Question about flying in cold.

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Hi , I know that i should always warm up my quad when flying in cold, but what is the coldest temp I can fly normal in, without any special warm up or something ? 0 Celsius?


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I've gone down to about -5 C with no problems and others on here have reported even lower. Main thing is battery temps. I keep mine inside (in the house or warm car) until just before ready to fly. plug it in and get into the air as soon as possible. Note, if the bird is too cold, it may take some time for the IMU to warm up to its calibrated range. Once in the air, things should go ok, but expect noticeably reduced battery life. I wouldn't plan any long range missions. the battery could fall pretty quickly and you might not be able to properly return.
 
Hi , I know that i should always warm up my quad when flying in cold, but what is the coldest temp I can fly normal in, without any special warm up or something ? 0 Celsius?


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I think the manual says 32 F (0 C) is the minimum but I've flown my P4P about 15 hours in temps well below freezing. The coldest is -2 F. The drone has performed beautifully. Once or twice, when I've had the spare battery outside, I've been told to warm it up when I put it in. And once, when I flew briefly in fog at sub-freezing temps, the props iced up. Experts here tell me I got lucky and I trust their opinion.


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My biggest fear if I were to fly when it is cold, and I have nothing to substantiate it, is the fear the plastic would become too brittle leading to a crack. Again, I have no proof of any kind the cold could do it. This thought is coming from someone whose owned 2 phantoms and has encountered a crack on both while flying in a very conservative fashion.


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I was watching a guy who regularly flew drones in Switzerland, and one problem he had was icing on the props. If he was having that problem, flying in less extreme cold conditions may not be too much of a problem.

I think that pilot did have brittle plastic problems with that clear camera cover on his Mavic Pro. I will post the video if I find it again.

Update: I found the video and posted it here.
 
I was watching a guy who regularly flew drones in Sweden or Norway, and one problem he had was icing on the props. If he was having that problem, flying in less extreme cold conditions may not be too much of a problem.

I think that pilot did have brittle plastic problems with that clear camera cover on his Mavic Pro. I will post the video if I find it again.

Im flying in Norway , but it actually haven't been really cold , it haven't even been a lot of snow, right now it's normally between -5 to 4c.


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We have been having a really warm spell here, this time of year it's usually in the -30c. The coldest I have been this year out is a balmy -18c. When flying in the cold do not putter around and hover for a long time as this may cool the battery. Take off gently and gradually speed up to around 30mph for a couple of minutes and your battery will warm up in the 40+c. I have been doing this for many flights and my fly time is about the same, the battery is hot so the power is there. Just make sure your batteries are over 20c before take off and they fly very well in dense air. I have bigger concerns with my tablet and my hands freezing then my craft.
 
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I just came in from flying in -13ºC and kept the flying easy, nothing aggressive. I flew for 24 minutes and 33 seconds, there was some hovering in that time as I was at 20 times charged for my battery was letting it deplete to 8% as per the manual before charging again.

Same problem here in that my iphone 6+ went from 100% to 10% in that time and it went into low power mode. The battery recovered after coming inside but I really want the CyrstalSky from DJI.
 
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I just came in from flying in -13ºC and kept the flying easy, nothing aggressive. I flew for 24 minutes and 33 seconds, there was some hovering in that time as I was at 20 times charged for my battery was letting it deplete to 8% as per the manual before charging again.

Same problem here in that my iphone 6+ went from 100% to 10% in that time and it went into low power mode. The battery recovered after coming inside but I really want the CyrstalSky from DJI.

On a side note with your iPhone 6+. My 6s dropped quick in cold weather. Found out it had a battery recall. Apple replaced it for free. Check your phone on apple site to see if it qualifies. That may be the cause of your power issue.


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On a side note with your iPhone 6+. My 6s dropped quick in cold weather. Found out it had a battery recall. Apple replaced it for free. Check your phone on apple site to see if it qualifies. That may be the cause of your power issue.


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Thanks for that. If not in the cold the battery is amazing and lasts forever but I'll check anyways.
 
I just came in from flying in -13ºC and kept the flying easy, nothing aggressive. I flew for 24 minutes and 33 seconds, there was some hovering in that time as I was at 20 times charged for my battery was letting it deplete to 8% as per the manual before charging again.

Same problem here in that my iphone 6+ went from 100% to 10% in that time and it went into low power mode. The battery recovered after coming inside but I really want the CyrstalSky from DJI.
That's excellent air time r62! I believe the denser air is a plus, did you get a chance to check your battery temp in flight? I just came in from only -10c here and about 10 minutes in my flight I looked down and my tablet was out cold. lol. I should have topped up my tablet to 100% instead of leaving it at 59%, it may have helped.
 
That's excellent air time r62! I believe the denser air is a plus, did you get a chance to check your battery temp in flight? I just came in from only -10c here and about 10 minutes in my flight I looked down and my tablet was out cold. lol. I should have topped up my tablet to 100% instead of leaving it at 59%, it may have helped.
I was checking on my battery and let it warm up to 24ºC in a hover before flying initially. Battery temp wasn't an issue but in viewing my cells 2 of them were in yellow as their voltage was a little lower than the other 2, this was in my hover time. I can't exactly recall the battery temperature but it was fine.

I have a client who wants me to operate in possible -35 to -40ºC temperatures and I am having severe reservations. I plan on getting the Inspire 2 and think the heated batteries may make it possible but without the CrystalSky I don't think it's possible with a normal ipad or the like. Plus, I don't know if I can manage that temperature!
 
I just checked my card video, 9min 19sec (GO crashed), -10c (14f) winds 16km(10mph) cruising around 50kmh (30mph) altitude from 100ft to 300ft several times and landed with 50% battery.
 
I was checking on my battery and let it warm up to 24ºC in a hover before flying initially. Battery temp wasn't an issue but in viewing my cells 2 of them were in yellow as their voltage was a little lower than the other 2, this was in my hover time. I can't exactly recall the battery temperature but it was fine.

I have a client who wants me to operate in possible -35 to -40ºC temperatures and I am having severe reservations. I plan on getting the Inspire 2 and think the heated batteries may make it possible but without the CrystalSky I don't think it's possible with a normal ipad or the like. Plus, I don't know if I can manage that temperature!
That would be pushing the ability of the bat to gain temp, I don't think the amp draw would suffice to generate enough heat at that temperature. And as for the Inspire 2, I think that may be my next craft.
 
DJI, if you are reading any of this please display the battery temperature on the main screen of your next GO.
 
My hands are what normally stops me. Hard to use them.
 
I've flown my p3p in the low 20s F; kept batteries warm prior to flight, let the copter 'idle' on the ground fir a minute prior to take off to let all the plastic and metal adjust to temps (since fresh out of my pelican case in car). No issues. Haven't done a flight yet over 45' F.....


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