Mavic Air got a few raindrops today

[dealy663]

I was out flying my drone today, and then it started to drizzle while I was out. It wasn't actually raining, but there were definitely several small rain drops on my RC and phone and by the time I got the drone back it also had several drops of water on top. It didn't act weird or anything while flying.

Could a few light raindrops cause real problems for the MA? My guess is that there were less than 50 pencil lead sized drops on my RC and phone at the end. I couldn't count drops on the drone because all the wind kinda made them flatten out and merge. Is it a bad idea to fly if there is even a chance of light rain?

Back here at home the drone seems fine, I powered up and recorded some video without flying.

 

[Mossiback]

I wouldn't worry about it. My MP has gotten sprinkled on a few times and I just wipe it off and store as usual. Whatever moisture that may have gotten inside was clean and would evaporate relatively quickly due to the warm electronics.

I would check your camera lens to clean any water that may have dried on it.

 

[Aikidoamigo]

I find it very hard to understand why they don’t make these drones with some IP rating for situations such as you describe.

Impossible to predict when it may just come over with a few spots of rain or when cloud water vapour could present itself.

Sure you should be OK if you are careful, I brought my M2P back once when it had started raining unexpectedly and was therefore getting wet for a couple of minutes and all was fine

 

[DanMan32]

I don't think IP rating is graduating enough for this application.

 

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[RustyRussell]

For what it's worth...about three weeks ago, I set out early as it was misty out and I was looking for some "moody" Fall video. When I reached my destination (closer to Lake Ontario) it wasn't misty, it was foggy! Undaunted, I flew for a number of minutes (and I admit, lost sight of the MA) looking for what I went for, was disappointed and flew back to home point. The MA looked like it had flown under a waterfall, but despite that it didn't skip a beat, so based on that experience I wouldn't worry about a few drops of water.

 

[Dave Maine]

My biggest problem has always been water in the lens. A single drop will destroy the value of any footage or pix shot after the water lands.

 

[MavicRoolzOK]

As for flying in rain/drizzle/fog, I also read somewhere that this could scatter/affect the control-signal, which could have much more serious consequences ? If you get caught on way back, should hopefully be OK. Haven't been brave (daft ?) enough to purposefully set off in rain with my MA ?....

 

[Harold Morgan]

One tiny little tip. If you're in a real water situation, return to home in reverse. That way, your gimbal won't be as exposed to rain drops as you travel back (at least with the Air).

 

[MavicFlyer]

One tiny little tip. If you're in a real water situation, return to home in reverse. That way, your gimbal won't be as exposed to rain drops as you travel back (at least with the Air).

If you're going relatively slow, flying in reverse is a good idea, but if you're going faster, it may not be a good idea. If you're going fast, the quad will be tilted down in the direction of flight, especially if you're in Sport mode (I believe it can get as much as 35 degrees).

I agree with most of the earlier posters that a few drops won't hurt anything, but I certainly wouldn't launch in precepitation of any kind. Why take a chance?

The earlier comment about rain reducing the comm signal strength is true, but as a practical matter, if the rain is heavy enough for that to be an issue, you'll probably have other issues, like the water getting into your quad.

 

[rxlawdude]

I was flying my MA last New Year's Day in Sedona to get some red rocks views. It snowed on New Year's Eve, and there was a lot of snow on the ground and on the cliffs, so it was a pretty unique opportunity.

When reviewing the video, I noticed these white streaks showing up in a few frames. Indeed, at 300 feet it was snowing while I flew. No damage of any kind to the AC.