What is the coldest temperature you can safely fly?

[AtortPhotography]

I will fly if -30 below this year actually I will attempt to fly as cold as it gets even -50 below which I hope doesn’t happen again. Worse case you crash?

 

[lowellton]

-15 celsius

 

[Brockrock]

It’s strange to me that after many years of these threads about cold flying this time of year - north of the equator -there has been very little mention of the monitoring device’s temp limitations. It’s always good times when that shuts down.

 

[karlblessing]

I will fly if -30 below this year actually I will attempt to fly as cold as it gets even -50 below which I hope doesn’t happen again. Worse case you crash?

Second worse case, your battery bloats and cracks open the drone from a rupture. (which usually happens after damaging the cells and does so long after you finished flying)

 

[raymairjr]

While there are many concerns as outlined. There are also many misconceptions. First follow factory recommendations on temperature operations. As far as batteries this is where a bit of common sense dictates operation. When DJI gives temp and specifically to batteries it means battery temp at operation start up IMHO.

Once you fire up as we all know and begin flight, all temp related issues are out the window as far as battery is concerned. I don't know how Li-ion heat as relationship to drone use, but a LiPo creates way to much heat if held warm at storage then inserted and flown for pretty much any cold temperature within drone temp parameters to be of any concern. This also is actually good for a LiPo as less heat is built up during flight, thus increasing battery efficiency and life. As my scientific and physic views differ from others I will differ the issue to those that know what heat build up a Li-ion produces in a MM. IF battery is warm to touch after a flight, then I will stand with my view above on LiPo. YMMV.

Note: of course this depends on flying and filming situation if your a pop up and film and land then you will need to monitor battery temp much more closely.

I have well over 100hrs of flying in below freezing temps (Ohio Native) and I have yet to have a battery issue in these temps. From all videos I have seen it is only when battery start temps are not within parameters do issues happen, and more so, when fully charged batteries are not used right from the start.

And remember Drones DO NOT have "Wind Chill" but they do have prop wash and forward flight cooling. So keep your eye on that battery temp in App! If it does start to get down a bit while you are in a hover..a couple of Hard blips on the throttle will warm them up pretty quick.

Great post for us newbies

 

[Deleted member 103366]

One point, do the stressed plastics e.g. the props, in these drones have a temperature at which they become brittle?

 

[WithTheBirds]

One point, do the stressed plastics e.g. the props, in these drones have a temperature at which they become brittle?

Probably however it will likely prove irrelevant- you should expect it to be at some point below where the battery would provide insufficient current delivery for reliable operation.
Nylon, especially PA6, is a favoured material for injection moulded parts used in cars, including throughout the engine bay. It is reasonable to assume if strength at lower temps was an issue we wouldn’t find it there.

 

[JMMath]

BPEARTHWATCH says central Miss. will be VERY dangerously cold this weekend.

 

[shaneb50]

I recently flown my drone in 37 weather with out any problems,but it did lose about 2 minutes due to the cold ? weather probably? I’m still waiting for snow [emoji300]️ one day [emoji26]

 

[LCummings99]

I’ve flown my MM at -10C (14F) no problem. I’m not too worried about shorter battery life in the cold, as I have 2 extra batteries (which I keep warm) ready to go. So if flight time is reduced from 25 minutes to 15 minutes, this is not an issue for me - I won’t fly super far away. But is there a low enough temperature at which issues will arise - issues other than reduced flight time? Cheers!

Drone manufacturer’s specs are the “safely fly” temperatures. That said, I HAVE flown my MM1 in lower than specified temperatures and received different warnings through DJI Fly on several flights. It’s a risk vs reward decision that only you can make.
Following are some of the warnings that I have received:
Low Aircraft Temperature, Stuck gimbal and low battery temp. I keep my batteries warm prior to flight and always go through controls checks/warm up cycle by hovering and checking all control responses. I RTH as quickly as possible if/when I get said warning and realize the risks I’m taking with both loosing, or at least having to look for the MM1 in a forced land sequence or even crash as well as harming the batteries, none of which has occurred to date (I’m relatively new drone pilot as of Nov ‘20 but have quite a few logged hrs and miles) Where I live if I keep it all within factory temps I would only be able to fly approx 6mos out of a year and would miss out on a lot of cool winter footage.

 

[Me262]

Regarding low temp flying.

