Flying in winter: things to watch out for?

[BenThe]

Hello everyone, I have a general question about flying drones in winter, above or below freezing temps. It's almost that time of the year again, and this will be my first winter owning a drone, and I am sure the itch to fly will kick in some time after the snow falls.

Are my below understandings correct?

1. Higher altitude = lower temps, will be a problem to battery chemistry. I have seen two videos of 7000+ meter flights to know the battery can cool from low 30 degree C (90 F) to about 15 degree C (60 F) at the top.

2. Clouds = Mass of water droplets, which can freeze on the body and especially the blades. Ice drastically reduces lift and causes a crash. We also do not have de-ice boots like a fixed-wing aircraft would have on its wings, dunno if real helicopters have those on the rotors.

3. Downward obstacle avoidance may falsely interpret clouds or other reflections as the ground and stop its propellers thinking it has landed, XXX meters/feet in the air. Result = gravity wins. Not planning to enable prop-start-at-any-angle, and even that is not guaranteed to work anyway.

4. Air is denser when cold, but no idea what this means for actual flight performance (up to 500m if cleared/with permission)

If I do fly, am I on the right track with the following points?

1. Do not fly when humidity is high(er) and temperature above freezing: during flight, the fast spinning blades can transition moisture in the air to ice and cause a decrease in lift.
2. At below freezing temps, only fly maybe 1 hour after a snow event. This is to let moisture in the air drop even lower.
3. Anything I missed?


Thank you all!

 

[GFields]

Yes to all the above. Freezing temperatures are not good for the battery, and like manned aircraft, icing up on the props could cause failure. *IMHO

 

[tstr14]

I don't know if freezing temps are "bad" for batteries per say, but they do cut down on flight time, so keep an eye on the charge level.

 

[BenThe]

I don't know if freezing temps are "bad" for batteries per say, but they do cut down on flight time, so keep an eye on the charge level.

Yes!! I did notice from that Youtube clip (couldn't find it now) the pilot was constantly checking the battery info page on the ascent and descent.

 

[MS Coast]

Be aware that icing can occur at air temperatures above 32 F surrounding the aircraft. It can happen on the props as well as the other surfaces of the aircraft.

 

[BenThe]

Be aware that icing can occur at air temperatures above 32 F surrounding the aircraft. It can happen on the props as well as the other surfaces of the aircraft.

Thanks for the heads up!

Yup, definitely not flying at near freezing temps (below or above).

 

[BossBob]

Don’t forget the pilot can suffer from frozen control surfaces and needs to keep warm as well!

 

[moldorf]

probably not a big detail, but sometimes, obstacle avoidance works fine when leaves are on trees and fails when the leaves are gone from thin branches

not that I've ever encountered that problem because I never screw up....uh huh

 

[Chrislaf]

I fly year round and have flown in temperatures as cold as -23ºC. There are some members on here who have flown in even colder temps. Winter is one of the most beautiful seasons to fly in so don't be afraid to get out and fly keeping in mind some precautions.

Here are some things that come to mind off the top of my head:
•make sure you keep your batteries warm prior to flight (coat or pant pocket works) and don't put the battery in the drone until you have set-up and are ready to start up.
•cold can affect the touch screen making it sluggish or unresponsive so use the buttons if possible and be prepared for this possibility
•if you are using an external screened device like an iPhone or iPad, the cold will significantly affect the battery and it may shut down unexpectedly. Unlike your drone, their batteries don't warm up during flight.
•fly VLOS in case your screen suddenly shuts down or goes dark. This is less of a problem now with the built in screen controllers but it has happened to me and if you are within VLOS you can easily bring your drone back
•Take shorter flights and return to land with more battery percentage left. On cold days I usually land with around 40% battery so that I don't get into a situation where the battery capacity begins to drop rapidly because of the cold temperature.
•I use hand warmers, both disposable and rechargeable. Be careful with rechargeable ones. The ones I have, have a strong magnet to hold the two of them together to make one and last winter they likely caused a compass deflection in my NEO when I hand launched with the warmer nearby.

