Winter Flying

[Matchlock]

I agree with you 100% and just so we're clear, I don't own those wet suit things, they belong to the guy I was talking to.

Thanks for your reply, I appreciate it.

Bud

I would never fly in the rain. The only reason I could see it being absolutely necessary would be for search and rescue where time is of the essence but there are AC on the market designed specifically for that and they are weather proof and usually have thermal imaging as well. None of the phantom series were designed for anything but aerial photography which clearly isnt going to be great in anything but good weather. * * * * * While I'm not disrespecting your rain suit product, * * * * * i simply see no need for it nor would i trust it do anything to protect my phantom from anything other than maybe preventing it from sinking in the unfortunate event of a water landing. Which likely would destroy it anyway even if it floated. The added extra weight is not a fair tradeoff for its advertised benefits imo. Just my 2 cents.

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

Lets get back on Topic : WITNER FLYING the wet suit weighs 2.8 ounces and its a lot of fun when things get chill;

Here is what you can expect when recording in cold :

 

[Matchlock]

I hate winter and cold weather, so there's absolutely no way you'll ever find this individual out there freezing his butt off just to fly a drone that you can't get decent video from because of the weather. I won't EVER need one of those wet suit things. EVER!!

No thanks.

Lets get back on Topic : WITNER FLYING the wet suit weighs 2.8 ounces and its a lot of fun when things get chill;

Here is what you can expect when recording in cold :

 

[higherperspective]

So the biggest problem with flying in the cold is the battery getting cold and shutting down.
We have clients in Alaska and Antartica, mostly research teams using the Phantom Rain Wet Suit to fly in the Extreme Cold 20/30 below zero.

One of the reasons why the Wet Suits works so well is they hold in a little more heat , but more importantly seal the battery shut stopping the cold air from getting into it.
The wet suits are designed to negotiate the pouring rain so no amount of snow is a problem.

The Wet Suits take all the stress away from flying in the Extreme Cold . .

The video records beautifully. No

Just a thought you might consider.
We fly in extreme weather , Phantomrain.org

Example of a Phantom Rain Wet Suit in the snow.. We also have a 7 minute video of 14 degree below zero on are website.

When will you lower your prices to a reasonable level for a little bit of neoprene and a few gaskets?

 

[Matchlock]

I don't know about them lowering their prices but I wouldn't put that stuff on my drone even if they gave it away. It's ugly looking. Besides, how often are you going to fly in the kind of weather where this stuff is supposed to keep your drone dry? No thanks.

When will you lower your prices to a reasonable level for a little bit of neoprene and a few gaskets?

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

When will you lower your prices to a reasonable level for a little bit of neoprene and a few gaskets?

Truama 1 are going on sale for the Holiday:

 

[higherperspective]

Truama 1 are going on sale for the Holiday:

The major trauma I see is when someone receives their new wetsuit and realizes they just spent a hundred bucks for 5 dollars worth of rubber and grommets.

 

[Chrislaf]

Last year my coldest flight was -23ºC without any wind chill factored in. Everything worked perfectly on my Phantom 3 Standard. I have a Turnigy battery warmer to keep my batteries warm and I monitor my flight telemetry closely. Cold weather presents a few issues that you need to be ready to deal with such as hands getting cold, keeping batteries warm before flight, shortened battery time, shortened battery life in the display device, and often a less responsive touch screen on the display device, but there are many work-a-rounds to these issues.

I have also flown in fairly heavy snowfall without any major problems either. I just keep my camera pointed down until I want to use it and I keep a dry towel handy to brush off any snow accumulation before I take off or put my AC away.

This coming winter I plan to fly more often and in colder weather and I often travel to launch locations on my snowmobile or X-country skis.

I too fail to see how the wetsuit mentioned above would be of ANY benefit to cold weather flying even if there is a slight increase in AC temperature. The more important concern is keeping your hands warm which can be mitigated by gloves, hand warmers, etc. Also, I would think that the wetsuit product would become stiff and brittle in cold, dry conditions which in turn might cause more problems than it would solve.