What if out side is -10, but you have your battery warm to 30c. When you plug it in, it's being used. And usage generally heats up the battery.

So even though outside is -10, wouldn't the battery technically not even reach 0? It would sit around 15-10c when outside is -10?

I'm looking at my cell phone. I'm skiing and it's under 0. But my cell stays above 10c when I get it to play music. Goes around 5c when it's idle. But it never reached 0, even when outside was close to -10.

 

[Aurinko]

I've flown from -15...-25 Celcius this winter.

The battery temperature starts to decline and drone will complain about it being too cold, but you can still fly. Next winter I'll probably tape the frontend a bit, so temperature/voltage wouldn't drop so fast (you can remove the top cover and block some of the air gaps there).

 

[LCummings99]

Regarding low temp flying.

What if out side is -10, but you have your battery warm to 30c. When you plug it in, it's being used. And usage generally heats up the battery.

So even though outside is -10, wouldn't the battery technically not even reach 0? It would sit around 15-10c when outside is -10?

I'm looking at my cell phone. I'm skiing and it's under 0. But my cell stays above 10c when I get it to play music. Goes around 5c when it's idle. But it never reached 0, even when outside was close to -10.

I flew my M2Z yesterday in 6.4°F (according to the flight log, local wx and vehicle indicated that it was -10°F), it was a hover so not a lot of forward movement going on but did have 4.4mph wind perpendicular to the AC according to the flight log. Battery was at approx 76°F at the beginning of the flight. After a 24min flight at about 120'AGL my battery temperature increased to approx 92°F. I have a wetsuit (www.phantomrain.org) currently only on the top of it, but including this battery and have to believe that the wetsuit and the fact that there was little to no forward movement of the AC played a part in the increase in temperature during this particular flight. I will attempt another flight some time in the future with two batteries one with and one without a wetsuit on and report back the difference. I believe the wetsuit definitely aids in maintaining a warmer battery in colder regions.

 

[slup]

I've flown from -15...-25 Celcius this winter.

The battery temperature starts to decline and drone will complain about it being too cold, but you can still fly. Next winter I'll probably tape the frontend a bit, so temperature/voltage wouldn't drop so fast (you can remove the top cover and block some of the air gaps there).

Yep ... it's like using your car without oil in the motor, it will work for a couple times maybe ... then suddenly it won't.

All DJI drones is programmed to force autoland where it is once one cell in the battery goes below 3V, even if the voltage recovers a fraction of a second later ... as batteries are much more prone to bigger voltage sags when cold, you never know when this happens... the risk for mishaps increases, & they increases even more with older batteries ... & even more with higher amp draw.

Perhaps next winter with some more charge cycles on the battery which have created a bit more internal resistance ... & you go a bit longer with full sticks, the voltage sags ... a forced auto landing starts which can't be stopped, and down it goes in the worst possible spot.

Colder temps + voltage sags + decreased battery health + how the drone is flown isn't a constant state ... just because it went well once doesn't mean it will work the next time also.

 

[Me262]

I flew my M2Z yesterday in 6.4°F (according to the flight log, local wx and vehicle indicated that it was -10°F), it was a hover so not a lot of forward movement going on but did have 4.4mph wind perpendicular to the AC according to the flight log. Battery was at approx 76°F at the beginning of the flight. After a 24min flight at about 120'AGL my battery temperature increased to approx 92°F. I have a wetsuit (www.phantomrain.org) currently only on the top of it, but including this battery and have to believe that the wetsuit and the fact that there was little to no forward movement of the AC played a part in the increase in temperature during this particular flight. I will attempt another flight some time in the future with two batteries one with and one without a wetsuit on and report back the difference. I believe the wetsuit definitely aids in maintaining a warmer battery in colder regions.

Right, so technically it shouldn't matter how cold is outside as long as the battery is warm and the battery can keep the heat within due to usage. You also have the gimbal though and motors, so those might be the point of failure.

 

[LCummings99]

Right, so technically it shouldn't matter how cold is outside as long as the battery is warm and the battery can keep the heat within due to usage. You also have the gimbal though and motors, so those might be the point of failure.

Other than possibly how one warms those electronics backup, i agree and i have experienced gimbal motor warnings on my mini which the only cure for is warmth. Not worth the weight in that bird but id be willing to pay a few $$ more and loose a little flight time in trade for a heated gimbal.

 

[JMMath]

In NW Fla, cold is very seldom an issue. ??Thank God??