AirData has a Dew Point indicator in the Weather tab which can be important for helping to determine whether the conditions might be conducive to icing.

Hope this helps.

Chris

 

[Bad Santa]

Icing is a huge concern. On a drone it just adds weight but it can add up.

Don't fly through clouds.

Flying near waterfalls is where you could find freezing mist. That can accumulate very fast.

 

[MS Coast]

Thanks for the heads up!

Yup, definitely not flying at near freezing temps (below or above).

I wouldn't rule out cold days entirely. There are folks on the forum who fly actively in Alaska and similar climates throughout the year. Just watch for periods when the wet-bulb temperature is near the dry-bulb temperature, i.e. very high relative humidity. In most cases, I suspect that the drone will tolerate more than we're willing to.

 

[AeroJ]

Just because there was this whole thread where no1 actually said it, we should also avoid... the water !

 

[BenThe]

Don’t forget the pilot can suffer from frozen control surfaces and needs to keep warm as well!

Haha indeed! Most likely I will only be flying one battery each time, I am still a very newbie to drone flying so I don't have any commercial shoots/jobs going yet. I can see having to stay out in the open if it's a job that you can't fly the drone from indoors/inside a car.

probably not a big detail, but sometimes, obstacle avoidance works fine when leaves are on trees and fails when the leaves are gone from thin branches

not that I've ever encountered that problem because I never screw up....uh huh

Ooooh yes. I have seen quite a few videos of drone reviews that even with Lidar, thin branches (and overhead wires for that matter) brings down drones with full obstacle avoidance. Most street powerlines/wires seem to be just under 20 meters tall, so as long as I stay above that and be observant, I hope I am okay.

I fly year round and have flown in temperatures as cold as -23ºC. There are some members on here who have flown in even colder temps. Winter is one of the most beautiful seasons to fly in so don't be afraid to get out and fly keeping in mind some precautions.

Here are some things that come to mind off the top of my head:
•make sure you keep your batteries warm prior to flight (coat or pant pocket works) and don't put the battery in the drone until you have set-up and are ready to start up.
•cold can affect the touch screen making it sluggish or unresponsive so use the buttons if possible and be prepared for this possibility
•if you are using an external screened device like an iPhone or iPad, the cold will significantly affect the battery and it may shut down unexpectedly. Unlike your drone, their batteries don't warm up during flight.
•fly VLOS in case your screen suddenly shuts down or goes dark. This is less of a problem now with the built in screen controllers but it has happened to me and if you are within VLOS you can easily bring your drone back
•Take shorter flights and return to land with more battery percentage left. On cold days I usually land with around 40% battery so that I don't get into a situation where the battery capacity begins to drop rapidly because of the cold temperature.
•I use hand warmers, both disposable and rechargeable. Be careful with rechargeable ones. The ones I have, have a strong magnet to hold the two of them together to make one and last winter they likely caused a compass deflection in my NEO when I hand launched with the warmer nearby.

AirData has a Dew Point indicator in the Weather tab which can be important for helping to determine whether the conditions might be conducive to icing.

Hope this helps.

Chris

Thank you for the many tips! I'll probably get something like Little Hotties pocket warmers that works off of oxidation/rusting of iron to generate heat.

I haven't tried leaving my phone out in the cold and use it at the same time. I have forgotten my phone in the ice cold car overnight and it sure drained the battery.

Good point about the 40% rule. I guess the 20% rule is really for summer, as in winter the last 40% probably goes down much quicker, maybe even as quickly as it goes down from 20 to zero in summer.

Icing is a huge concern. On a drone it just adds weight but it can add up.

Don't fly through clouds.

Flying near waterfalls is where you could find freezing mist. That can accumulate very fast.

For sure will stay away from clouds! Not sure if it's just me, but I think there's less clouds on really cold days. Probably all fell down as flurries/snow.

