Really cold weather flying

[Drone on and on and on]

I flew in -35C with a 30km/hr wind the other day. Weather network said with the wind chill it felt like -45C. Kept the batteries warm in my truck, short 5 minute flights to try to keep from freezing up. It flew well, no issues. The gimbal on the other hand, froze up every flight about 3 minutes in. It just overloaded and wouldn't move. I would expect whatever lubricant is used in the gimbal firmed up. Couple minutes back in the truck and it was ready to go again. Anyone else have experience flying in minus 40? Anything else a guy could do to prevent gimbal lock up besides waiting for a nicer day?

 

[wjkrysak]

Welcome to the forum. We look forward to your participation and your view of the world. No experience in -40c weather, I find that I am a wait for a warmer (nicer) day flyer Wish you well in your flights.

 

[RkyMtnHigh]

I flew in -35C with a 30km/hr wind the other day. Weather network said with the wind chill it felt like -45C. Kept the batteries warm in my truck, short 5 minute flights to try to keep from freezing up. It flew well, no issues. The gimbal on the other hand, froze up every flight about 3 minutes in. It just overloaded and wouldn't move. I would expect whatever lubricant is used in the gimbal firmed up. Couple minutes back in the truck and it was ready to go again. Anyone else have experience flying in minus 40? Anything else a guy could do to prevent gimbal lock up besides waiting for a nicer day?

Good morning from the mountains of Colorado. I've flown in cold weather many times, but nothing to the extent that you mentioned. The coldest I've been in is in the teens F, about -9 or -10C and rarely in more than a light breeze, like 10mph/15-16km/hr. With that being said I've never had any issues, other than my flight times being shorter than on a warmer, non-windy day. I can get about a 12-14 minute flight by keeping the batteries warm and my gimbal has never frozen up, and I will on occasion fly in light now. I don't recommend doing that, and I don't do it on a regular basis, but I do it once in a while. I'm flying an MA1.

 

[Chrislaf]

I flew in -35C with a 30km/hr wind the other day. Weather network said with the wind chill it felt like -45C. Kept the batteries warm in my truck, short 5 minute flights to try to keep from freezing up. It flew well, no issues. The gimbal on the other hand, froze up every flight about 3 minutes in. It just overloaded and wouldn't move. I would expect whatever lubricant is used in the gimbal firmed up. Couple minutes back in the truck and it was ready to go again. Anyone else have experience flying in minus 40? Anything else a guy could do to prevent gimbal lock up besides waiting for a nicer day?

Welcome to the forum.
What Mavic are you flying? I have flown my Phantom 3 Standard in temps around -25C without any problems, not sure what the wind chill was but it wouldn’t affect the drone, just me. I usually always hike, snowshoe, ski or snowmobile to my flying location so don’t have a vehicle to keep batteries warm. I use my pockets and a battery warmer.
My P3S gimbal can handle cold weather much better than my Spark gimbal which will not pitch its entire range or stick during pitching often causing automated functions to fail like panos. My Spark gimbal will often not work properly in weather between -5C to -10C or colder especially if there is a wind.
A more important concern for me is my flying device - my iPhone battery will quickly discharge in very cold weather and unlike my drones there is no battery to swap in.

Chris

 

[Thomas B]

Welcome to the forum from the deserts of Arizona! Enjoy.

 

[StantonZ]

I flew in -35C with a 30km/hr wind the other day. Weather network said with the wind chill it felt like -45C. Kept the batteries warm in my truck, short 5 minute flights to try to keep from freezing up. It flew well, no issues. The gimbal on the other hand, froze up every flight about 3 minutes in. It just overloaded and wouldn't move. I would expect whatever lubricant is used in the gimbal firmed up. Couple minutes back in the truck and it was ready to go again. Anyone else have experience flying in minus 40? Anything else a guy could do to prevent gimbal lock up besides waiting for a nicer day?

The short answer here is: you are flying in temperature conditions outside any specs I have seen (I know the MA2 is only spec'd down to 14F/-10C). You can address battery performance to an extent (and their tendency to self heat helps on the bottom end but is a real problem at the top end), but I stay away from both ends of the operating temperature spec (let alone exceed).

 

[MA2 317]

Hello from the Hoosier Heartland Drone on and on and on.

Welcome to the Forum. ?

 

[Mavikhan]

WELCOME ABOARD!

 

[mrjohnc1]

Welcome!

 

[eaglesurfing]

Welcome to the forum and enjoy.

 

[Drone Master]

Welcome to Mavic Pilots! Enjoy the forum!