Chris

 

[PhantomWetSuits]

I too fail to see how the wetsuit mentioned above would be of ANY benefit to cold weather flying even if there is a slight increase in AC temperature. The more important concern is keeping your hands warm which can be mitigated by gloves, hand warmers, etc. Also, I would think that the wetsuit product would become stiff and brittle in cold, dry conditions which in turn might cause more problems than it would solve.

Thinking is good but education is better !

Chris[/QUOTE]

Battle the Freezing COLD with NEOPRENE

NEOPRENE - is made of small closed cells that are filled with AIR which provide insulation against the freezing environments trapping the HEAT in.
Its ability to Hold in heat in the water is why it is used my surfers to withstand the cold.

NEOPRENE - Can tollerate heat temps as high as 200 Degrees

NEOPRENE - Can withstand , solvents, oil, grease, bugs.

NEOPRNE - Is used with EVA foam to make it float.

This is why NEOPRENE was adopted by Phantom Rain do to it properties for extreme weather flying/.

Phantomrain.org
Coal

 

[higherperspective]

Hey Mods, any way to stop this ongoing advertisement?

 

[bsartist]

I too fail to see how the wetsuit mentioned above would be of ANY benefit to cold weather flying even if there is a slight increase in AC temperature. The more important concern is keeping your hands warm which can be mitigated by gloves, hand warmers, etc. Also, I would think that the wetsuit product would become stiff and brittle in cold, dry conditions which in turn might cause more problems than it would solve.

Thinking is good but education is better !

Chris

Battle the Freezing COLD with NEOPRENE

NEOPRENE - is made of small closed cells that are filled with AIR which provide insulation against the freezing environments trapping the HEAT in.
Its ability to Hold in heat in the water is why it is used my surfers to withstand the cold.

NEOPRENE - Can tollerate heat temps as high as 200 Degrees

NEOPRENE - Can withstand , solvents, oil, grease, bugs.

NEOPRNE - Is used with EVA foam to make it float.

This is why NEOPRENE was adopted by Phantom Rain do to it properties for extreme weather flying/.

Phantomrain.org
Coal

Touting the benefits of neoprene is useful if we can agree that those benefits are needed. At issue here is that numerous of us find that the aircraft performs fine down to very cold temps without it - albeit with possibly a little shorter battery life - with minimal precautions. Keep the batteries warm. Then, while in flight, they generate enough heat to keep themselves warm enough. Al without NEOPRENE. I've flown down to 15°F. Others maybe lower.

Maybe these things keep out rain. But as far as winter flying, they may be a solution looking for a problem.

 

[WetDog]

Neoprene is an insulator, so it will HELP keep heat from the electronics inside. It will also HELP with convective heat loss from wind.

That said, I'm not sure it is needed. I live in Alaska, shoot in the winter all of the time. For the Phantoms, I have covered all of the vent holes with (of course) duct tape. I haven't done anything with the Mavic. I prewarm the batteries like everyone else. My fingers freeze well before the drone.

I've considered RainX on the props but I really avoid flying in near freezing temps with fog / rain because I worry about ice forming on the body. In that case, you'd want the body to be as warm as possible to melt any ice. Covering it neoprene would not be a helpful direction to go.

I'm sure that the 'wet suits' offer some protection, but I've seen plenty of naked Phantom class UAVs in arctic and sub arctic conditions without anything other than battery issues and frostbitten fingers.

 

[edmonro]

I would suggest trying a couple of disposable hand warmers in a small six-pack cooler with your batteries. Once they are in flight the discharging batteries will warm them selves.

 

[Scott Davis]

Ive only had my Phantom 4 during the summer months, I was wondering how cold does it have to get in order to be grounded?

I’ve flown many winter hours at or below 0°F with both a Phantom 4 AND Phantom 4 Pro. The key is to keep the bird warm before flight. Bring it into vehicle between flights until it’s warmed up a bit. It does lessen flight times, but my thumbs get cold before the battery. I wear jersey gloves with index finger and thumbs cut out.

I like flying winter nights due to calm winds. I shoot long exposures in tripod mode.

Have fun.

