Do not fly in the clouds

[eyecon82]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

Here's one from 392ft.

Very nice. Was yours wet upon landing?

My cold weather cloud flight - about -2 C.
Very low clouds over a valley so only had to go up about 300 ft to get above them.
I lost signal and the quad returned to home even though it wasn't very far away. Seems the wifi had trouble penetrating the dense clouds.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEj9PGsgqPA[/youtube]

Great video. Beautiful mountains as well.

Same question to you too. Was yours wet?

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

Here's one from 392ft.

Very nice. Was yours wet upon landing?

Normally the clouds here are between 3000-3500ft. And flying in and above the clouds was one of the personal goals I wanted to accomplish with my quad at some point. I attempted it once back in the springtime but soon after entering the cloud I began loosing connection with the remote and wifi. At this point I had been climbing in altitude for 12-15 seconds expecting see clear sky again, but I didn't and as I say I started loosing connection. 15 seconds of seeing only a white wall on the monitor feels like eternity. I instantly aborted and returned to home base.

So the day seen in the pic, I looked up and noticed what was a 2nd layer of fast moving clouds. When I began that flight and started climbing in altitude right away then I knew they were not that far up, and I was then like a kid in a candy store! To be be able to experience something like this at such low altitude is very rare. So all I really did was fly up to the point I did and just hover there. The clouds were moving so quick it looked like I was traveling through them at 30+mph. The video I have is really cool. When I landed after flying in the clouds that day my quad was dry. But shortly after being in a cloud I could see small water streaks running across the screen. That is when I decided to stop that day. And I could hardly wait to watch the video back that day.

 

[DrTelemark]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

Here's one from 392ft.

Very nice. Was yours wet upon landing?

My cold weather cloud flight - about -2 C.
Very low clouds over a valley so only had to go up about 300 ft to get above them.
I lost signal and the quad returned to home even though it wasn't very far away. Seems the wifi had trouble penetrating the dense clouds.

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEj9PGsgqPA[/youtube]

Great video. Beautiful mountains as well.

Same question to you too. Was yours wet?

No, wasn't wet - but it was just below freezing and this part of our state has very low humidity.

Mike

 

[GSSP]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

Cool:

DJI Phantom 2 Vision - Above the snow clouds (2200 Feet)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dlg4MzCsnK8

Dji Phantom Crash From Above The Clouds With GoPro

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9H3Ods1sQ8

 

[Luap]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

Here's one of mine - did not fly through the clouds that much but still had water droplets.
Its a P2v with an aftermarket gimbal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oT84A91-k

 

[skyhighdiver]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

Yes there is water in them there clouds
Here is one from a while back but a good example of cloud flight

[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJQW9duBKn0[/youtube]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJQW9du ... e=youtu.be

 

[flyNfrank]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

skyhighdiver's post.....


[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJQW9duBKn0[/youtube]

 

[skyhighdiver]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

skyhighdiver's post.....


[youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJQW9duBKn0[/youtube]

:shock: ty

 

[Couchie]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

I'm just keeping my lips shut on the whole 'I wanna fly in the clouds thing.....'

I will say that, yes, the water you have in/on your Phantom is from the cloud. Should you be on an airplane sometime and it flies through the soup, look at the wings or body. Water running. That's why they are clouds.

Another issue you could have run into is icing on your props. Yes, your props do produce a low pressure point where the air is going to be colder. A small area, but area just the same. The water droplets from the cloud will attach themselves to the prop and start to freeze even at above freezing temps. Just like in the big aircraft, props with ice don't do the pilot a bit of good. Thrust is reduced if not depleted.

Too many chances in the clouds.

I'll leave it at that to reduce post length!

 

[eyecon82]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

I'm just keeping my lips shut on the whole 'I wanna fly in the clouds thing.....'

I will say that, yes, the water you have in/on your Phantom is from the cloud. Should you be on an airplane sometime and it flies through the soup, look at the wings or body. Water running. That's why they are clouds.

Another issue you could have run into is icing on your props. Yes, your props do produce a low pressure point where the air is going to be colder. A small area, but area just the same. The water droplets from the cloud will attach themselves to the prop and start to freeze even at above freezing temps. Just like in the big aircraft, props with ice don't do the pilot a bit of good. Thrust is reduced if not depleted.

Too many chances in the clouds.

I'll leave it at that to reduce post length!

LOL, why all the secrecy. and this is a lesson learned, trust me

 

[Couchie]

Re: Do not fly in the clouds

Not really being secret. I just have stronger opinions about being either in the soup or some exceptional height with my phantom.

I'm stuck in a really cool hobby of flying these aircraft while also flying bigger aircraft that can carry me. With that being said, I see both sides of the coin. Admittedly at 250' you are very unlikely to have an airplane on an IFR flight plan buzzing by in the clouds unless you are very near an airport and within it's approach path, but...

I've spent a lot of time in training to fly in the clouds in airplanes. I spend a lot of time training future pilots to fly in the clouds. It is not a light hearted task and the training is vigorous as it should be.

I'll say my two cents and leave it at that... our Phantoms have no business in or near the clouds. As a pilot, I have to have all of my instrumentation in working order before I venture into the great white unknown. I have to trust those instruments and NOT what I see outside or how my body feels when flying. We don't have the luxury with our phantoms to be able to file an IFR (Instrument Flight Rules) flight plan to ensure no one runs into our craft. The odds of someone striking our phantoms? Very slim I'll admit, but I would hate to be that one guy that a rule is written for.

To sum this up, your advise in the topic field is dead on! Do not fly in the clouds. For many reasons, but the moisture sure is one of them.

 

[eyecon82]

Thanks couchie for the input. It is highly valuable