Rain

vinny · Apr 24, 2016

Is it ok to fly solo in the rain?

Marich · Apr 24, 2016

The general consensus is no.

Maddog · Apr 24, 2016

SPP · Apr 24, 2016

Please NO.
Water will enter the frame body and regardless that fresh water is not so electrically conductive, it may cause mild short circuit and who knows what will happen to the Solo.

vinny · Apr 28, 2016

ok thanks people!

RKGmedia · Apr 28, 2016

I think a waterproof or at least water resistant uav is needed and I'm sure someone is working on that. I haven't heard of one yet. It would be nice if at least we could use the gopro waterproof housing with the solo.

RKGmedia · Apr 28, 2016

RKGmedia said:
I think a waterproof or at least water resistant uav is needed and I'm sure someone is working on that. I haven't heard of one yet. It would be nice if at least we could use the gopro waterproof housing with the solo.

Would have come in handy when I ran into this downpour.

PdxSteve · Apr 28, 2016

RKGmedia said:
I think a waterproof or at least water resistant uav is needed and I'm sure someone is working on that. I haven't heard of one yet. It would be nice if at least we could use the gopro waterproof housing with the solo.

I dunno. This one seems pretty water tight lol. This drone can fly through the air and under water

Seaair7 · Apr 30, 2016

Mine submarines well to about 35 feet then it RTH

J R · Apr 30, 2016

PdxSteve said:
I dunno. This one seems pretty water tight lol. This drone can fly through the air and under water

That's cool!

Jerry

Peter Kelly · Apr 30, 2016

That Lily drone I think is waterproof, at least they trow it into a river in their video.. lol

Tamj · May 4, 2016

There's also a new technology called Liquipel. It's not designed to make devices waterproof but certainly makes it water resistant.

RoundishCrab4 · May 4, 2016

vinny said:
Is it ok to fly solo in the rain?

Believe it or not I've had pretty good success flying it in moderately rainy conditions. Unless it's pouring I don't see why not. Just have to make sure it doesn't get on the lens of the camera.

PdxSteve · May 4, 2016

Personally I wouldn't risk it. Eventually it will short out. I'm talking about stock solo. If you look at the solo design, there are holes at the motor pods which is the highest point on solo. If water gets in there, it will flow straight down the motor pod arms and into the body cavity and collect inside solos belly, which is where the computer and pixhawk are. Couple that with flying and sloshing the water around... These are definitely not waterproof. If you haven't crashed yet, you're very lucky, but really it's only a matter of time. It's advised to not even fly in clouds/fog.

RoundishCrab4 · May 4, 2016

PdxSteve said:
Personally I wouldn't risk it. Eventually it will short out. I'm talking about stock solo. If you look at the solo design, there are holes at the motor pods which is the highest point on solo. If water gets in there, it will flow straight down the motor pod arms and into the body cavity and collect inside solos belly, which is where the computer and pixhawk are. Couple that with flying and sloshing the water around... These are definitely not waterproof. If you haven't crashed yet, you're very lucky, but really it's only a matter of time. It's advised to not even fly in clouds/fog.

I agree. Guess it's whether or not you want to risk it. All I'm saying is a little rain probably won't hurt it. I wouldn't advise going out in a storm but if it happens to start drizzling it should be fine.

Pedals2Paddles · May 4, 2016

You have an unprotected $500 GoPro. And unprotected $1000 drone. An unprotected controller. And probably an unprotected smart phone or tablet. I'm not sure how this is even a question. The arms will funnel water directly onto the motor pods, then flow down to the main boards and gimbal. Then drain into the GoPro. So I'm pretty sure a little rain really will hurt it.

RoundishCrab4 · May 4, 2016

Pedals2Paddles said:
You have an unprotected $500 GoPro. And unprotected $1000 drone. An unprotected controller. And probably an unprotected smart phone or tablet. I'm not sure how this is even a question. The arms will funnel water directly onto the motor pods, then flow down to the main boards and gimbal. Then drain into the GoPro. So I'm pretty sure a little rain really will hurt it.

From my experience a "little rain" won't hurt it. I'm not sure what your idea of a little rain is, but a light drizzle didn't do anything to my solo, even after the rain started to really pick up. The GoPro is underneath the main chasis of the solo as well, so it's not getting directly hit unless you really start to accelerate forward. The controller and smart phone also are semi-water resistant, plus you'd have the ability to cover them with an umbrella or something of some sort. I'm not condoning flying out in the rain, but I'm saying if it does start drizzling while he's flying it's not something to get super worried about. Just my two cents.

pyrate · May 4, 2016

making a prediction that someone will lose a solo soon
just saying

Pedals2Paddles · May 4, 2016

RoundishCrab4 said:
From my experience a "little rain" won't hurt it. I'm not sure what your idea of a little rain is, but a light drizzle didn't do anything to my solo, even after the rain started to really pick up. The GoPro is underneath the main chasis of the solo as well, so it's not getting directly hit unless you really start to accelerate forward. The controller and smart phone also are semi-water resistant, plus you'd have the ability to cover them with an umbrella or something of some sort. I'm not condoning flying out in the rain, but I'm saying if it does start drizzling while he's flying it's not something to get super worried about. Just my two cents.

At what point did the controller and smart phone become "semi-waterproof"??? lol.

Your experience amounts to coincidental luck. Or, you already have water damage and will find out about it the hard way when it falls out of the sky do to corroding solder joints on board mounted components. Or when your GoPo mysteriously dies. Ya, it's under the solo, in rain driven prop wash that amounts to a small tropical storm. It's your drone to fly irresponsibly like this if you wish. But suggesting others do the same is not helpul.

RoundishCrab4 · May 4, 2016

Pedals2Paddles said:
At what point did the controller and smart phone become "semi-waterproof"??? lol.

Your experience amounts to coincidental luck. Or, you already have water damage and will find out about it the hard way when it falls out of the sky do to corroding solder joints on board mounted components. Or when your GoPo mysteriously dies. Ya, it's under the solo, in rain driven prop wash that amounts to a small tropical storm. It's your drone to fly irresponsibly like this if you wish. But suggesting others do the same is not helpul.

Have you ever been out in the rain with your phone out? A little drop of rain on your phone will amount to no damage, especially if you have a case. I've flown the drone three times in less than optimal rain conditions. Like I said previously, I'm not condoning flying in the rain, just saying that from my experience it's not something to get super worried about. If you want to get good shots and some cool videos then I don't see why you would be super conservative about flying it. It's up to them obviously I'm just giving my experience.