Are there any issues with flying in cold weather (other than the obvious plastic becoming brittle) I haven't gotten to the extreme yet. I probably will not fly today -34C (a little cold for the fingers) but the last couple of times were only in the -22C to - 24C. Battery life and solo performance seem to be good no issues with performance. How cold have you guys gone with these units???
Cold Weather
- Thread starter Cal Dawson
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several of us have flown at -22F (-30C) I'm sure there is someone who has flown in colder air. Keep in mind that it's not only about the battery and performance; if you crash, your hull, gimbal, and props are more brittle and damage is more likely. But dang, flying over snow is sure pretty.
Thanks I saw lots of posts with -6C -8C etc, I've had a few flights over the frozen beaver ponds and it sure is cool to see the tracks left by the other animals in the snow... and you're right its very pretty...
I recently crashed mine onto frozen hard as stone snow. Completely shattered 3 props. So, yeah... very brittle indeed. Pieces so small I only found a few. Not sure how cold it was, probably around 15F. The craft, battery which poppex out on impact and the gopro and gimbal suffered no obvious damage. My fingers on the other hand are anot her matter. Not a big fan of winter the older I get.
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I flew in 15F this past Saturday. Sunny, calm wind. Brand new battery (zero flights) depleted within 11 minutes of take off. I watched the battery percentage plummet from 25% to 1% in less than 30 seconds. Had to emergency land.
The battery went from room temperature to flying in 2-3 minutes after bringing it outside. I didn't expect the cold to sap it that hard!
The battery went from room temperature to flying in 2-3 minutes after bringing it outside. I didn't expect the cold to sap it that hard!
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Han,
Glad to help! I fly quite a bit in the cold out here in the boonies. Typically, unless it's just a quick test, I don't like standing out in the cold flying. I have flown in temperatures below 0F but not often and I hate it. I do, however, like to fly at anything around freezing (32F) and above.
I always charge my batteries at room temperature just before using them and I keep everything at room temperature right up to the time I'm going to fly. I take it out, fire it up, and do some warm up hovering close to me and the ground for a minute or two and make sure everything is operating as it should. Once I'm satisfied, off I go. In doing so, I do see some degradation in my flight times but it's not very dramatic, maybe 10% less?
If I'm going to use multiple batteries in one setting, I leave the other batteries at room temperature right up until I do the battery swap. I also check the bird each time I land to make sure everything still looks good before I take off again.
Just the way I do it, doesn't make it right but it has worked successfully for me thus far. YMMV.
Jerry
With my limited experience flying Solo, nearly all of it has been in the cold. I am impressed with the 3DR backpack for keeping the batteries warm until used. As a matter of fact it is sometimes difficult to install them into the quad instead of using them as hand warmers!...
I also notice that when I remove the spent batteries from Solo they are warm. They are still noticeably warm when I get home 15 mins away from my flight location.
Someone on the FB page cited using those disposable hand warmers to help the batteries until use.
I also notice that when I remove the spent batteries from Solo they are warm. They are still noticeably warm when I get home 15 mins away from my flight location.
Someone on the FB page cited using those disposable hand warmers to help the batteries until use.
I was flying one day at -8c and had a compass malfunction. Unit crashed from about 12' broke one prop. Sent in logs to 3DR and they told me this: WARRANTY VOID AS YOU WERE FLYING OUT OF OPERATING SPECS OF SOLO 0c to +45c. SO BE WARNED NO WARRANTY FOR FLYING IN THE COLD!
That's surprising to hear ..I didint know that flying in the cold under 0c would void your warranty..!!
Thanks for sharing that with us CanadianSolo...that's good to know!!
But I'm curious if that information is in there Manual or on there website somewhere...because how would a Solo pilot know this if the information wasint available anywhere..?
Cheers
It is.posted in the manual as operating temperature (or something like that). However, it does not say anything about voiding the warranty. Good to know. I wonder if damages incurred below 0C mean that all future damage is then also not covered.
I just found it in the Manual also...and I'm with you Han Solo..I don't see anything about voiding the warranty !!
I bet a lot of pilots didint know this....this is a pretty good awareness !
Cheers
It doesn't void the warranty FULLY its just if you have a crash and then send in your logs and when they view the temperature.... they are picky... If anything is out of spec. They will NOT cover you. They offered me a RMA for Motorpod 3. Because they say motor pod 3 malfunctioned but when i look at the logs motor pod 3 was fine.... it was the compass that caused my crash! So i know now to recal the compass when moving to different locaiton other than near your normal fly zone. As I was out of my normal area!
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There is so much mixed info out there in regards to calibrating the compass, some only calibrate when the message pops up, some say calibrate in every new flying location, its all hocus pokus!
Haha its actually not hocus pocus! As magnetic North is constantly changing it affects all electronic compasses caused by the Aurora. If you check out Space Weather from NASA it will show you when is the WORST times to fly. You can find it here! http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/ If ITS RED ground your bird! It affects me greater as I live in Canada! If your in the southern 50, Murica F* ya. You might have not as much to worry about.
A little bit of edumacation for you today!
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So I agree with most everything said so far - I might even be the source of the hand warmer tip if snow shoeing/skiing or whatever in the cold.
The one thing I strongly disagree with is keeping the Solo itself warm. Before you fly any drone in the cold it's best to leave it out for at least 15 minutes. When you bring a drone from a warm environment to the cold it can mess with the barometers. The rapid change from warm to cold can cause condensation in the barometers. Of course if you are in a dry cold it's not as important. For example in Steamboat springs you can basically just go fly. But in Iceland or Alaska by the coast, you should let it acclimate for awhile.
The one thing I strongly disagree with is keeping the Solo itself warm. Before you fly any drone in the cold it's best to leave it out for at least 15 minutes. When you bring a drone from a warm environment to the cold it can mess with the barometers. The rapid change from warm to cold can cause condensation in the barometers. Of course if you are in a dry cold it's not as important. For example in Steamboat springs you can basically just go fly. But in Iceland or Alaska by the coast, you should let it acclimate for awhile.
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