I wouldn't rule out cold days entirely. There are folks on the forum who fly actively in Alaska and similar climates throughout the year. Just watch for periods when the wet-bulb temperature is near the dry-bulb temperature, i.e. very high relative humidity. In most cases, I suspect that the drone will tolerate more than we're willing to.

Yeah! I watched a photographer/drone review channel from Alaska, and it looks like it's not too much of a concern (or he is just very experienced) flying in Alaska winters.





I found an older thread and someone mentioned a great point: condensation forming inside the drone and lens after you take the drone in from very cold temps + low humidity -->> room temp + high humidity.

The folks suggested getting the drone into a plastic (probably ziplock?) bag and let it warm up inside that bag when bringing it in. I will probably look for desiccant packs to put in there as well, and maybe put it next to a dehumidifier or something for a couple of hours.

 

[Bad Santa]

Get some silica gel packs (or the loose stuff and fabric bag it) to put in with your drone when coming in from flying.

I have both.

 

[Felix le Chat]

Hello everyone, I have a general question about flying drones in winter, above or below freezing temps. It's almost that time of the year again, and this will be my first winter owning a drone, and I am sure the itch to fly will kick in some time after the snow falls.

Are my below understandings correct?

1. Higher altitude = lower temps, will be a problem to battery chemistry. I have seen two videos of 7000+ meter flights to know the battery can cool from low 30 degree C (90 F) to about 15 degree C (60 F) at the top.

2. Clouds = Mass of water droplets, which can freeze on the body and especially the blades. Ice drastically reduces lift and causes a crash. We also do not have de-ice boots like a fixed-wing aircraft would have on its wings, dunno if real helicopters have those on the rotors.

3. Downward obstacle avoidance may falsely interpret clouds or other reflections as the ground and stop its propellers thinking it has landed, XXX meters/feet in the air. Result = gravity wins. Not planning to enable prop-start-at-any-angle, and even that is not guaranteed to work anyway.

4. Air is denser when cold, but no idea what this means for actual flight performance (up to 500m if cleared/with permission)

If I do fly, am I on the right track with the following points?

1. Do not fly when humidity is high(er) and temperature above freezing: during flight, the fast spinning blades can transition moisture in the air to ice and cause a decrease in lift.
2. At below freezing temps, only fly maybe 1 hour after a snow event. This is to let moisture in the air drop even lower.
3. Anything I missed?


Thank you all!

You've covered pretty much all the bases already, the only thing I'd add is... lens fogging.

With the smaller drones in particular, you can end up with condensation between the actual lens element and the 'glass' fitted into the front part of the camera casing.

This is caused by the camera electronics heating up while the outer temperature is low and it can be a real pain in the arse. Ruined quite a few of my late season night/early morning shots.

Putting an extra layer of glass (clear glass/U.V. filter) on the camera of the likes of the mini 3 pro can reduce this occasional problem, but it won't stop it from happening sporadically.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

# 1 consider getting a Wet Suit for your Drone, this will protect the battery and the power Button and increase the Battery temp by about 6 Degrees depending on which Drone you have

We have flown all the Drones in the most extreme Temps and Storms in the Winter.

# Its essential you fly from inside a Porch or Car to stay warm and alert.

# If you put your battery in the Freezer for a few hours you wil find that the drone will not start up, however every degree counts and within just a few minutes the drone will start with the frozen battery.

# Ice build up on the Props can happen if your in a really wet storm but we have never been able to crash a drone in the air with ice build up on the props as its not a long enough flight, and we have flown some incredible storms

Since you going to be in the Car , keep the battery as warm as possible for an easy startup , once your up an flying the battery will take care of itself.

When it comes to landing in the snow , all kinds of bad things can happen so have a nice shoveled surface ready to go or use something safe.

Also while flying , find a remote landing spot in case you do need to land quickly.
Let me know what drone you have and i will show you a Storm we have flown with it.

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