 

[dirkclod]

Welcome to the forum.
I hope you will find our site helpful and look forward to any input , photo's/video's you might post .
Don't be shy and ask anything if you can't find it by searching.

 

[PinpointUAVS]

I flew in -35C with a 30km/hr wind the other day. Weather network said with the wind chill it felt like -45C. Kept the batteries warm in my truck, short 5 minute flights to try to keep from freezing up. It flew well, no issues. The gimbal on the other hand, froze up every flight about 3 minutes in. It just overloaded and wouldn't move. I would expect whatever lubricant is used in the gimbal firmed up. Couple minutes back in the truck and it was ready to go again. Anyone else have experience flying in minus 40? Anything else a guy could do to prevent gimbal lock up besides waiting for a nicer day?

Welcome to the forum neighbour! I’m only 30 minutes west of the AB/SK border.

I flew last weekend in the cold snap we had. Jeep said -32C and I believe the windchill was somewhere around -40. However, I didn’t fly my M2, but rather my M300. Handled it like a champ with zero issues. I brought my M2 with me but decided not to fly it (mostly due to the wind). I had my MM2 up in the air in -20-25C a few weeks back with no issues whatsoever. I kept the batteries inside a pocket on the inside of my jacket to keep them warm. Still got 20+ minutes with each battery.

 

[Meuzick17]

The only dji’s that fly well (for me) in sub zero -F are the spark and mavic 2. My mavic 2 will do those temp with sun r no sun. The spark needs the sun out with those temps. Both mavic airs are garbage below 32f. Unless the sun is out then they r good to 20f

 

[Laborous]

Welcome to the forum from the beautiful woods of Maine!

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

With proper prep I have flown the Mavic Pro in -20F with no problems. I did not see what you were flying, so they may be using a different lubricant in yours that in the MP. That may make a difference.

 

[PinpointUAVS]

With proper prep I have flown the Mavic Pro in -20F with no problems. I did not see what you were flying, so they may be using a different lubricant in yours that in the MP. That may make a difference.

That’s good to know, thank you! My M2Z will be tested at -20C(-4F) this afternoon ?

 

[Chrislaf]

With proper prep I have flown the Mavic Pro in -20F with no problems. I did not see what you were flying, so they may be using a different lubricant in yours that in the MP. That may make a difference.

Proper prep is a key factor. When I go out I am usually not near my my vehicle so aside from making sure I am dressed warmly, I make sure I have hand warmers in my mitts, my battery warmer and my sturdy folding landing pad. I usually put my batteries in my pockets and in my warmer and when my phone is not in use between battery swaps it is in my pocket or in my gloves with my hand warmers.

Keeping equipment out of the snow is often a challenge so I always have my landing pad even if I don't use it to launch from or land my drone.

Most DJI drones can handle cold weather beyond the rated specs as is attested to in the many posts in this thread. Would I recommend flying a new expensive drone that is still under warranty in extreme weather conditions - probably not. For me, I love flying in the winter - it's one of the most beautiful season's to fly in, there are no bugs, and you can get to places you cannot otherwise get to in the warmer season's. It is for this reason, I have been considering a M2P with a SC for a long time if only I could get around/justifly the high $$$$.

Chris

 

[Crashdummytest]

I have flown my MA2 and M2P in -25degC without any issues, and quite a lot in -5-10 degC this winter without mishaps (except a broken propeller in mid-air full throttle).

 

[HoozierDroneDaddy]

That’s good to know, thank you! My M2Z will be tested at -20C(-4F) this afternoon ?

Keep batteries warm until ready to fly, Let your drone set for a couple of minutes outside (without battery) to acclimate to the weather. Once you put the battery in don't just take off, launch and hover about two feet from the ground for a minute or two to let it warm up. Watch your battery for any sudden power loss. If seen land immediately. When you land if your not going to keep flying, have a small plastic garbage bag to put your drone in before placing it in a warm vehicle. Wrap the drone inside the bag and close it up tightly. Then put it in the vehicle. This will keep it from condensing with the moisture in the vehicle. After a period of time and it has warmed up you can take it out of the bag.
If the air is dry or if you are flying in a dry/powder snow, you should not have problems with icing, however, you should check the blades after a few minutes to be sure. If the humidity is high, if there is any mist in the air, or the snow is wet, you have a high risk of icing on the blades and I would recommend not flying. There have been others who have recommended treating their blades with Antifreeze or other products, however, I have never tried this. If your interested you can search YouTube for videos on this. Personally, I don't like putting chemicals on my props.
Good luck with your flight. Please share your video.