Scott

 

[D0CT0R]

I’ve flown many winter hours at or below 0°F with both a Phantom 4 AND Phantom 4 Pro. The key is to keep the bird warm before flight. Bring it into vehicle between flights until it’s warmed up a bit. It does lessen flight times, but my thumbs get cold before the battery. I wear jersey gloves with index finger and thumbs cut out.

I like flying winter nights due to calm winds. I shoot long exposures in tripod mode.

Have fun.

Scott

Nice photo Scott!

 

[Matchlock]

Nope, me either and this guy STILL HASN'T ANSWERED MY QUESTION about flying in Minus 62 degrees below freezing.

I don't believe for a second that this gimmick will allow anyone to fly a Phantom 4 Pro in the Antarctic at Minus 62 degrees below freezing long enough to conduct any viable research. He provides absolutely NO proof of this.

I also don't believe that his wet suit thing keeps water out of the battery slot because there IS NO PERFECT seal in that area across the top of the battery. WHERE's THE PROOF? I haven't seen ANY PROOF!! Just a bunch of words and a video in a nice DRY ROOM.

Set it outside with this wet suit thing on the Phantom 4 Pro and spray it with a garden hose while it's running. THEN let's see if there's no water inside the drone. Let's see some proof.

The thing that cracks me up mostly is the name. "Wetsuit" A diver's "Wetsuit" actually allows water in. If you want to keep water out, then you have to wear a "Drysuit."

Bud

I would never fly in the rain. The only reason I could see it being absolutely necessary would be for search and rescue where time is of the essence but there are AC on the market designed specifically for that and they are weather proof and usually have thermal imaging as well. None of the phantom series were designed for anything but aerial photography which clearly isnt going to be great in anything but good weather. While I'm not disrespecting your rain suit product, i simply see no need for it nor would i trust it do anything to protect my phantom from anything other than maybe preventing it from sinking in the unfortunate event of a water landing. Which likely would destroy it anyway even if it floated. The added extra weight is not a fair tradeoff for its advertised benefits imo. Just my 2 cents.

 

[DKG13CC]

The major trauma I see is when someone receives their new wetsuit and realizes they just spent a hundred bucks for 5 dollars worth of rubber and grommets.

Did you purchase ND filters for your drone? Did you feel the hit when you realized you had $5 worth of glass and aluminum?

 

[DKG13CC]

Hey Mods, any way to stop this ongoing advertisement?

Theres a great way. Stop arguing with the guy about a product you dont own or use; and stay on topic.

 

[DKG13CC]

Nope, me either and this guy STILL HASN'T ANSWERED MY QUESTION about flying in Minus 62 degrees below freezing.

I don't believe for a second that this gimmick will allow anyone to fly a Phantom 4 Pro in the Antarctic at Minus 62 degrees below freezing long enough to conduct any viable research. He provides absolutely NO proof of this.

I also don't believe that his wet suit thing keeps water out of the battery slot because there IS NO PERFECT seal in that area across the top of the battery. WHERE's THE PROOF? I haven't seen ANY PROOF!! Just a bunch of words and a video in a nice DRY ROOM.

Set it outside with this wet suit thing on the Phantom 4 Pro and spray it with a garden hose while it's running. THEN let's see if there's no water inside the drone. Let's see some proof.

The thing that cracks me up mostly is the name. A diver's "Wetsuit" actually allows water in. If you want to keep water out, then you have to wear a "Drysuit."

Bud

The thing that cracks me up is all the users on this forum who trash this guy. Where is your developed product? What are YOU doing thats so special in this industry thats making you money?

 

[Matchlock]

Ha ha ha, no ain't THAT the truth?

Like I said in a previous post. This thing is a solution looking for a problem. I fly with four other lads all winter (on the warmer days), and have never needed anything like this to keep my bird warm. I also don't fly a very expensive Phantom 4 Pro (nearly $3,000. here in Canada) in the rain. That would be dumb since there's no decent video to be had while it's pouring down rain.

As far as that wetsuit thingy protecting my drone in the rain, I might just as well glue one of those little cocktail umbrellas to the top of my Phantom 4 Pro.

Bud

The major trauma I see is when someone receives their new wetsuit and realizes they just spent a hundred bucks for 5 dollars worth of rubber and grommets.