavic - but it's an expensive toy - and I'm not that desperate to go flying that I'll risk it.

 

[swooshdave]

I probably watch too many of those drone crash compilation videos but I’m surprised at how long a drone can record video and stay on while completely submerged. One guy dumped his Spark into a stream and it was still on by the time he got to it.

 

[Mavflyer]

I probably watch too many of those drone crash compilation videos but I’m surprised at how long a drone can record video and stay on while completely submerged. One guy dumped his Spark into a stream and it was still on by the time he got to it.

That's because DJI uses a conformal coating to help protect the pcb inside the mavic. This helps with resistance to water, but at the end of the day, it is still an electronic device. While it does have some protection against moisture, it certainly isn't water proof.

 

[Akoztha]

Water + Electronics = bad combo.

 

[steverh61]

I probably watch too many of those drone crash compilation videos but I’m surprised at how long a drone can record video and stay on while completely submerged. One guy dumped his Spark into a stream and it was still on by the time he got to it.

 

[steverh61]

Mine was still on too. It recorded for 4 minutes until the recorder shut off. Under hair dryer now.

 

[Lake_Flyer]

1 droplet of rain on the lens and the footage is ruined in most cases.
I don't fly in rain or when it's expected to rain, mainly because it's pointless.

 

[jaysrmc]

1 droplet of rain on the lens and the footage is ruined in most cases.
I don't fly in rain or when it's expected to rain, mainly because it's pointless.

Agreed. What's the point and is it worth the risk?

 

[angeloyzf]

I was surprised by a downpour some days ago while I was 700 meters away. When I landed the drone was completely wet above and some infiltration into the battery compartment, dried and cleaned everything ok

 

[Thwyllo]

It depends what your perspective is. Some people pay tons of money for an expensive DSLR, treat it like a baby, wrap it in cotton wool when it's not being used and come away with boring photos. A lot of pros on the other hand, abuse the crap out of their kit, bash it around so it looks like it's been through a rock crusher and generally shorten its lifespan a bit, but come away with the photos and video you'll never get. Remember it's just a tool, not a baby.

 

[Mavflyer]

It depends what your perspective is. Some people pay tons of money for an expensive DSLR, treat it like a baby, wrap it in cotton wool when it's not being used and come away with boring photos. A lot of pros on the other hand, abuse the crap out of their kit, bash it around so it looks like it's been through a rock crusher and generally shorten its lifespan a bit, but come away with the photos and video you'll never get. Remember it's just a tool, not a baby.

I think it's a different story with a drone. You can get it wet and it may continue working for a while, but getting water on the pcb will cause corrosion. I'm sure most people have seen what corrosion will do to a battery terminal. Nothing at first, but as the corrosion worsens, the connection will eventually be lost. The same will happen an a drone. They do put a coating over the pcb to try to ward off corrosion, but it doesn't make it water proof. I would hate for my drone to unexpectedly fall out of the sky due to corrosion, so I try to keep mine dry.

 

[aokusman]

I think it's a different story with a drone. You can get it wet and it may continue working for a while, but getting water on the pcb will cause corrosion. I'm sure most people have seen what corrosion will do to a battery terminal. Nothing at first, but as the corrosion worsens, the connection will eventually be lost. The same will happen an a drone. They do put a coating over the pcb to try to ward off corrosion, but it doesn't make it water proof. I would hate for my drone to unexpectedly fall out of the sky due to corrosion, so I try to keep mine dry.

Also a malfunctioning camera can’t hurt anyone, but a drone could fall out of the sky.

 

[OldBlueHeron]

I have a Spark that has done quite a few rain flights. It still has no ill effects and it’s been doing these kind of flights for about a year. The props do an admirable job of keeping most of the rain at bay. Also the battery attaching at the bottom of the craft is probably helpful.

 

[genesimmons]

i wasnt paying attention to my negative numbers as i went down a cliff towards the water to get some shots and next thing i knew i seen water on the screen,,,,,,,,whoaaaaaa pulled up imiedieatly and she acted funny and barely made it back, to my shock the battery compartment was full of water so she was deep,,,,,, dried her out and shes still flying today,,,,, i get some gimble errors once in awhile that i am sure is part of the water issue but shes still flying,,,,,,