Cold weather flying

[Capt Binkley]

I got my pilot license 30+ years ago, but I'm a newbie to drones.

In my research of drone models, I came across one specification description with an operating temperature of 32 to 100 degrees. Now in my world, colder temperatures typically mean better operating conditions... other than pesky freezing precipitation and it's a heck of a lot harder to start the engine.

So am I missing something here? Is there a problem unique to drones to flying in below freezing temperatures? I live in Iowa and winter is setting in... way too early for my liking.

I assume at the upper end of temperature range are the same problems for the rest of aviation (decreased performance) and battery stress.

 

[R Martin]

I got my pilot license 30+ years ago, but I'm a newbie to drones.

In my research of drone models, I came across one specification description with an operating temperature of 32 to 100 degrees. Now in my world, colder temperatures typically mean better operating conditions... other than pesky freezing precipitation and it's a heck of a lot harder to start the engine.

So am I missing something here? Is there a problem unique to drones to flying in below freezing temperatures? I live in Iowa and winter is setting in... way too early for my liking.

I assume at the upper end of temperature range are the same problems for the rest of aviation (decreased performance) and battery stress.

Better operating conditions but harder on the batteries. My temperature minimums are higher than freezing to protect the battery and lower temperatures here mean higher winds.

 

[clolsonus]

Here in Minnesota we have to fly in colder than freezing temps or we would be shut down for half the year. Yesterday I was out flying in low 20's (F) with a mavic 2 pro. Colder batteries can lead to shorter flight times, but I've never seen that this has any negative affect on the long term health of the battery itself. On a warmer day the battery will go back to performing more as expected. I keep my spare batteries in the case inside the car so they stay warm until right before flight. I don't know how far we can push things with DJI gear, but temps in the 20's has been ok in my own experience. More often the human is the limiting factor, not the equipment ... no fun to stand outside for 2 hours in teens or single digit temps and wind. It's tempting to go sit in your truck, but then I don't know how you can adequately honor the line of sight requirement.

 

[PatR]

You got spoiled by density altitude engine, propeller, and lift performance, with colder temperatures providing denser air[emoji6]. As we don’t employ wings for lift or combustion engines with our drones we lose many of those low density altitude benefits.

Typical consumer level electrical components generally have a safe operating range ranging from 0C to roughly 40C. Some have a low all the way down to -10C. Outside of that range anything can happen as not one component in our drones has actually been lab certified to any particular temperature.

Lithium battery temperature is another limiting factor. They can handle some elevated heat a lot better than they can deal with low heat. Battery performance starts degrading quickly as temperature drops below about 12C. At sub freezing temperatures battery performance can be terrible, reducing flight time from a full charge by 50% or more.

 

[TreeLineView]

I fly year round in New England. I usually say below 20degrees is my cutoff point. I have flown P3, P4, Mavic, and I1. Keep all spare batteries nice an warm under dash. 15min warmup between flights. Hull stays in back seat so it won't warm up too fast. Don't want any condensation. Never had an issue. anticipate that I am loosing about 30% so flights are less distance and shorter. Just got an M200. Not as concerned anymore

 

[BigAl07]

I'm more of the limiting factor than my equipment LOL!

We have noticed longer "IMU Warm Up" and such in colder temps but if the batteries are warm everything else seems to be happy until Allen gets cold.

Do keep in mind that plastic (most of the air-frames we use are majority plastic) becomes very brittle in colder temps so even fairly insignificant "bumps" can cause components to break/weaken.

 

[R.Perry]

I live in California, 40 degrees is too cold for me.

 

[PatR]

I’ve flown in temps as low as 7*F. There’s very little enjoyment to be had when it drops below freezing level. Like Big Al, I end up the most limiting factor.

 

[Red90]

Just my experience.

Earlier this year I flew for a client in Northern Sweden only A couple of hundred miles outside the arctic circle. It was so cold the sea had frozen as you can see in one of the pics.

It was -31 centigrade when we first got there, but by making sure my P4 Pro was kept in its case along with a bunch of hand warmers until it was time to fly, I didn’t experience any issues whatsoever, nor can I say that flight times were drastically reduced.

I flew for 3 days, for about 6 hours in total - so it wasn’t a lucky fluke.

Keep your craft, and more importantly your batteries, at a decent temperature and you should be OK.

Hope this helps,
Martin.

 

[Chris Grazioso]

At my agency, we have to follow the manufacturer’s specs, so we put the Phantom 4 Pro’s on the shelf in the winter and use the Inspire 2 with the X4S... -4 vs 32... that will cover pretty much our low temps here in Massachusetts!!!

 

[PWidmayer]

I agree with everyone else, the drone has better operating temps then I do.

 

[Earthman]

As others have indicated, during cold weather, the lower density altitude improved flight performance, but reduces battery performance, which depends on a chemical reaction that slows in reduced temps. Also, the plastic used in the airframe, propellers, etc. is more brittle in low temps resulting in more damage in a crash or hard landing (not that we have any of those).

