Phantom 4 Cold Weather Operations........

[Hendricks]

If you read the DJI Phantom 4 manual, it states that it is not recommended that you fly the Phantom 4 in temperatures lower than minus 7 Celcius.
Yet, if you look at several videos on the official DJI website, you will find people flying their Phantom 4s in the winter , in temperatures much colder than -7 Celcius.

I'm wondering if this sends a conflicting message to people........does DJI - unofficially - suggest that it is OK to operate their Phantom 4s in cold temperatures below what is recommended in their own Phantom 4 manual?

Personally, I don't fly in cold weather below -10 Celcius.
Everything is compromised in cold weather, particularly the batteries in your mobile device, flight controller, and the aircraft itself.

 

[Robert Kelly]

I agree with you, there’s also the problem with internal condensation when bringing a quad into a home that’s warm!

 

[tcope]

Yet, if you look at several videos on the official DJI website, you will find people flying their Phantom 4s in the winter , in temperatures much colder than -7 Celcius.

Can you link to these DJI videos where they state that the temps are -7C?

Or, why do you think that winters temps are always under 0C?

0C is the lower _operating_ temp. It's not the outdoor temp. DJI also has set up the battery firmware so that the P4 reduces its power in lower temps to help protect it's function and will even refuse to start the motors if the battery temps drop to an unacceptable level. So they have also built in protection to help protect the P4 from operating when the batteries are too cold.

 

[Chrislaf]

Last week I flew my P3S in -13C with a wind chill of -19C. My iPhone 7 worked perfectly and so did my P3S. I just made sure my batteries were warm. Before I left the house, I did my preflight check and installed a battery so that I was ready to go when I got to the beach. I have a battery warmer for my other batteries and a waterproof hard case that I can leave my props on. I left my AC and batteries in the case for a few hours when I got home so it wouldn’t get affected by condensation.
My hands got a little cold as expected. I’m going to try a transmitter glove so my hands stay warm. I hope to do lots more winter flying when the lake freezes over. I’m actually excited for winter as there are so many beautiful photo opportunities.

 

[AyeYo]

I've flown my Mavic in the mountains at -15F (not C). Battery life is greatly reduced and the reported remaining life percentage can take drastic, sudden dips. To be safe I'd start landing with 30-40% remaining. Other than that, no issues.

 

[Hendricks]

Thanks for the comments guys.

The point about winter flying is that DJI aircraft battery life is the thing you really have to keep your eye on.
Battery life is greatly reduced in cold weather and battery life readings can take drastic drops quickly.

When I fly in the colder weather, I'm on my way home when I see the battery life remaining at 35%.

Better safe than sorry.

 

[Chrislaf]

I always fly VLOS. Its the law here so I will always have the AC in sight. Last week when I flew in cold temps, I had my P3S close by (only out about 50m) and I kept a close eye on my telemetry especially the battery. It was a bit of a risk - I was over water but I was being careful and watching everything closely. I look forward to more cold weather flights especially when the lake freezes over and the ice fishing huts go out.

 

[DroneTurismo]

Did my first below freezing flight, 28 degrees, not sure the conversion, maybe like -1° C ? But it was good, just to see how the battery life goes and it spent itself much quicker. I kept all your tips in mind

 

[tcope]

Thanks for the comments guys.

The point about winter flying is that DJI aircraft battery life is the thing you really have to keep your eye on.
Battery life is greatly reduced in cold weather and battery life readings can take drastic drops quickly.

If you are flying, your batter is warmer than 0C. It's probably much warmer than that.

 

[Chrislaf]

Did a flight with my P3S on Sunday and it was around -1C. As I was swapping to a second battery my iphone died. I Have a battery warmer for my batteries so I’m covered there but I have to figure out a solution for my iphone - can’t have it go dead mid flight. I might experiment with putting a hand warmer behind it.

 

[jsflysrc]

I was in Whistler BC back in January. It was -15C. I ran into Compass Data Exception warnings and lost control of the aircraft.

It is inconclusive if this was caused by the low temperature. Please see

 

[Chrislaf]

Wow! Glad you got it back safely. Did you ever get that error again in similar conditions or was it just that one time?

Nice video. Beautiful area!

