How cold is too cold?

[Dbez1]

I’ve read the MM handbook but there’s no definitive answer to this question that I’ve been able to find. I can, and have sat in my nice warm car and flown into the teens (F). I’m aware of the shortened flight time in cold weather but at what point should I not be flying? I don’t want to shorten the life of my batteries or damage the drone. Thanks.

 

[old man mavic]

too cold to fly, is for me when the temperature +the wind chill ,means that i am too cold to be able to control my drone correctly ,because my hands even with gloves on are not able to function ,the problem with drone flying ,is the fact that mostly we are standing still in one spot as we fly ,unlike a walker ,or cyclist who can generate some warmth from the physicality of what they are doing the cold also slows down ones senses and can affect reaction times ,and the ability to make sensible judgments

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Interesting question, is there a temperature at which the plastics of these drone becomes brittle?
With regards to battery temperatures I am already seeing warnings, the solution....stick the battery inside your clothing somewhere warm until you need it

 

[Grazzy]

On the DJI website under battery faq and specs.
The operating temperature for both is 0° to 40°C (32° to 104℉). The Mavic Mini Intelligent Flight Battery charging temperature is 0° to 40°C (32° to 104℉), and the remote controller battery charging temperature is 0° to 45°C (32° to 113℉). When using the aircraft in a cold environment, pay attention to any on-screen prompts related to takeoff status.

 

[StantonZ]

I've seen a couple of threads on this subject now.
The temperature specs for these drones are listed (along with a bunch of others) at the end of the operating manual. For example, operating temp range for my MA2 is 14 to 104 degrees F. Now does that mean it's a good idea to operate at the "ends" of the range? No. Based on my experience with electronics (and temperature testing), strange things can happen at temperature extremes over a large population size...but that doesn't mean the test pool didn't pass. My recommendation would be to stay a few degrees away from each end of the operating temperature spec...and LiOn/LiPo batteries suffer significant (>10%) capacity reduction at low temps. YMMV.

 

[Trackerputnam]

I have flown at -22 before, but was not pleasant as stated above.

 

[Dbez1]

I have flown at -22 before, but was not pleasant as stated above.

No issues with the drone though?

 

[hawkinsuk]

I assume these temperature limits are battery temperatures and not ambient temperatures. If that is the case, with the battery developing heat as it is used, the ambient temperature could be quite a bit lower. The windchill factor, which is hard to be exact about, is going to be higher at 300’ in Sport mode than 30’ in C mode. The advice to keep your eye on the controls is a good one. A couple of days ago, I got a battery voltage warning when the battery was still over 50% and I assumed the voltage drop was because of the battery temperature?

 

[Trackerputnam]

No issues with the drone though?

None! Heated the battery next to the camp fire to get it warm enough and off she went!

 

[scro]

The windchill factor, which is hard to be exact about, is going to be higher at 300’ in Sport mode than 30’ in C mode.

Windchill is a theoretical temperature and not relevant for something that isn't actively heated. The drone won't get any colder than the actual air temperature.
We feel windchill because our bodies try to stay at a higher temperature than cold air.

 

[Bop]

Windchill is a theoretical temperature and not relevant for something that isn't actively heated. The drone won't get any colder than the actual air temperature.
We feel windchill because our bodies try to stay at a higher temperature than cold air.

It will not get colder than the ambient temperature however it will take less time to reach ambient temperature (if the object is warmer than ambient temp.)

 

[julius13]

when your thumbs snap off when attempting to yaw around a structure.

 

[old man mavic]

apart from my comments in post #2,its important to remember that the extreme cold ,will have a detrimental effect on the overall ,flight
therefore when flying in cold conditions, just modify your flying style to take the following into consideration
(1) reduced flight time
(2) the possibility of prop icing due to moisture and low temperature
(3) reduced visibility and sun glare
(4) the sensors being fooled by the monochrome landscape
(5) keep closer than normal to the home point so it will be easier to recover the drone if it goes down ,especially in deep snow if you have a visual reference point to aim for

 

[SpitFire]

Please check out DJI article on Battery, this is just a screen shot of Battery care is more important then you think. I have my personal options, on cold weather, but you can make your own decision about what you want to do from this very informative information.

 

[DanMan32]

Windchill is a theoretical temperature and not relevant for something that isn't actively heated. The drone won't get any colder than the actual air temperature.
We feel windchill because our bodies try to stay at a higher temperature than cold air.

Actually it's because we emit moisture. Wind chill is caused by the wind accelerating evaporation. Evaporation extracts heat. A wet brick will get colder than ambient temperature in wind where a dry brick won't.

 

[scro]

Actually it's because we emit moisture. Wind chill is caused by the wind accelerating evaporation. Evaporation extracts heat. A wet brick will get colder than ambient temperature in wind where a dry brick won't.

The original definition of windchill didn't factor in evaporative cooling, just accelerated heat loss due to wind removing an insulating boundary layer of air. Either way its not relevant for drones in cold temperatures as they create significant disturbance of the air immediately around them and typically have airspeeds higher than the prevailing wind. A drone flying around will get cold insignificantly slower on a cold still day compared to a cold windy day. However, you as the pilot will feel a lot colder on the windy day.

 

[Steve L]

when your thumbs snap off when attempting to yaw around a structure.

 

[Steve L]

when your thumbs snap off when attempting to yaw around a structure.

When my eyelids freeze shut...

 

[DanMan32]

The original definition of windchill didn't factor in evaporative cooling, just accelerated heat loss due to wind removing an insulating boundary layer of air. Either way its not relevant for drones in cold temperatures as they create significant disturbance of the air immediately around them and typically have airspeeds higher than the prevailing wind. A drone flying around will get cold insignificantly slower on a cold still day compared to a cold windy day. However, you as the pilot will feel a lot colder on the windy day.

But wind chill temps are lower than ambient, so an object can't get any colder than ambient if its just based on removing an insulating layer.

However "feels like" is the temp we perceive. That indeed would be affected by removing insulating layer, as well as evaporation of our perspiration.

 

[scro]

But wind chill temps are lower than ambient, so an object can't get any colder than ambient if its just based on removing an insulating layer.

However "feels like" is the temp we perceive. That indeed would be affected by removing insulating layer, as well as evaporation of our perspiration.

Indeed, wind chill is a theoretical temperature and objects/people don't get cooled down to the temperature stated as the wind chill factor. There are 2 ways (not including evaporation) to cool a warm object down quicker: lower the ambient temperature, or blow wind onto it. Wind chill gets the wind speed and converts it into an equivalent lower temperature that would give the same increased cooling. Some weather forecasts include a "feels like" temperature that takes it a step further and factors in relative humidity and its effect on evaporative cooling that humans feel due to sweating. Note that evaporative cooling doesn't require wind to work and can cool objects to lower than the ambient temperature.