Motor Temp after 15 minutes of flying

Edward Knight · Jul 7, 2019

How hot/warm will/should the prop motors become on the Mavic Pro be after 15 minutes of flight on a warm/hot day in the sun?

Thomas B · Jul 7, 2019

Hotter than is comfortable to touch. I fly in 100 degrees F frequently in the summers of Arizona. Be sure to remove the battery and allow the drone to cool in shade until neither the battery compartment nor the motors feel warm.

Edward Knight · Jul 7, 2019

Thomas B said:
Hotter than is comfortable to touch. I fly in 100 degrees F frequently in the summers of Arizona. Be sure to remove the battery and allow the drone to cool in shade until neither the battery compartment nor the motors feel warm.

Thanks for the reply and the cool down tip!.

old man mavic · Jul 7, 2019

the drone will get very hot even just being in the sun try not to leave it or the batteries in a hot vehicle when not being used

Flyclopse · Jul 8, 2019

It helps to be mindful how much you hover with no air moving into the drone fuselage and I wouldn’t fly with the gimble cover either for that same reason. Also, it seems to help if I don’t fly full speed too much either. That’s good practice always.

JohnChap · Jul 8, 2019

I have never worried about motor temperatures and in the Australian summer will fly for 2-3 hours continuously. I have 3 batteries which I rotationally charge to keep the bird in the air and have never had a problem with the motors other than the batteries getting too hot and so will not charge. They go into a freezer on landing for 10 mins.

Magilla Gorilla · Jul 9, 2019

Edward Knight said:
How hot/warm will/should the prop motors become on the Mavic Pro be after 15 minutes of flight on a warm/hot day in the sun?

I keep a non-contact digital thermometer in my kit and occasionally check motor, battery and Mavic’s belly temps.
After landing, turning on thermometer and setting to indicate max temp, I see around 110 *F (43*C) . Doing so on a regular basis can show a potential problem before it causes a failure.

SpitFire · Jul 9, 2019

I do pretty much the same thing, but I use a leaser temperature gun and measure the temp especially when its Hot out side. I aim the leaser at the hottest spot, to get a reading, avoid aiming it at any sensors under the belly. I aim it at the Heatsink at the bottom, look for the hottest spot, and that is your Max Temp that you should go by. The internal cooling fan kcks on when the core Temp gets to be 110 degrees. It will keep the drone cool enough to avoid overheating. If you are flying when temp outside is over 100 degrees keep temp gun close, and measure before and after flight. Heat sink temp should never get above 125 degrees or you will risk Frying your FC ESC board.
And, I put my batterys in fridge to cool them off for 10 minutes.

JohnChap · Jul 9, 2019

What do you do with the before and after temperatures. Is there any max temp for the motors? Has anybody fried their FC ESC board

Thomas B · Jul 10, 2019

SpitFire said:
I do pretty much the same thing, but I use a leaser temperature gun and measure the temp especially when its Hot out side. I aim the leaser at the hottest spot, to get a reading, avoid aiming it at any sensors under the belly. I aim it at the Heatsink at the bottom, look for the hottest spot, and that is your Max Temp that you should go by. The internal cooling fan kcks on when the core Temp gets to be 110 degrees. It will keep the drone cool enough to avoid overheating. If you are flying when temp outside is over 100 degrees keep temp gun close, and measure before and after flight. Heat sink temp should never get above 125 degrees or you will risk Frying your FC ESC board.
And, I put my batterys in fridge to cool them off for 10 minutes.

Good info, but I think the OP asked about motors specifically.

kidroc · Jul 12, 2019

I live in Florida it's hot as Haities here never ever had one problem but i do try to keep her moving when it's really hot and i won't fly in sport mode to give the already hot batts a break..