Mavic Air Handle Cold like the Mavic Pro?

[51 Drones]

A great benefit of living in the American equivalent of Siberia , I am able to conduct cold weather testing on my Mavic Air and Mavic Pro. I am curious to know if any of you who may have flown the Mavic Air below the minimum temp standard set by DJI have had any issues? So far it performs just as well as the Mavic Pro for me.

 

[Mike4884]

Ive been saying all along they fly fine if u keep batteries warm. The air does just as fine as the others

 

[davidzimagery]

I flew my Mavic Pro Platinum at -10 F recently. It did fine, and no drastic battery drain. I had everything warmed up. The only possible result was that the gimble hangs up when the camera is facing perpendicular to the direction of travel. It's done that the last two times I've flown in low temps.

 

[CanadaDrone]

Personally I don't fly below 0C as per DJI's recommendation. DJI's battery management systems do adjust for the cold, but only within their recommended flying temperature range. Some people get away with it but I have read too many stories of cold weather battery failures, gimbal issues, and iced props. Everyone has a different threshold for what they are comfortable with though, and it's a calculated risk. Everything works fine...until it doesn't If you're going to do it, keep the batteries very warm until you're ready to fly, as well as your controller and smartphone/tablet.

The other problem is with the smartphone or other device used to fly - they fare much worse in the extreme cold than the DJI controller and it's not uncommon for them to suddenly drop to 0% or have touch screen issues (my iPhones would always become essentially useless in the extreme cold). DJI seems to have solved this with their new smart controller with a rating down to -20C, probably because it generates so much of its own heat.

There is also the issue of condensation, which will be most noticeable on the camera lens but will affect the whole drone any time you move between extreme temperature changes. If you can't avoid this, you can use a plastic bag to minimize the condensation, and keep it in a case for as long as possible to make the temperature changes as gradual as possible.

The Inspire drones warn you when the battery temperature is below 15C and has a heating function. Some people build heating pads into their hard cases as well to keep the drone & accessories toasty warm before flight. You can buy battery warmers as well but most of them use the battery's own power to warm them.

 

[Blaksony]

Personally I don't fly below 0C as per DJI's recommendation. DJI's battery management systems do adjust for the cold, but only within their recommended flying temperature range. Some people get away with it but I have read too many stories of cold weather battery failures, gimbal issues, and iced props. Everyone has a different threshold for what they are comfortable with though, and it's a calculated risk. Everything works fine...until it doesn't If you're going to do it, keep the batteries very warm until you're ready to fly, as well as your controller and smartphone/tablet.

The other problem is with the smartphone or other device used to fly - they fare much worse in the extreme cold than the DJI controller and it's not uncommon for them to suddenly drop to 0% or have touch screen issues (my iPhones would always become essentially useless in the extreme cold). DJI seems to have solved this with their new smart controller with a rating down to -20C, probably because it generates so much of its own heat.

There is also the issue of condensation, which will be most noticeable on the camera lens but will affect the whole drone any time you move between extreme temperature changes. If you can't avoid this, you can use a plastic bag to minimize the condensation, and keep it in a case for as long as possible to make the temperature changes as gradual as possible.

The Inspire drones warn you when the battery temperature is below 15C and has a heating function. Some people build heating pads into their hard cases as well to keep the drone & accessories toasty warm before flight. You can buy battery warmers as well but most of them use the battery's own power to warm them.

I agree with your statement about idevices, I was just now flying my MA and the air temp was -7, my iPad had 70% power, 3 mins into my flight my pad died. I was 117m up and 75m away and trees blocked much of my view but I stayed calm and flew as high as I could get it, finally spotted at about 200m high turned completely around backwards so it was a good thing that I took it up instead of trying to back it up overhead, brought it down to a safe grab. Thursday I’ll make sure I have 100%on the pad when I fly, should be -16 then

 

[CanadaDrone]

I agree with your statement about idevices, I was just now flying my MA and the air temp was -7, my iPad had 70% power, 3 mins into my flight my pad died. I was 117m up and 75m away and trees blocked much of my view but I stayed calm and flew as high as I could get it, finally spotted at about 200m high turned completely around backwards so it was a good thing that I took it up instead of trying to back it up overhead, brought it down to a safe grab. Thursday I’ll make sure I have 100%on the pad when I fly, should be -16 then

Yes, it is often the screen device that dies first. None of this equipment is designed to be used in the extreme cold, and doing so is just asking for trouble. If you're going to do it anyway, all you can do is keep it as warm as possible (not hot) and 100% charge before flight. Your hands are also a consideration - I know at least for me my fingers are the first thing to get cold when I am standing outside and losing dexterity is not a good thing.

 

[Blaksony]

I brought a pair of Under Armor gloves last week with touch capability on the index finger ( I used the gloves yesterday, btw) and I got two batteries (twenty minutes of cold flight) worth without too much discomfort and the iPad mini held up much better this time, HOWEVER there was a heat wave over night here... the air temp was -3, lol.
And, did you see the news footage from Chicago this morning? Man , I would love to had been up there to get some quad footage over the lake near Navy Pier with the Mavic, spectacular

 

[CanadaDrone]

And, did you see the news footage from Chicago this morning? Man , I would love to had been up there to get some quad footage over the lake near Navy Pier with the Mavic, spectacular

From what I've been reading about Chicago, it's -50C and even commercial airliners aren't flying haha.

If you are looking to upgrade your gloves, these are the best I've found and they make several versions:

Markhof Pro 2.0 Photography Glove

You can order them from B&H in the USA or free shipping directly from the website.

 

[NAVMAV]

We have a Friend living in Detroit. In conversation last night he reported they received notes from the Power Plants asking them to reduce in-home temperatures to 15 C to keep the power grid going!! In a city the size of Detroit?? We find this almost unbelievable to comprehend.

Scary stuff indeed.

Rgds, MAVNAV

 

[Baise]

I flew many flights today in temperatures of -30 to -23 degrees Celsius. Had no issues whatsoever. Batteries always warmed themselves up from about 12 to 15 degrees to about 28 degrees even in that cold.