Winter Flying

[Joe LeBlanc]

Hey guys. I love this forum. I'm learning a lot ahead of purchasing my first drone. I have a question. I live in Eastern Canada. The joke here is we have 10 months of winter and 2 months of bad sledding. It isn't quite that bad, but it brings up the question of flying during the winter months. All things being equal, what impact does the cold have on flights. I have seen a battery warmer that claims to help and have seen videos of people flying during the winter. Since we are coming close to the snow season, will I get flight time or should I wait until closer to spring to consider my first purchase?

 

[msinger]

DJI has some good tips for flying in cold weather here and here.

 

[Cobs]

You can fly all year round as long as you can feel the sticks in winter, not nice flying with numb hands.

 

[alokbhargava]

Yes you need to warm the batteries before flying in such cold winters. The effect of low temperatures on batteries has a limited output, quick drain resulting into poor battery performance.


Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

 

[GMack]

I've been wondering about fogging up the lens or filter in the cold. That happens with my DSLR and is annoying as it takes some time for it to clear and stabilize.

 

[Joe LeBlanc]

Thanks guys. Glad to hear winter doesn't nix flying.

 

[Pharm]

I've been wondering about fogging up the lens or filter in the cold. That happens with my DSLR and is annoying as it takes some time for it to clear and stabilize.

Lens fogging is only an issue when your camera, etc., is taken from a cold environment to a warmer one. Taking it from a warm house or car into the cold shouldn't be a problem. Think of that cold beer you take outside in the summer. Water condenses on it pretty quickly.