Fly in fog?

[Uncle Stumpy]

Flying in rain is obviously a no no.
We are going to be fogged in tomorrow and I thought it might be a gas to fly and take some video.
Anybody ever try it and any consequences?
Thank you in advance!

 

[peter west nz]

I have flown in fog. It's ok, but the moisture that collects on the lens means that the vid quality goes down real quick. Don't bother. Apart from needing to dry out the bird afterwards.

 

[Uncle Stumpy]

I have flown in fog. It's ok, but the moisture that collects on the lens means that the vid quality goes down real quick. Don't bother. Apart from needing to dry out the bird afterwards.

You are the first reply. I was worried about the electronics and didn't even think about the camera.That's why I asked. Thank you

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

I've flown both in rain and fog. Yesterday I applied Rain-X to the lens, and will see next time it gets moist how that works. When the drone gets a bit damp I dry it off right away and set it near a heater for several (6-8) hours. The multiple times I have flown wet, it still works well after 2 years.

 

[Uncle Stumpy]

I've flown both in rain and fog. Yesterday I applied Rain-X to the lens, and will see next time it gets moist how that works. When the drone gets a bit damp I dry it off right away and set it near a heater for several (6-8) hours. The multiple times I have flown wet, it still works well after 2 years.

Rain X, yeah I think I have heard of that. Great idea. Well I am going to give it a shot in the fog anyway. The general consensus to thoughroly dty out the drone.

 

[solentlife]

There are some spectacular vids by some who get ABOVE the fog ... guy in Scotland did some vids where the fog was low, round the hills and glens.

Nigel

 

[Uncle Stumpy]

There are some spectacular vids by some who get ABOVE the fog ... guy in Scotland did some vids where the fog was low, round the hills and glens.

Nigel

Hi Nigel, that's kind of what I was thinking. Zoom up to 400 feet and see if I can get above the fog. The fog around here is usually ground fog. I was mostly concerned with damage to the Phantom. Another guy mentioned moisture on the camera lens which I hadn't thought about

 

[quaddamage]

Yeah, if you won't go above the fog, videos will definitely not be spectacular. Here are photos from a rainy day, I tried to do terrain mapping (camera is pointed down, altitude is 100m):

DJI_0742

• quaddamage
• Oct 21, 2017

Ph3 flight in moderate rain, 100m above ground, camera faces down.

DJI_0427

• quaddamage
• Oct 21, 2017

Ph3 flight in moderate rain, 100m above ground, camera faces down.

 

[Uncle Stumpy]

Yeah, if you won't go above the fog, videos will definitely not be spectacular. Here are photos from a rainy day, I tried to do terrain mapping (camera is pointed down, altitude is 100m):

DJI_0742

• quaddamage
• Oct 21, 2017

Ph3 flight in moderate rain, 100m above ground, camera faces down.

DJI_0427

• quaddamage
• Oct 21, 2017

Ph3 flight in moderate rain, 100m above ground, camera faces down.

Whoa, I can see your point. I actually thought it might be more interesting. Well there's another brilliant idea out the window. I'm going to look into finding out the ceiling on the fog in my area. I bet I can find it somewhere. Thank you for the pics!!!

 

[crash1sttime]

Flew over the fog today, Mavic was a bit wet afterwards but fine otherwise. Got a great picture of the sun and the top of the fog

 

[OOO]

I flew over the fog a few times. As others mentioned moisture may reduce video quality. Other than that I didn’t notice any problem. I usually fly through the fog while ascending and descending. Because of reduced visibility you don’t want to fly through the fog/clouds for a long time anyway. Descending and ascending don’t take too much time. I shot this video with my Mavic. You can see sunset above the clouds in the last 40 seconds.

 

[Uncle Stumpy]

View attachment 92331 Flew over the fog today, Mavic was a bit wet afterwards but fine otherwise. Got a great picture of the sun and the top of the fog

That's what I'm talking about! Fantastic

 

[Harkness]

Flying above the fog is WONDERFUL! Sometimes it's too high to get over, but if not, this is what you can get.

 

[len750]

I have flown in fog. It's ok, but the moisture that collects on the lens means that the vid quality goes down real quick. Don't bother. Apart from needing to dry out the bird afterwards.

 

[zlot]

I can appreciate what GrammatonxXXxCleric said about flying in fog and taking precautions successfully for a couple of years, as I use cheap, indoor Foscam and other video cameras out of doors under eaves, but sometimes still getting excessively dripped on when attached to a leaky downspout! It's amazing! They take a licking, but keep on ticking.....but they're not a $1K toy. When I took my P4A out in the mist(dry on ground, misty at 300'), I was nervous when it came back damp. Followed procedures, but still didn't like it!

 

[Russ43Phantom]

I woud guess that your VLOS of your drone and of potential aircraft would put you at odds with the FAA guidelines. If you start on a mountain/hillside above the fog, you could get great shots. But ... flying vertically through thick fog layers and beyond your ability to see the drone or any potential manned A/C would violate FAA safety rules.