Too hot to fly

[Deleted member 119987]

This actually should have been posted in General Discussion if the mod wants to move it.
UAV Forecast app says 95 deg is not good to fly.
Anyone know at what temp outside is really too hot?
Air 2s with a red rain suit installed. Haven’t flown since temps have been over 100 degrees, but I am curious to what temps others have actually flown at.

 

[FLDave]

DJI spec for Air 2s is 104F. Even in hot Florida I'm not concerned about temperatures because I would not venture outside when temperature is over 100 degrees. 95F in hot sun is about all my body could take. If you're concerned make sure you use AirData to monitor battery temperatures after your flights so you get an idea what the Air 2S can handle.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

This actually should have been posted in General Discussion if the mod wants to move it.
UAV Forecast app says 95 deg is not good to fly.
Anyone know at what temp outside is really too hot?
Air 2s with a red rain suit installed. Haven’t flown since temps have been over 100 degrees, but I am curious to what temps others have actually flown at.

Left my Air 2S Baking in the Sun with the Wet Suit on for 30 min .
Heat Gun Clocked 140 F degrees and it flew just fine, no over heating warnings from the drone but I got up fast when started and jumped to sport mode .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

 

[edcMavicPilots]

UAV forecast is configurable under settings, thresholds. Best practice is see what your drone's specification is and set accordingly. I personally set the thresholds at something less than what the manufacturer says it will do because we know the specs they post are rarely reachable in normal flying conditions.

 

[Deleted member 119987]

Left my Air 2S Baking in the Sun with the Wet Suit on for 30 min .
Heat Gun Clocked 140 F degrees and it flew just fine, no over heating warnings from the drone but I got up fast when started and jumped to sport mode .

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.

Good to know. One of the things I was concerned about was with the suit on in summer.

 

[Deleted member 119987]

UAV forecast is configurable under settings, thresholds. Best practice is see what your drone's specification is and set accordingly. I personally set the thresholds at something less than what the manufacturer says it will do because we know the specs they post are rarely reachable in normal flying conditions.

Good to know. I didn't realize those were configurable. Still would like to know what other peoples experiences are flying at 102 degree temps. Most likely a quick and fast flight, but at what temp does it do damage

 

[nevadariver]

This actually should have been posted in General Discussion if the mod wants to move it.
UAV Forecast app says 95 deg is not good to fly.
Anyone know at what temp outside is really too hot?
Air 2s with a red rain suit installed. Haven’t flown since temps have been over 100 degrees, but I am curious to what temps others have actually flown at.

I live and fly in Nevada and fly with the A2S and Mavic 3 in temps of over 115 degrees all the time. no problem other than batteries seem to swell after 75 or more flights!

 

[WDKZoom]

I live and fly in Nevada and fly with the A2S and Mavic 3 in temps of over 115 degrees all the time. no problem other than batteries seem to swell after 75 or more flights!

I also live in that Nevada heat. I have been flying 5 batteries for over 2 years plus though not past 95 degrees and every battery is in perfect condition.

WDK

 

[Deleted member 119987]

I also live in that Nevada heat. I have been flying 5 batteries for over 2 years plus though not past 95 degrees and every battery is in perfect condition.

WDK

That's what I kind of figured I would do. 90-95 and watch battery temp.

 

[samtex]

Batt temp available in DJI fly app? our temp in texas is i the high 90's and many days over 100 but I try to fly near sundown, which sorta cools as the sunsets. I have flown in the driveway and the underside of the mini 2 seemed unusually hot, but I believe that I spent too much time hovering at a low altitude. Possibly moving along helps cool it down?

 

[BurntFloridian]

I am in central Florida and have been flying this summer, it has been hot and humid. I use up to 4 batteries a session and have had no problems flying, with a average air temp of 85 to 90 in the morning and a heat index up to 10 degrees. And afternoon flights with a temp of 95F and a heat index again of about 10 degrees, just a typical Florida summer. My Air 2S handles it well ( actually much better than I do ).

 

[Deleted member 119987]

Batt temp available in DJI fly app? our temp in texas is i the high 90's and many days over 100 but I try to fly near sundown, which sorta cools as the sunsets. I have flown in the driveway and the underside of the mini 2 seemed unusually hot, but I believe that I spent too much time hovering at a low altitude. Possibly moving along helps cool it down?

Battery temps were recorded in the logs viewable in airdata UAV.
Just hovering or having the drone sit on the ground will raise temps quickly, so know the mission, get going, fly, hover less. I like my decision best to not flying outside of the 95 degree rule for now anyway, until I keep a record of outside temp vs battery temp during each flight.

 

[waltermitty]

It's not just ambient temperature to be aware of but the combination of: air temperature, battery temperature, elevation above sea level, air density (props can't get the bite out hot air). All these can converge and put stress on the motor and shorten available flight time.

 

[Deleted member 119987]

It's not just ambient temperature to be aware of but the combination of: air temperature, battery temperature, elevation above sea level, air density (props can't get the bite out hot air). All these can converge and put stress on the motor and shorten available flight time.

I do remember living in Tucson Arizona and it getting so hot that aircraft couldn’t get lift, so I do know all these conditions play a part.
What I really wanted to know was how hot can it be before negatively effects a DJI battery

 

[Vreracing]

I had problems with my iPhone overheating. The drone flew fine at 110 degrees.

 

[TrabSeyn]

True thing about the iPhone. In Texas, 100+ temps, using an iPhone XS need to remain inside a vehicle with AC cranked to keep the screen from going dark. I'll typically launch in front of the vehicle which I've parked where I have a clear view of the area of operation from the driver seat. Once aloft in the hover to let home point update and precision landing to acquire I'll get in the driver seat and conduct the remainder of the flight in more hospitable temps. The phone is by far the most limiting link in the control chain. If I must be out in the heat I'll remove the phone case and place the phone in a cradle where the AC vent is directed on the device to cool it down and buy an extra 5 minutes before the screen starts to dim. Depending on your device this may or may not be a consideration but the drone can handle 110°F and 20kt winds for three batteries worth of flight for a little more than an hour without issue.

 

[mavictk]

I have an Air 2S and I live in Central Florida. I found my drone crashed and, after an analysis on this site, it was determined that I had a sudden power loss. I believe the battery swelled and caused an electrical disconnection but not a physical disconnection. In my area the outside temperature did not exceed 95F. The bottom line after flying in the heat is that I have one replacement drone, a replacement battery, and two slightly bloated batteries. Interestingly the batteries are bloated on the bottom so as to want to push the battery up and out. I am now skittish about flying in the heat of summer.

 

[Stormboy]

Can anyone address the heat temps for not flying the mini 3 pro that has no internal fan as do the others. Hmm

 

[Eagle Eye 62]

The key to keeping it cool is to keep moving. At some point it may be too hot to fly but it will be well over 100F for sure

 

[Wavepilot Aerial]

In NE Florida, low-to-mid 90s humidity and sunshine take their toll on all the electronics - drone, battery, RC, and tablets - on the P4Ps and Air 2S I fly regularly. Symptoms are typically increased latency, flight control gremlins, autonomous flights will deviate, and sometimes apps shut down completely due to overheating. Worked a site last week where even the ground camera operator's Sony DSLRs were overheating. July and August production scheduling for me the last two years has been limited to mornings or evenings if the lighting allows. Midday flights using 2+ batteries are sketchy without cooldown periods. If I absolutely need to fly summer middays in the extreme heat, I factor in a price surcharge to offset the decreased useful life of all my electronics (and the decreased useful life of my body).