Winter flight

[hammrr]

Just had my first sub zero flight
It was -5 c
I was a little worried because from what I have read they suggest you don’t fly under 0c
I monitored the battery temp the whole time and never went below 40c
Flew for 22 minutes battery at 28%
Any comments or advice

 

[ctsti]

Thanks for the post. I have been hesitant to take mine out. It's been -3 to +4C here recently and there is some snow on the ground. I want to fly & take some photography. Will give it a go tomorrow.

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

Just had my first sub zero flight
It was -5 c
I was a little worried because from what I have read they suggest you don’t fly under 0c
I monitored the battery temp the whole time and never went below 40c
Flew for 22 minutes battery at 28%
Any comments or advice

Your focus is spot on with monitoring the battery, and you should not have any anxiety until - much colder temps.
Than your focus will be keeping the battery warm until the actual flight and not flying for more than 20 minutes give or take.

As a general rule of thumb if its to cold for you outside , its getting to cold for the Phantom also and extra measures should be taken.

Examples: Battery warmers , and a Phantom Rain Wet Suit if your going to push the limits.

Recording really Cold Snow is the best as its not so quick to melt on lens so you can get some really nice cinematic shots.

Phantomrain.org
approved vendor.

 

[Antwarrior]

So long as your battery stays above 20 degrees C you should be fine. Below 20 battery performance becomes reduced and at 15 degrees it stops completely. It's always a good idea to check battery temp and that all the cells are evenly charged (to within 0.05v) before takeoff. If your battery is below 20, take off and hover at a low height until it warms up. Once working, the chemical reaction within the battery should be quite sufficient to maintain its temperature in almost any cold conditions.

 

[PeakXV]

I use the butane pocket warmers inside the carry case and/or leave the batteries on the dash with the heater on ,,, never a problem to date ,,,, even shooting the polar bear dip this past January 1st @ -18c and flying through wafts of seasmoke or arctic fog. It was cold enough that I suffered frostnip on my index finger, even though I had a conductive glove on. The numbness in the finger lingered for over a month before returning to normal … but the phantom did not waver one iota …. have repeated the same several times but -18c through seasmoke has been my personal extreme.

Polar Bear Flight

 

[jackcutrone]

So long as your battery stays above 20 degrees C you should be fine. Below 20 battery performance becomes reduced and at 15 degrees it stops completely. It's always a good idea to check battery temp and that all the cells are evenly charged (to within 0.05v) before takeoff. If your battery is below 20, take off and hover at a low height until it warms up. Once working, the chemical reaction within the battery should be quite sufficient to maintain its temperature in almost any cold conditions.

Did you mean 20 degrees Fahrenheit? You said 20C.

 

[Stevex]

Did you mean 20 degrees Fahrenheit? You said 20C.

20F is -6 degC, don't think you want your battery this cold.

 

[jackcutrone]

But 20 degrees C is 68 Farenheit, surely you can fly with the battery below that temp.

 

[Stevex]

Note what the OP said. He flew in -5 deg C ambient but his battery temp never went below 40 deg C.
Also note in this thread, if battery temp drops below 15 deg C, it'll stop working.

 

[jackcutrone]

Note what the OP said. He flew in -5 deg C ambient but his battery temp never went below 40 deg C.
Also note in this thread, if battery temp drops below 15 deg C, it'll stop working.

I stand corrected

 

[hammrr]

Yes it was -5c
Battery never went below 40c
The batteries get quite warm
( slightly above body temp)
There working pretty hard to keep the drone in the air

 

[Zymurgist]

Batteries rely on a chemical reaction to produce current. The efficiency of this reaction is sensitive to temperature and efficiency decreases with temperature. Batteries have internal resistance which dissipates power in the form of heat when current flows through it. Keep your batteries warm before flight and the battery self heating will keep the batteries warm while you fly.