Solo in snow, cold and fog

peppys · Jan 24, 2016

Hey droners

I think I got a little lucky the other day flying Solo in pretty dense fog. I wanted to do that for a long time now and I did but when I landed after 4-5 minute flight, the whole body and camera was wet. Got kinda scared when I thought what it may have happened because of all that mist. And i was flying over the sea...

So what's your xp with fog guys? I also checked the video and it's pretty bad because of the water drops on the filter. Any thoughts on that too?

J R · Jan 24, 2016

peppys said:
Hey droners
I think I got a little lucky the other day flying Solo in pretty dense fog.

Pep,

I choose not to fly in any moisture. I'll fly in the cold but not while it's snowing, raining or there's a dense fog. For me, electronics just don't play well with moisture unless they're designed with that intent in mind. Therefore, I can't really provide any useful insight. Good luck!

Jerry

Acroduster · Jan 24, 2016

One time, I tried to fly in fog. Mist.

Del · Jan 25, 2016

I also agree with you Jerry.. Solo and water don't really mix!!
You could probably get away with it to a point I guess!
But it's just like everything els..everything has its limits!
Its just how far you want to push it

But In my opinion ..Water probably won't hurt the actual motors it self because of the sealed bearing!
But I would be more concern about everything that's electronic ..like the GoPro..Gimbal and the Solo it self !!
If water or moisture gets to the Circuit board that's attached under the motors ..that could be a problem ..and have the potential to actually short out a motor in flight I would think? Nothing on the Solo is water Proof!! Well Mabe the Motor Bearings..lol

If my solo ever came back to me all wet and full of moisture (Get Your Mind Out Of The Gutter..lol ) I think I would shut it down immediately and let my Solo sit for a day or two to dry !
I might be over protective ..but in my mind..water and electronic don't mix !!

It's kinda funny when I watch all these video on YouTube of Solo pilot flying there Solo through snow Blizzards or through thick clouds to get that perfect shot!! Gotta love those Daredevil

Just my thought

Cheers

erikgraham · Jan 25, 2016

Freezing temperatures + fog = crash due to icing on props.

peppys · Jan 25, 2016

Del said:
It's kinda funny when I watch all these video on YouTube of Solo pilot flying there Solo through snow Blizzards or through thick clouds to get that perfect shot!! Gotta love those Daredevil

Good points there Del and Jerry. I am aware of the bad mix of electronics and mist

and yes I am taking Solo to rest for a few days now.
But how are the other guys taking these shots ?!? Just hoping for the best or what ?
I am mostly wondering how they avoid mist on the filter/lens...

erikgraham · Jan 25, 2016

peppys said:
Good points there Del and Jerry. I am aware of the bad mix of electronics and mist and yes I am taking Solo to rest for a few days now.
But how are the other guys taking these shots ?!? Just hoping for the best or what ?
I am mostly wondering how they avoid mist on the filter/lens...

Nothing you can do to keep the lens free of moisture. Tilting down a bit can help. Flying with the wind helps. Mostly it's just part of the "look" you get flying in fog or mist.

The motors will run underwater. So flying in rain, snow or fog won't hurt them. The ESCs on the other hand will short out. I've been carefully testing in varying levels of snow fall. So far haven't had a chance to test in heavy snowfall, but the Solo seems fine in light to medium snow.

See this thread for a deeper discussion:
Flying in snow | 3D Robotics Drone Forum

See comments and video posted by @LuvMyTJ on the second page of that thread. In fact, you might just want to switch completely over to that thread as it covers this topic already.

peppys · Jan 25, 2016

erikgraham said:
The motors will run underwater.

Wow I never knew that. Nice video reference.

erikgraham · Jan 25, 2016

peppys said:
Wow I never knew that. Nice video reference.

Well, I got it from @LuvMyTJ - check out the thread I linked to. There are some interesting videos related to this topic.

MannyDartin · Jan 25, 2016

I took my Solo out in the fog one day, flew for 20 mins until the battery was drained. I found that there was ice on my propellers... Could have crashed if it got worse. Won't be flying in the mist anymore.

erikgraham · Jan 25, 2016

MannyDartin said:
I took my Solo out in the fog one day, flew for 20 mins until the battery was drained. I found that there was ice on my propellers... Could have crashed if it got worse. Won't be flying in the mist anymore.

I think i mentioned that above. (Fog, mist, or clouds) + (Below Freezing temps) = Icing on props. That makes it difficult or impossible to control.

peppys · Jan 26, 2016

MannyDartin said:
I took my Solo out in the fog one day, flew for 20 mins until the battery was drained. I found that there was ice on my propellers... Could have crashed if it got worse. Won't be flying in the mist anymore.

Yeah that is dangerous weather to fly in. In my case the temp was not below freezing (around 1°C) so glad nothing happened.

Miles.Prestwood · Jan 30, 2016

There is no such thing as water proof, but these guys have tested products that may.

