Flight in Precipitation

[todds]

Has anyone tried to fly the Phantom in snow?

 

[SteveMann]

The Phantom doesn't know it's snowing. You may collect moisture inside the vent holes. If you see performance deteriorating, you may be picking up ice on the props. Land immediately.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

I would only be concerned about getting moisture on/in the electronics inside the 'copter.... but with snow I'm not sure would be a huge issue... probably depends.

Also moisture can reduce radio frequency strength, keep that in mind as well... especially on the higher frequencies (like a 5.8 GHz downlink)... if it behaves weird, land immediately

 

[Fyod]

Would it be a bad idea to cover up the vents with masking tape for these eventual flights? Possibly even motor vents?
I think the inner electronics should be cool enough in low degree weather and shouldn't require ventilation.

 

[thumpinhard]

Would it be a bad idea to cover up the vents with masking tape for these eventual flights? Possibly even motor vents?
I think the inner electronics should be cool enough in low degree weather and shouldn't require ventilation.

that is my thinking as well. I have seen people put p-2 components inside of waterproof shells that work fine but i don't know how long the components last. I think also the unit should have some sort of venting to operate properly for stability. maybe just adding a shield over the vents that would be open underneath would be prudent?

 

[CactusJackSlade]

Would it be a bad idea to cover up the vents with masking tape for these eventual flights? Possibly even motor vents?
I think the inner electronics should be cool enough in low degree weather and shouldn't require ventilation.

What if you covered them like flaps with the bottom open and the top covering on the vents.... the down draft would probably keep the mosture/snow out..... my other concern would be the snow getting into the open windings of the motors. I have no idea if that is an issue or not. "Pure" water is virtually non-conductive.... do you think snow is pure?

Demonstration of non-conductivity of water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=acefiRwXDos

Snow - how pure?: http://www.giss.nasa.gov/research/briefs/hansen_10/

After reviewing all of this I think it would be fine.... more of a question about radio frequency degradation.... maybe the worst would be reduced distance.

I have flown fixed wing R/C in light snow conditions, but not multirotors...

 

[MadMitch88]

Would it be a bad idea to cover up the vents with masking tape for these eventual flights? Possibly even motor vents?
I think the inner electronics should be cool enough in low degree weather and shouldn't require ventilation.

We're sort of at the mercy of a nascent drone industry --- in 10 years, it will be laughable to own a UAV that can't fly in the rain or snow.

But yeah, in temps. below 32F I dont really see how the internal electronics will get that hot if you cover up 90% of the vent holes. It's the same idea as putting an 8-core overclocked CPU inside a freezer and you can throw away the cooling fan. OTOH, getting moisture in the motors and camera gimbal can't be a good thing, so that's a tougher problem to solve.