Froze my Motor

[Rob Dog]

Today I flew my Mini 4 Pro in Central Oregon and it was 24 degrees and foggy. I got up pretty high (---- ;o) ----) and one of the motors failed. The interesting part is that it still flew but I lost the ability to steer it. I dropped down to about 500' AGL and steering came back.

Never did get above the fog layer this time....

 

[GadgetGuy]

There is a reason behind the FAA 400 foot AGL limitation for drone pilots.
What height above 500 AGL were you flying at, when the motor failed?

 

[BossBob]

Above 500ft in fog!!! You shouldn’t be at any height in fog!

 

[Paul Iddon]

Sad to say, but I have no sympathy for you.

 

[DoomMeister]

SMH!!! Hard to believe the stupid antics some people pull. We are at the same level as VFR pilots and are not allowed to fly through clouds and fog is a cloud. No wonder our lawmakers keep adding more restrictions to flying drones.

 

[GadgetGuy]

SMH!!! Hard to believe the stupid antics some people pull. We are at the same level as VFR pilots and are not allowed to fly through clouds and fog is a cloud. No wonder our lawmakers keep adding more restrictions to flying drones.

As is DJI, with the January 1 imposition of a hard ceiling of 120m in the UK on the Mini 5 Pro as a C0 class drone.

 

[AeroJ]

Perhaps OP means 500 ft above take off point rather than AGL ? If that was the case, then it is possible to be in this situation without having done anything wrong !

Flying from the bottom of a hill to the top of one, through some low-lying cloud is not in and of itself problematic if you can find gaps in the fog to ascend and descend through, as is often the case, certainly at the biggest hill near me. There are always gaps, usually big enough to allow VLoS throughout.

Separate to that is the wisdom (or not) of placing your craft where it is going to encounter a lot of moisture even if you don't actually get in the main body of the fog. And I can imagine that freezing onto props or motors if it is cold enough, although it has never happened to me. Lucky directional control returned hey ?

 

[BossBob]

As is DJI, with the January 1 imposition of a hard ceiling of 120m in the UK on the Mini 5 Pro as a C0 class drone.

It’s not a DJI rule, it’s a EASA and CAA rule that to be a C0 a drone must have a hard limit of 120m. These certifications are the only reason that the overweight Mini 5 Pro is allowed to fly under C0. They allow it through on the understanding that the target manufactured weight is 249.9 and there are certified accessories you are allowed to use, which doesn’t include aftermarket batteries and propellors.
BUT I do disagree with the way DJI implemented the restriction without there being any acknowledgment that it was being done and it just happening.

 

[BlueHeeler]

Perhaps OP means 500 ft above take off point rather than AGL ? If that was the case, then it is possible to be in this situation without having done anything wrong !

Flying from the bottom of a hill to the top of one, through some low-lying cloud is not in and of itself problematic if you can find gaps in the fog to ascend and descend through, as is often the case, certainly at the biggest hill near me. There are always gaps, usually big enough to allow VLoS throughout.

Separate to that is the wisdom (or not) of placing your craft where it is going to encounter a lot of moisture even if you don't actually get in the main body of the fog. And I can imagine that freezing onto props or motors if it is cold enough, although it has never happened to me. Lucky directional control returned hey ?

What ?

 

[AeroJ]

What ?

Well, if you're taking off from 300 ft below the top of a hill, then over here you would be legally able to fly to the top of that hill, and then 400 ft above its apex, as long as you follow the contour of it and are never more than 400 ft above the ground under the drone. Perhaps that is only the case for us in the UK tho - but I was fairly sure the States had that rule too ?

 

[Starz]

Perhaps OP means 500 ft above take off point rather than AGL ?

We may never know!

 

[MS Coast]

Today I flew my Mini 4 Pro in Central Oregon and it was 24 degrees and foggy. I got up pretty high (---- ;o) ----) and one of the motors failed. The interesting part is that it still flew but I lost the ability to steer it. I dropped down to about 500' AGL and steering came back.

Never did get above the fog layer this time....

Certainly could have been icing.

It's interesting that some folks feel compelled to crow about flagrant visibility and altitude violations.

 

[mavic3usa]

Well, if you're taking off from 300 ft below the top of a hill, then over here you would be legally able to fly to the top of that hill, and then 400 ft above its apex, as long as you follow the contour of it and are never more than 400 ft above the ground under the drone. Perhaps that is only the case for us in the UK tho - but I was fairly sure the States had that rule too ?

Yes it is legal to in the US to climb to 500 feet above the homepoint as long as you do not exceed 400 feet AGL; however, in his post, the OP said he dropped down to "500' AGL" but we are all are how terms and definitions and descriptions are used loosely on the forum and may not reflect actually what happened. Some people say their altitude was 500 feet which would be pretty astounding in the Oregon mountains.

 

[Cafguy]

Today I flew my Mini 4 Pro in Central Oregon and it was 24 degrees and foggy. I got up pretty high (---- ;o) ----) and one of the motors failed. The interesting part is that it still flew but I lost the ability to steer it. I dropped down to about 500' AGL and steering came back.

Never did get above the fog layer this time....

My Grandfather told me to go out to the fields and smell the B.S. Before you spread it! lol... This imagined flight is illegal for more than the fact that You were Flying above the 500' limit....You cannot legally fly a drone during foggy conditions....
I will not go into the intricacies of How a Drone flies but They are called Quads for a reason. First they come with four Motors and Secondly They will fall out of the sky like a brick if you lose one of the Motors.
Whatever Happened during your Flight You didnt lose a motor I can assure you that didnt happen!
P.S. This is a public forum. The FAA Uses posts in public forums to investigate violations, They even got people for that .
I personally think you were Dreaming all this (hint) ..... and Your drone can do all sorts of strange things when its flying in a puddle of water in the sky. Never do that! its not safe nor legal..and again a drone is a rock without 4 motors.

 

[BlueHeeler]

Well, if you're taking off from 300 ft below the top of a hill, then over here you would be legally able to fly to the top of that hill, and then 400 ft above its apex, as long as you follow the contour of it and are never more than 400 ft above the ground under the drone. Perhaps that is only the case for us in the UK tho - but I was fairly sure the States had that rule too ?

OK, I can see that situation, but flying into a fog is um, quite risky though

 

[AeroJ]

but flying into a fog is um, quite risky though

Yeah, you won't catch me actively recommending it !

But very rarely, there is perfectly lying low cloud around my closest big hill, where the line between fog and cloud get much more... foggy, and then you can get away with flights like this one I did, 13 years ago (when the clouds rule didn't exist!) with my old Flamewheel home-build ! That had NONE waterproofing, other than the Naza unit being in its little box.

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[BossBob]

And of course there are occasions when you are on a hill and the countryside below you blanketed in mist, very photogenic!