How to deal with the cold

[Photoman482]

I'm a new flyer. Was out today with my Mavic pro 2. All was going well until my IPad just died. I'm guessing from the cold but it was 39. Any experience with this kind of thing? How am I supposed to fly when it's cold?

 

[Paulf10]

How old is your iPad? At 39 degrees you really should not have any problems due to the cold. I live in New England and have flown at that temperature and colder many time with no problems. However that’s just my experience and it’s with a P4 and MPP, not an MP2.
I ask about your iPad because like all rechargeable batteries there is the law of diminishing returns. If you go to settings on your iPad and click on “Battery” it will tell you the health and last charge level of your battery. This is the same for your iPhone if you have one. You may also want to try a different mobile device and see if that makes a difference.

 

[Chrislaf]

I'm a new flyer. Was out today with my Mavic pro 2. All was going well until my IPad just died. I'm guessing from the cold but it was 39. Any experience with this kind of thing? How am I supposed to fly when it's cold?

You can try using hand warmers to keep the iPad warm, or put it in your coat between flights if it fits.

You can still control your AC from the controller without the iPad but obviously you won’t have telemetry or any other automated flight options. This is a good reason to keep the AC within VLOS. If my phone goes off when flying, I just come back and land since I no longer have any battery info.

Today I was out in -14C (7F) weather flying both my Spark and P3 and I knew there could be a possibility of my iPhone shutting off so I made sure I kept both ACs in sight at all times and that they were close enough to tell the orientation. Cold weather flying adds some layers of complexity that you don’t have to consider when flying in warmer weather but if you plan for these situations it should be fine.

Chris

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I'm a new flyer. Was out today with my Mavic pro 2. All was going well until my IPad just died. I'm guessing from the cold but it was 39. Any experience with this kind of thing? How am I supposed to fly when it's cold?

This is where that smart controller really pays off. You can also try using your Phone which may get you a little better results but the Smart controller is the very best way if extreme weather flying is your thing./

Phantomrain.org
Elite gear for your Mavic.

 

[Photoman482]

You can try using hand warmers to keep the iPad warm, or put it in your coat between flights if it fits.

You can still control your AC from the controller without the iPad but obviously you won’t have telemetry or any other automated flight options. This is a good reason to keep the AC within VLOS. If my phone goes off when flying, I just come back and land since I no longer have any battery info.

Today I was out in -14C (7F) weather flying both my Spark and P3 and I knew there could be a possibility of my iPhone shutting off so I made sure I kept both ACs in sight at all times and that they were close enough to tell the orientation. Cold weather flying adds some layers of complexity that you don’t have to consider when flying in warmer weather but if you plan for these situations it should be fine.

Chris

It was very close so I just brought it home.

 

[Photoman482]

This is where that smart controller really pays off. You can also try using your Phone which may get you a little better results but the Smart controller is the very best way if extreme weather flying is your thing./

Phantomrain.org
Elite gear for your Mavic.

I've heard that but I like having the real time maps. But it may be necessary.

 

[Chrislaf]

It was very close so I just brought it home.

I have flown in weather as cold as -23C (-10F). I usually have hand warmers in my gloves or mitts so sometimes I keep my phone in there before I fly and in between flights.

One other effect of cold weather on your device is that it can cause the touch screen to be less responsive or not responsive at all.

If you have a phone you can fly with, you might try it instead of the iPad since a phone is much easier to manage in cold weather and to keep warm.

Good Luck,

Chris

 

[Photoman482]

I'll try that but I really like the big screen. I'll try and rig something up with hand warmers or something. Mamber my iPad, and it's battery, is just too old.

thanks

 

[Chrislaf]

I'll try that but I really like the big screen. I'll try and rig something up with hand warmers or something. Mamber my iPad, and it's battery, is just too old.

thanks

Before I got my iPhone XR, I had an older iPhone 7 and it would shut off much faster in cold weather than my XR.

 

[rfc]

I'm a new flyer. Was out today with my Mavic pro 2. All was going well until my IPad just died. I'm guessing from the cold but it was 39. Any experience with this kind of thing? How am I supposed to fly when it's cold?

Fly sitting in your car, windshield facing where your bird is. Heat on, Coffee mug in the holder; No worries!

 

[Chrislaf]

Fly sitting in your car, windshield facing where your bird is. Heat on, Coffee mug in the holder; No worries!

Kind of hard to do when you are hiking a trail in the middle of know where with more than a foot of snow.

 

[bumper]

Get an Anker rechargeable power supply (available on Amazon), you can keep the Anker in your warm pocket and it'll keep the external electronics happy - an charged up too.

 

[Mrveronn]

Good for the hands and controller...tuck a hand warmer in there also...

 

[Jet skier]

I'm a new flyer. Was out today with my Mavic pro 2. All was going well until my IPad just died. I'm guessing from the cold but it was 39. Any experience with this kind of thing? How am I supposed to fly when it's cold?

Shoot 39 isn’t even cold I fly all the time in temperatures of teens and 20s the main thing is to arm the drone and hover it for two or three minutes as the battery rapidly warms while doing this, that’s what the manual says to do . Not sure why your iPad quit

 

[pmshop]

I'm a new flyer. Was out today with my Mavic pro 2. All was going well until my IPad just died. I'm guessing from the cold but it was 39. Any experience with this kind of thing? How am I supposed to fly when it's cold?

 

[Ralph thompson]

mrveronn, that’s a nifty idea. Did u make it or buy it? I use the SC to and helps for speedy setup & Go so there isn’t much cold sync. And pulling gloves off & on to touch the screen is a pain so yr cover looks very neat.

 

[Mrveronn]

mrveronn, that’s a nifty idea. Did u make it or buy it?

Check on amazon... it does seem to offer some warmth to hands, RC, and phone or small tablet/iPad mini... but may loose membership in the “cool” club?. and I’ve been looking at cut off/ half finger gloves (both regular and USB powered) to keep the fingers flexible...

 

[Chrislaf]

Do a search for transmitter glove on Banggood or similar site and you should get lots of options. I have one of those for my P3 transmitter.

 

[Chrislaf]

Also, I should mention that on really cold days the transmitter glove will help keep the wind away from your device and the warmth generated from your hands may help too which should help reduce the chance of device shut-down. You may even be able to attach a hand warmer in there too.

Chris

 

[Rex Peters]

I'm a new flyer. Was out today with my Mavic pro 2. All was going well until my IPad just died. I'm guessing from the cold but it was 39. Any experience with this kind of thing? How am I supposed to fly when it's cold?

I was flying my Mavic mini yesterday in 1degree c temperature and the only problem I had was when I tried to do a quick shot, my phone display wasn’t registering my attempts to identify the target to lock onto. I believe it’s a phone issue to the cold and not the app.