Many years ago, I was on a site in Nebraska during the Winter where the outdoor temp was -40F with the wind chill. Ok, it may have been during the last ice age. In any case, I pulled my personal 35mm SLR out of my parka to take a quick photo and within the second or so it was exposed to the low temps, the plastic camera case froze and shattered when I tried to open it. The camera went back into my parka without taking photos for the duration of that visit. I’ve used cheaper cameras for project use ever since.

 

[Free2Fly]

Just my experience.

Earlier this year I flew for a client in Northern Sweden only A couple of hundred miles outside the arctic circle. It was so cold the sea had frozen as you can see in one of the pics.

It was -31 centigrade when we first got there, but by making sure my P4 Pro was kept in its case along with a bunch of hand warmers until it was time to fly, I didn’t experience any issues whatsoever, nor can I say that flight times were drastically reduced.

I flew for 3 days, for about 6 hours in total - so it wasn’t a lucky fluke.

Keep your craft, and more importantly your batteries, at a decent temperature and you should be OK.

Hope this helps,
Martin.

The tank in the third picture...where in the world was this taken?

 

[TreeLineView]

The tank in the third picture...where in the world was this taken?

I believe that is from the movie 'RedDawn"

 

[Red90]

It was a fun shoot!

 

[dougcjohn]

I got my pilot license 30+ years ago, but I'm a newbie to drones.

In my research of drone models, I came across one specification description with an operating temperature of 32 to 100 degrees. Now in my world, colder temperatures typically mean better operating conditions... other than pesky freezing precipitation and it's a heck of a lot harder to start the engine.

So am I missing something here? Is there a problem unique to drones to flying in below freezing temperatures? I live in Iowa and winter is setting in... way too early for my liking.

I assume at the upper end of temperature range are the same problems for the rest of aviation (decreased performance) and battery stress.

Close to ya, DesMoines area and Winter temps arrived way to early... leaves still pending cleanup on next short "dry" warmup.

As the others indicated, it's more battery chemistry compared to fuel ignition and air. The sUAV isn't using the cold air as a fuel variable in combustion.

The other main area lightly touched is the change of temp for the drone. Particularly going from cold back to warm.
The camera internals and lens has the potential to fog up and that moisture can be damaging if inside the lens or camera. When bringing it back into warm temps, I normally place back in case, wrap it or bag it prior to warmth to slow down the temp change.

If using an MFT camera (Inspire or Matrice), I'll often dismount the camera and place in case to slow down the warmup prior to bringing inside. In my opinion, nothing ruins a nice lens faster than a milky film, later mold on the inside of lens due to high condensation after it's dried up from a cold shoot.

Next are the motors and various electronics... no issues first time up. But they run warm/hot as designed, taken into a warm Finger Toasty environment post-flight introduces moisture on hot components. Condensation on electronics along with a quick battery swap will re-exposed to freezing temps before evaporation... IA ground temp of 36-38F could easily be freezing temp at 200-400 feet. The freezing action can alter connections, introduce moisture or cause drag on the motors... If just swapping batteries, I normally don't introduce the drone to warm temps, it's too short a time period. I keep all batteries warm until needed as others.

 

[Earthman]

Particularly going from cold back to warm.
The camera internals and lens has the potential to fog up and that moisture can be damaging if inside the lens or camera. When bringing it back into warm temps, I normally place back in case, wrap it or bag it prior to warmth to slow down the temp change.

If using an MFT camera (Inspire or Matrice), I'll often dismount the camera and place in case to slow down the warmup prior to bringing inside.

Good point. I have also sealed cameras, lenses, electronic devices, etc. in a Ziplock bag while still outside in the cold, which seals in dryer air with the sensitive item(s) so there isn’t any moisture to condense on the cold item(s). Moisture does condense on the outside of the bag. Putting desiccant in the bag helps too. Try it with something of low value.

 

[Jim West]

I photographed soybean harvesting in North Dakota last month well below freezing--about 20F. No trouble with my Mavic 2 Pro batteries, but the remote control battery would not last more than one 20-minute flight.

 

[BigAl07]

I photographed soybean harvesting in North Dakota last month well below freezing--about 20F. No trouble with my Mavic 2 Pro batteries, but the remote control battery would not last more than one 20-minute flight.

Does it have "normal" battery behavior any other time? That's an awfully drastic decrease for such a low output device as the TX.

 

[dougcjohn]

I photographed soybean harvesting in North Dakota last month well below freezing--about 20F. No trouble with my Mavic 2 Pro batteries, but the remote control battery would not last more than one 20-minute flight.

Have you noticed if the batteries wrapped in plastic housing stay warm longer than say the Inspire open frame batteries. Have you considered getting a few M2 Enterprise Batteries that have the built-in heating element.