Can you fly your Phantom in the rain?

[Sdemaio]

I try to stay out of the rain, but sometimes the urge to fly overwhelms my caution, and I end up with a few drops. For those concerned about the motors being open - brushless motors can operate underwater, so that isn't a primary concern. The fact that we're talking about rain water is also significant as water, in and of itself, is not conducive. The impurities in water are what allow it to conduct electricity, thereby producing a short circuit. Rain water is near pure as it came about in a process of distillation. By the time it hits your phantom, it is no longer pure, but much moreso than salt water or tap water... The point is - brushless motors can operate submerged, but you need to think about where the water is going to go after entering your phantom motor, and pure water isn't going to ruin your electronics... but it will, however, mess up your lens temporarily as well as other parts that are susceptible to water damage, and can, if you're in an area (or receive weather from an area) of high pollution, mess up your electronics via short. The phantom 4 is totally closed on the upper housing. So your odds of being OK are very high with operation in moderate rain for a short period of time. For the guys in older birds with top vents and close proximity to cities (pollution), probably not a good idea.

 

[whoreable]

I try to stay out of the rain, but sometimes the urge to fly overwhelms my caution, and I end up with a few drops. For those concerned about the motors being open - brushless motors can operate underwater, so that isn't a primary concern. The fact that we're talking about rain water is also significant as water, in and of itself, is not conducive. The impurities in water are what allow it to conduct electricity, thereby producing a short circuit. Rain water is near pure as it came about in a process of distillation. By the time it hits your phantom, it is no longer pure, but much moreso than salt water or tap water... The point is - brushless motors can operate submerged, but you need to think about where the water is going to go after entering your phantom motor, and pure water isn't going to ruin your electronics... but it will, however, mess up your lens temporarily as well as other parts that are susceptible to water damage, and can, if you're in an area (or receive weather from an area) of high pollution, mess up your electronics via short. The phantom 4 is totally closed on the upper housing. So your odds of being OK are very high with operation in moderate rain for a short period of time. For the guys in older birds with top vents and close proximity to cities (pollution), probably not a good idea.

he is correct, rain water is like distilled water it has very little EC. I fly my drone in light rain in alaska and i have no issues, p3a.

 

[Northern Observer]

Not even close.

 

[whoreable]

Not even close.

prove it

 

[fastfed]

rain water might be distilled, but the second it touches your dirty drone filled with dirt/dust its moot

 

[WetDog]

he is correct, rain water is like distilled water it has very little EC. I fly my drone in light rain in alaska and i have no issues, p3a.

I have a Hubsan X4 that I've been flying in the rain for over a year. Still works. Had to replace one motor, but those motors go out quickly inside the house so I'm not sure that I would blame it on the rain. More likely the fact that they cost .50 each to make.

I've flown my P3 in the rain when I misjudged the weather. No harm done. No photography either since, as has been noted, one drop on the lens and your out of it. I cover the top vents on my P3 because I fly in fog all of the time and the shell gets pretty damp. Keeps everything warm and toasty inside, I suppose. I'm careful to wipe everything down afterwards. I would not be surprised to have a gimbal fail one of these days but hey, if I have to wait for sunny weather I should probably just go bowling.

TL;DR - the aircraft can handle more rain than the camera can. Unless your photography leans towards blurry out of focus compositions, it's time to land when the drops fall.

 

[whoreable]

Im not going to send her up in a rain that would soak your human-body in a few seconds or minutes, but lighter sprinkles dont worry me too much.

To be clear there are many people who have crashed there phantoms in water, submerged for more than a minute and after proper drying, the phantom was restored to brand new. So a few sprinkles on the components cannot cause any long term damage i believe.

 

[Nowelly]

I didn't do it, I was answering the question. But I came close here at about 0:20 when the rig of the downwind sailboat nearly got me.

Nice video

 

[PhantomMan78]

Basically, it can take a certain amount of rain (P4) but don't push it or you may have to call in on that warranty service you bought.. Rigth??? You did buy it, right? otherwise, you definitely don't belong in the rain!

 

[royster]

I;ve been caught in a sudden snow storm returning on a Litchi mission, she had a quite a build up of snow in the lens area, but other than that, nothing serious. Now,I do believe, if this been a rain storm of same intensity, the chance of damage to electronics/gimbal would have been much higher. DJI warranty, can you add coverage after you have recieved your bird?
I;ve just ordered Mavic pro package, now strongly thinking about DJI care!

 

[PhantomMan78]

I;ve been caught in a sudden snow storm returning on a Litchi mission, she had a quite a build up of snow in the lens area, but other than that, nothing serious. Now,I do believe, if this been a rain storm of same intensity, the chance of damage to electronics/gimbal would have been much higher. DJI warranty, can you add coverage after you have recieved your bird?
I;ve just ordered Mavic pro package, now strongly thinking about DJI care!

Woah.. Don't do that.. Get it from State Farm.. It's better, cheaper and quite a lot more inclusive. So much cheaper.. only 70 bucks for the year.. And includes everything, no deductibles.. and it's as straight as you can get. Call your local agent.. That's all I had to do.

 

[Raincryer]

Owned my P3A for 2 weeks now..flown it ONCE..thats what happens when you live in Bonnie Scotland..rains a nightmare

Yep, got my P3S yesterday, was really wanting a test flight today, but in the NE of Scotland with rain and a thunderstorm rolling around, it ain't gonna happen *sigh*

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

Can you fly your Phantom in the rain?

We launched a new product called the Phantom Rain Wetsuit that has solved this issue for many.

We posted 2 videos on are site , one of which is 26 minute flight in a torrential rain storm and the other is a slow motion video which can be found at PHANTOMRAIN.ORG

 

[18Wills]

I didn't do it, I was answering the question. But I came close here at about 0:20 when the rig of the downwind sailboat nearly got me.

Perfect background music

 

[Markusmanbro]

Can you fly your Phantom in the rain?

My phantom 3S dropped from the sky when I was flying in the rain into a car store, I would NOT recommend flying in the rain.

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

My phantom 3S dropped from the sky when I was flying in the rain into a car store, I would NOT recommend flying in the rain.

That is exactly why we created the Phantom Rain Wet Suit so you can fly in the Rain but we only make it for the Phantom 4 Series of Drones.