I'm getting a lot of "battery too cold to fly" warning lately on my P4A. I'm on the west of Ireland, and it's unusually cold, even for February. We are expecting snow next week, and that is unheard of, where I live (Valentia Ring of Kerry). If it happens, it will allow for some very unusual images, and I want to be ready for them.
Are there any tip on keeping the P4A battery warm, as it could drop to below flying temperature quite quickly, even while in the car or getting ready to fly? And, should those warnings always be heeded? I expect the temperature to be no lower than -3C.
Thanks, Stephen
Hi, here, on the East Coast of Canada, I fly often in the colder weather.....although I don't fly when it's colder than -10C because it's too unpleasant on the fingers....lol
For cold weather operations, you really do have to keep your flight batteries warm. You can do that by keeping them inside your jacket pocket. Preferably an inner pocket and one that is super clean. NO crumbs or other grit that can get into the insides of the battery, particularly in or around the battery connections.
I will advise you that you do have to keep a sharp eye on your Battery Status icon on your Head's Up Display(HUD), because in cold weather your battery may go from 87% capacity to 44% in a few minutes. Batteries(in your drone, your controller, and in your mobile device, don't like cold temperatures and the performance of these batteries is compromised in cold weather.
Basically, the colder the weather, the worse it is for your batteries.
So, you have to watch it.
You really wouldn't want to be over water somewhere-about 1,000 feet offshore- and your battery status goes from 75% down to 38% in an instant, leaving you with 1,000 feet to cover, and get back to your HomePoint with little margin for error.
So, in cold weather flight operations, you really have to be careful.
Keep those batteries warm and keep an eye on how those batteries are performing.