Minimum temperature

artifushion · Sep 11, 2017

Hi,

I'm a new owner of the MP and loving it, but as winter is getting closer here in Norway, I'm wondering if anyone have tried the MP in cold weather?

Whats the lowest temperature you've flown in?
And what flight times can I expect when it's getting below 5 degrees Celsius?

pixl · Sep 11, 2017

Why not do a search instead of starting a new thread on this? This site is loaded with content on the topic:

Search Results for Query: battery warmers | DJI Mavic Drone Forum

artifushion · Sep 11, 2017

pixl said:
Why not do a search instead of starting a new thread on this? This site is loaded with content on the topic:

Search Results for Query: battery warmers | DJI Mavic Drone Forum

I did, but didn't know what to search on, and therefore didn't find the answer I was looking for.

Kilrah · Sep 11, 2017

Someone posted a flight in -40°C last winter.

pixl · Sep 11, 2017

Kilrah said:
Someone posted a flight in -40°C last winter.

Not that surprising. Unlike the Inspire, the Mavic's batteries are in a position to gain heat from the hot running circuit board. Add an iron oxide boot warming pouch in a stick-on packing slip envelope, and I'd expect the batteries to be fine.

tcope · Sep 11, 2017

The problem is not the Mavic itself, it's the batteries. At lower temps they will only provide limited thrust. At lower temps the drone won't fly. From what I remember, this is around 35F but I'm not 100% sure.

Hollow Dog · Sep 11, 2017

In search I typed in ''cold weather'' and got this return {Showing results 1 to 20 of 183}
Lots of information there.

WolfgangStiller · Sep 11, 2017

I keep the batteries warm until just prior to flight (using warming gel packs and my jacket). I have flown down to 8 degrees F with no issues. Biggest problem is my iPhone battery running low so I add a warming pack to that as well when it's realy cold.

LawFlyer · Sep 11, 2017

I went skiing in January 2017 and flew my Mavic at an elevation of around 9,000 feet. Temp was probably 0C/32F. I did not notice any issues with flying at that temp....everything performed normally, and my flight times did not seem much shorter.

However, I live in Phoenix, Arizona and the summer temps are a different story. It's usually above 110F here all summer, and while I still fly sometimes at that temp, I feel like it's way too hot for my Mavic. When the drone comes back after a run, it's almost too hot to touch....so I am really looking forward to some cooler temps coming soon.

Bottom line -- if you are concerned about low temps, then just go slow, proceed carefully, and do some test flights without going too high or too far away. The best guidance you will get is from personal experience.

DJI_0087

LawFlyer
Sep 11, 2017

Greer, Arizona - January 22, 2017

Kalvik · Sep 11, 2017

tcope said:
The problem is not the Mavic itself, it's the batteries. At lower temps they will only provide limited thrust. At lower temps the drone won't fly. From what I remember, this is around 35F but I'm not 100% sure.

Will be fine at MUCH colder temperatures than that. I have flown for 15 minutes at -20C (-4F) without any problem.

pixl · Sep 11, 2017

LawFlyer said:
I went skiing in January 2017 and flew my Mavic at an elevation of around 9,000 feet. Temp was probably 0C/32F. I did not notice any issues with flying at that temp....everything performed normally, and my flight times did not seem much shorter.

However, I live in Phoenix, Arizona and the summer temps are a different story. It's usually above 110F here all summer, and while I still fly sometimes at that temp, I feel like it's way too hot for my Mavic. When the drone comes back after a run, it's almost too hot to touch....so I am really looking forward to some cooler temps coming soon.

Bottom line -- if you are concerned about low temps, then just go slow, proceed carefully, and do some test flights without going too high or too far away. The best guidance you will get is from personal experience.

DJI_0087

LawFlyer

Sep 11, 2017

Greer, Arizona - January 22, 2017

32ºF isnt really cold -- the heat from the circuit board will keep your battery warmer than that. OP was asking about temps below 20ºF. I've flown at -10ºF without battery warmers, and I can attest that battery duration is about half, and it drops off very quickly so you need to be close to the home point.

tcope · Sep 12, 2017

Kalvik said:
Will be fine at MUCH colder temperatures than that. I have flown for 15 minutes at -20C (-4F) without any problem.

Then the batteries were warmer.

WolfgangStiller · Sep 12, 2017

If you sync your flight data with Airdata you can see what your battery temperatures were on any flight. As long as the Mavic battery is warm when it starts it seems to stay warm or get hotter as the flight goes on even at 8 F (and likely colder) according to my flight data.

Kalvik · Sep 12, 2017

tcope said:
Then the batteries were warmer.

Of course! How hard is it to keep the batteries warm before you fly?

WolfgangStiller · Sep 12, 2017

Kalvik said:
Of course! How hard is it to keep that batteries warm before you fly?

If it's not too cold I just put them in an inside jacket pocket. If it's really cold I use a 3M gel warming pack or chemical heating pad. My iPhone is actually more problematic and I now use sticky heating pads to keep it warm.

tcope · Sep 12, 2017

Kalvik said:
Of course! How hard is it to keep that batteries warm before you fly?

In the middle of winter when your our pack packing? Or if you are just outside in the middle of winter for a few hours and it's below freezing?

Kalvik · Sep 12, 2017

Well, I'm 90-miles north of the arctic circle and I'm often out all day at -20C or colder. As a previous poster suggested, just keep a battery or two inside your jacket. Problem solved.

WolfgangStiller · Sep 12, 2017

Kalvik said:
Well, I'm 90-miles north of the arctic circle and I'm often out all day at -20C or colder. As a previous poster suggested, just keep a battery or two inside your jacket. Problem solved.

Nice!

tcope · Sep 12, 2017

Kalvik said:
Well, I'm 90-miles north of the arctic circle and I'm often out all day at -20C or colder. As a previous poster suggested, just keep a battery or two inside your jacket. Problem solved.

I thought there were issues with GPS and GLONASS in that area.

Kalvik · Sep 12, 2017

tcope said:
I thought there were issues with GPS and GLONASS in that area.

No. In fact GPS and GLONASS works better the farther north you go, since all those satellites converge near the pole so more are in view at any given time.

The compass is less reliable as you go farther north, of course, but I've never even been prompted to calibrate the compass in the Mavic since I bought it.