Cold weather

[RedHotPoker]

Being here in the capital, perhaps it's a few degrees warmer than some of where you out laying folks up here reside.
Same for me, 'I too look forward to a little chill in the air sir, soon.'

RedHotPoker

 

[D4T_PoM]

Hardly get any snow where I live but would love to fly once it in cold and snow.

 

[Wibble]

I flew my Vision 2+ several times at -18C or -0.4F.
As long as the batteries are kept warm until you are ready no problem at all.
You get some great shots when there is ice on the ground and nice blue skys . Hardest part is stopping your hands freezing up.

 

[Wibble]

Whoops that isnt the Sunny one!

My back garden lol

 

[RedHotPoker]

These are a few of the handy hand warmers for regular rc flying Tx radios.
We just need one with a larger window to accommodate the chosen Android/iOC device.

Ask @Momma real nice, to sew Daddy some RC Love. ;-)

RedHotPoker

 

[D4T_PoM]

I flew my Vision 2+ several times at -18C or -0.4F.
As long as the batteries are kept warm until you are ready no problem at all.
You get some great shots when there is ice on the ground and nice blue skys . Hardest part is stopping your hands freezing up.
View attachment 31646

Where in Wales does it get that cold?

****, are you sure we both live in the UK? Lol

 

[RedHotPoker]

The other option would be go incognito. Cyber Terrorist style.

Yes,Thee Ladies Love it too, guys. ;-)

"Don't worry, we are here from the www Inter-webs"...

RedHotPoker

 

[Wibble]

Where in Wales does it get that cold?

****, are you sure we both live in the UK? Lol

I live in the middle of nowhere. I love it when it gets that cold because it is usually lovely weather. Looked like Narnia one year. Where I am is usually 5C colder than Brecon itself. 3 years ago the Sea froze off Swansea and at my place it was 8C colder again.

Of course our usual weather is driving torrential rain and 90mph winds!!!

 

[Wibble]

And those TX warmers look very very usefull thanks for posting!!!

 

[Roger Donnay]

I flew my Phantom 3 on Christmas Day at about 20 degrees F.
It fell out of the sky after 1 motor stopped. The motor worked fine again after it warmed up.

 

[ParsnipHysorter]

Lots of threads on this topic already. Here is just one recent: What is the coldest temp anyone has flown their Phanton 3 at | DJI Phantom Forum

I myself have flown many times in temperatures down to -15 F (-26 C) here in Alaska and had no issues. I have not experienced "dramatic decreases in battery capacity" others mention, even on my coldest flights -- perhaps a 5-10% reduction in flight time at worst. I always start with a warm (room-temperature) battery -- when the battery is pulled from the P3, even in cold weather, it will be warm to the touch so they produce enough heat in use to progressively warm themselves during the flight.

One thing to note that I've picked up on these forums on this topic: iPads and iPhones seem to cause more trouble in the cold then the P3 itself, shutting off halfway through a flight when the tablet gets cold. This seems to be less of an issue with Samsung products; I use a Samsung Galaxy Tab S and it seems to be fine in the cold, at least for a couple flights in the cold -- no shutdowns.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Phantom2's didn't seem to have this issue. I personally have flown mine in sub-zero temps without issue other than shorter battery life which I expected.
There is however a recent firmware upgrade that address cold weather flying. - DJI - The World Leader in Camera Drones/Quadcopters for Aerial Photography

A quote...
What’s New：
1. In cold environments, propulsion output is automatically adjusted based on battery temperature and cell voltage. Horizontal and vertical speed is also decreased to avoid triggering battery protection.
2. Optimized battery management.

 

[Huskerfan]

Flew mine on Christmas Eve in 30 degree temperatures for about 10-15 minutes-no problems. The only issue was I almost forgot how to fly it since I hadn't flown in about 2 months!

 

[shockwave199]

Anyone come up with a solution for iPad in the cold? Not even the pad hat or sunshield is enough to keep it happy? I wish there was some kind of thin warmer or insulator for my air2. I'd hate to have to buy another tablet just for the cold.

 

[LuvMyTJ]

Anyone come up with a solution for iPad in the cold? Not even the pad hat or sunshield is enough to keep it happy? I wish there was some kind of thin warmer or insulator for my air2. I'd hate to have to buy another tablet just for the cold.

I have not had issues with iDevices in the cold. I am curious, have you?

 

[ParsnipHysorter]

I have not had issues with iDevices in the cold. I am curious, have you?

He might be referring to the common issue reported on cold weather flying on these threads: Many mention their P3 was fine but their IOS devices often shutdown during a flight, even with full batteries. This isn't mentioned very often for Samsung devices.

There is one study that backs this up. PCWorld did some testing of various phones at progressively colder temperatures to see how they handled it. Iphones were some of the first to shut down when it got cold. The study is a bit dated now; testing the Iphone 4s for example. I'd love to see a new study with the latest models from the different manfucaturers. But I'm sure a lot of the tech hasn't changed since the study was done: Sub-Zero Weather: Can Your Smartphone Stand The Cold?

 

[LuvMyTJ]

He might be referring to the common issue reported on cold weather flying on these threads: Many mention their P3 was fine but their IOS devices often shutdown during a flight, even with full batteries. This isn't mentioned very often for Samsung devices.

There is one study that backs this up. PCWorld did some testing of various phones at progressively colder temperatures to see how they handled it. Iphones were some of the first to shut down when it got cold. The study is a bit dated now; testing the Iphone 4s for example. I'd love to see a new study with the latest models from the different manfucaturers. But I'm sure a lot of the tech hasn't changed since the study was done: Sub-Zero Weather: Can Your Smartphone Stand The Cold?

Interesting. I guess I have been lucky

 

[shockwave199]

I have not had issues with iDevices in the cold. I am curious, have you?

I haven't flown with my air2 in the cold yet. This will be my first winter with it. But I'd like to reduce the possibility of tablet shut down, that's for sure.

I wonder if strapping hand warmers to the back side of the sunshade would work. It seems thick enough to keep the warmers directly off the back of the iPad, but would the heat get through enough to the tablet to help is the question.

 

[General Chaos]

I just flew my P3P in -5 Fahrenheit.
I used an iPhone 5s and it worked good. Mind you, only outside for maybe 10 minutes. I turned it on and let it warm up inside. I just took it easy. Lifting off slowly and landing slowly.

 

[dmarlin247]

The new Update 1.6 Corrects issues with batteries in cold weather by limiting power if battery is not warm enough and eliminating cold errors. I suggest keeping batteries close to your body maybe with a warm pack and let the P3 warm up for a minute with motors on the Ground then let her sit about 6 foot high for another minute an if all looks well take off. An as always make sure you are Flying with Fully Charged batteries should be a no brainer but we always have to remind others.

Roger Dannay are you running the Latest 1.6 Firmware and did you let it warm up with props on before takeoff?