What's the coldest flying temp?

KingDad1985 · Dec 25, 2016

The manual says 32 degrees fahrenheit. I guess what im really asking is what is the coldest temp you've flown in without issue?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using PhantomPilots mobile app

Tomas Wangen · Dec 25, 2016

About -5 Celsius / 23 Fahrenheit. Have lost gps on one occasion (about 30 seconds) but fine otherwise. Keeping the batteries warm before flying is integral (inside of jacket is advised) and some loss of flight time must be assumed regardless.

Mark The Droner · Dec 25, 2016

Personally 29 F, but I've read plenty of posts from people who live in places like Alaska who have flown in temps near and below zero F with no problems. You must have a warm battery, of course.

F3honda4me · Dec 25, 2016

Single digits F. But after one flight at those temps the gimbal starts to get too cold it seems and can be problematic.

ROD PAINTER · Dec 25, 2016

Tomas Wangen said:
About -5 Celsius / 23 Fahrenheit. Have lost gps on one occasion (about 30 seconds) but fine otherwise. Keeping the batteries warm before flying is integral (inside of jacket is advised) and some loss of flight time must be assumed regardless.

At 70 years old my limit is 60F. Lol

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

driehl · Dec 25, 2016

-15 Celsius

Sent from my Nexus 6 using PhantomPilots mobile app

alokbhargava · Dec 25, 2016

driehl said:
-15 Celsius

Sent from my Nexus 6 using PhantomPilots mobile app

...and your experience!

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

alokbhargava · Dec 25, 2016

KingDad1985 said:
The manual says 32 degrees fahrenheit. I guess what im really asking is what is the coldest temp you've flown in without issue?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using PhantomPilots mobile app

Are you planning a cold flight?

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Whiskey_Throttle · Dec 25, 2016

Routinely fly 26-30F without issue - keeping batteries warm in car before flight. Need to also keep tablet warm before flight (lesson learned on my part).

Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots

KingDad1985 · Dec 25, 2016

alokbhargava said:
Are you planning a cold flight?

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Im headed to South Dakota soon and it's around 30f to 20f alot of times its alot colder.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using PhantomPilots mobile app

KingDad1985 · Dec 25, 2016

It's currently 40f here where I live. I flew my P3A with no problems. My P4P is currently in Dji hands being swapped out. Hurry up DJI!!! Haha

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using PhantomPilots mobile app

alokbhargava · Dec 25, 2016

KingDad1985 said:
Im headed to South Dakota soon and it's around 30f to 20f alot of times its alot colder.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using PhantomPilots mobile app

If you notice long warm up times in cold temperatures, you may need to do IMU calibration at the lowest ambient

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

KingDad1985 · Dec 25, 2016

alokbhargava said:
If you notice long warm up times in cold temperatures, you may need to do IMU calibration at the lowest ambient

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Thank you. I can probably just set it outside and do an IMU that way it gets a cold imu

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using PhantomPilots mobile app

alokbhargava · Dec 25, 2016

KingDad1985 said:
Thank you. I can probably just set it outside and do an IMU that way it gets a cold imu

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using PhantomPilots mobile app

Until the craft temperature reaches the IMU set temperature, it won't fly. If you carry IMU calibration at 40F and when you fly at 20 F , it will wait till it reaches 40F. If you are ready to wait, that's ok too as you know what's stopping it from taking off.

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

KingDad1985 · Dec 25, 2016

alokbhargava said:
Until the craft temperature reaches the IMU set temperature, it won't fly. If you carry IMU calibration at 40F and when you fly at 20 F , it will wait till it reaches 40F. If you are ready to wait, that's ok too as you know what's stopping it from taking off.

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

Right. Makes perfect sense. Thank you

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using PhantomPilots mobile app

Bobs P4 · Dec 25, 2016

I flew a P4 last week on three properties at -15F. Tablet had to be warmed up on one occasion and finished with an I Phone, but I didn't experience any major problems. I normally wouldn't fly that cold, but forecast was going from bad to worse and client needed it done. I flew the P4 and P4P two days ago at a -4 F and both flew extremely well.

Sent from my iPhone using PhantomPilots

THG Aviation · Dec 26, 2016

I've flown at 32F with no problems. I leave the craft outside for a short time but always keep the batteries in the heated truck until I'm ready to fly. A couple of things to consider though. At very cold temps the plastic can get more brittle and a crash could result in more damage than at warmer temps. Also be careful when bringing a cold craft into a warm and humid interior after flying. You don't want condensation to form on any of the internal parts, battery contacts or camera lens (or inside the camera).

Andrew

CaptainDrone798 · Dec 26, 2016

I flew the P4P in just below freezing temps and noticed a common occurence with the gimbal.

After one flight I let the P4P sit outdoors on the ground for about 30 minutes while flying a different drone. This allowed the Phantom to take on the outdoor temp fully without movement.

After 30 mins when I inserted a fresh battery into the P4P and turned it on, it went through the startup moving the gimbal, except it would not stop moving the gimbal therefore flight was not possible. Each time I restarted the Phantom the same problem occured. To fix the problem I wrapped my hand around the gimbal to warm it up. After 1 minute of hand warming I tried again and all was fine.

Sent from my SM-P550 using PhantomPilots mobile app