 

[jsflysrc]

Wow! Glad you got it back safely. Did you ever get that error again in similar conditions or was it just that one time?

Nice video. Beautiful area!

Thanks. I did not try again. The manual actually states the operation temperature as 0C. I went to other locations and operated at -2C and I did not have the same problem.

 

[Chrislaf]

Thanks. I did not try again. The manual actually states the operation temperature as 0C. I went to other locations and operated at -2C and I did not have the same problem.

The coldest I’ve been out in so far this year has been -13C with a -19C wind chill. I stayed farely close by and monitored my battery voltage closely. I had warmed my battery beforehand.

On the flight you got the errors on did you have your battery warmed before the flight? I am currently trying to do as many cold weather flights as I can so I can see how my P3S behaves so I don’t end up with any gotchas. Looking forward to snow and the lake freeze up.

Chris

 

[Chrislaf]

Are there any extra precautions needed when installing props in cold weather?

Tomorrow I plan on going on a hike along a river trail with my P3S. The temperature is forecasted to be around -5C plus any wind chill. Usually I have my P3S in my Nanuk wheeled hard case which allows me to keep the props on, but tomorrow I will have to use my backpack and can't keep the props on so will have to put them on when I get to my launch area. Any problems to be aware of? I have a battery warmer to keep my batteries warm and will bring hand warmers in case I need them.

Thanks for any tips/suggestions.

Chris

 

[jsflysrc]

The coldest I’ve been out in so far this year has been -13C with a -19C wind chill. I stayed farely close by and monitored my battery voltage closely. I had warmed my battery beforehand.

On the flight you got the errors on did you have your battery warmed before the flight? I am currently trying to do as many cold weather flights as I can so I can see how my P3S behaves so I don’t end up with any gotchas. Looking forward to snow and the lake freeze up.

Chris

No, I did not warm the battery. But I believe the battery was not far from room temperature given I got out of the hotel I stayed at only 10 minutes before and I drove to the location in my car.

The log also showed the battery had sufficient capacity.

There is a possibility that there was a magnetic field in the area. But the DJI Go app should have warned me at the time of take off.

I know a lot of people have successfully flown in cold temperature. But the electrical components in the P4 are not rated for industrial temperature operation. I recommend caution when operating the P4 in this condition.

 

[silverwolf]

PHANTOM 4 PRO PLUS: Yesterday it was the coldest day of the season so far. -17 degrees Celsius with a windchill of -29 degrees Celsius here Brampton, Ontario - Canada. After my friends warning me, I decided to take it out for a flight in the park near some farms. I stayed inside my car while flying. I was able to reach 2300 metre distances, flew for about 20 minutes each time (as opposed to the regular 25-30 minutes) had some strange beeps happen and the aircraft travelled at much slower speeds. I did not dare try sport mode and attempted to conserve battery. Percentage levels of battery dropped drastically at times, I took the pictures i needed and returned home when levels were under 50%. My third battery was probably in slightly worse shape than the first two and drastically dropped from 50 to 30 to 10 to 3 %. I had to do an emergency landing (forced landing by the aircraft) and simply adjusted the position not to land on the trees or river below. I had to run about 300 metres in the subzero temps galloping through the blowing snow nearly knee deep. It probably was not a good idea but I am glad I know what my drone can do now. If anyone tries flying in these sub zero temperatures it is advisable to AIM to start landing around 50% because by the time you thin it will get down to 50% its probably down to 20 and then drops even more drastically and it may force land wherever you are. The battery temperature stayed between 37 and 47 degrees Celcius. (the spare batteries were inside the car with me with the heater on the whole time) I hovered for about 45 seconds upon lift off and avoided full throttle. I will probably not try this again unless there is some unbelievable scenery i must capture somwhere and I will never fly past 55% again lol. The video and photos came out flawless. There was no snow falling just alot of wind and extremely cold wind. I am impressed with the performance and can honestly say "YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR" Safe flying everyone

 

[Chrislaf]

silverwolf,
Glad you got your P4 back - that was a close call.

I would have gone out yesterday (-24C) or this morning (-25C) as it was bright and sunny but we had strong winds so it was not possible. Last winter I flew my P3S in -23C weather without any problem but there was slso no wind and therefore no wind chill.

Chris