For water on the filter, you can use the diving trick. Spit on it. Your saliva will create a film that helps.

YMMV

117AJ · Jan 21, 2017

erikgraham said:
I think i mentioned that above. (Fog, mist, or clouds) + (Below Freezing temps) = Icing on props. That makes it difficult or impossible to control.

I just want to point this out in case somebody takes your statement as fact. You are fairly accurate however it wouldn't need to be below freezing air temps to build ice on the props. As the props rotate and create lift there is a cooling effect on the air as it is accelerated over the curve of the propellor creating lift which drops the temperature enough to allow moisture to freeze with ambient air temps above freezing. I would guess more than 10 above freezing you will probably be safe in visible moisture from icing concerns however don't take my word for it. Someone smarter than me maybe able to do some work to come with more precise numbers.

erikgraham · Jan 21, 2017

117AJ said:
I just want to point this out in case somebody takes your statement as fact. You are fairly accurate however it wouldn't need to be below freezing air temps to build ice on the props. As the props rotate and create lift there is a cooling effect on the air as it is accelerated over the curve of the propellor creating lift which drops the temperature enough to allow moisture to freeze with ambient air temps above freezing. I would guess more than 10 above freezing you will probably be safe in visible moisture from icing concerns however don't take my word for it. Someone smarter than me maybe able to do some work to come with more precise numbers.

Excellent point.

fpvsteve · Jan 22, 2017

117AJ said:
I just want to point this out in case somebody takes your statement as fact. You are fairly accurate however it wouldn't need to be below freezing air temps to build ice on the props. As the props rotate and create lift there is a cooling effect on the air as it is accelerated over the curve of the propellor creating lift which drops the temperature enough to allow moisture to freeze with ambient air temps above freezing. I would guess more than 10 above freezing you will probably be safe in visible moisture from icing concerns however don't take my word for it. Someone smarter than me maybe able to do some work to come with more precise numbers.

In practice is less severe than in theory

Rime icing on the props of your drone will not happen above freezing point.
Also, the drone will not crash immediately.
With some experience you will notice a more sluggish behavior on the controls and the drone will increase drifting in loiter. Sufficient time to land.
Here is an example how it looks like after flying for 15 min in dense fog at about -1 degrees celsius.

hackbard23 · Jan 22, 2017

flew with my solo in the alps, started at 3000m ASL, temperature was -15°C on a dry sunny day, put on my 11" props and had no problems with ice,
the only problem was the solo battery which jumped from 28% to 6% in about 5 seconds and my phone battery was empty in about 2 min.....

Jubalr · Jan 22, 2017

fpvsteve said:
In practice is less severe than in theory
Rime icing on the props of your drone will not happen above freezing point.
Also, the drone will not crash immediately.
With some experience you will notice a more sluggish behavior on the controls and the drone will increase drifting in loiter. Sufficient time to land.
Here is an example how it looks like after flying for 15 min in dense fog at about -1 degrees celsius.
View attachment 5101

Like Steve said, it won't crash and fall from the sky without warning. It will feel like it is loosing power and you are having to add more throttle to maintain altitude. If you wait too long, the trick to a better chance of controlled landing is to have 'Stabilize' mode on your A or B button. This mode will allow you to apply maximum power to the motors as needed, something Fly or Manual modes will not. We had a post not long ago by a new owner that got into freezing and he could not fully control the descend and landed hard, breaking a few things. He was still in Fly mode and did not have the power reserve to slow the descent.

OK, I can hear the newer owners saying, Huh? In Fly and Manual modes, the throttle stick is not directly controlling power to the motors. It's more like a 'fly by wire' system. As you move the stick up or down, you are asking the FC to take you higher or lower. But there are pre programmed limits that fall far short of full & minimum throttle. In Stabilize mode, you are directly controlling current to the motors. This allows you to climb or descend at much higher rates. I keep my A on stabilize and B on manual.

AFTER you are comfortable with Manual Mode (which you should be doing first as a new pilot!) then try Stabilize Mode. The difference from manual is you are now controlling altitude as well. The Solo will still keep you stable and upright, but you are controlling altitude as well as direction.

Fly Safe..
Jubal

fliersguy · Jan 22, 2017

117AJ said:
I just want to point this out in case somebody takes your statement as fact. You are fairly accurate however it wouldn't need to be below freezing air temps to build ice on the props. As the props rotate and create lift there is a cooling effect on the air as it is accelerated over the curve of the propellor creating lift which drops the temperature enough to allow moisture to freeze with ambient air temps above freezing. I would guess more than 10 above freezing you will probably be safe in visible moisture from icing concerns however don't take my word for it. Someone smarter than me maybe able to do some work to come with more precise numbers.

And if you want the technical explanation here it is.

We all know that icing occurs when the surface temps are at or below freezing. But above freezing here is what happens. Because the propeller spins so fast you do have expansion of the air around the prop by dry adiabatic cooling (cooling by expansion). But there is not enough time for adjustment to the moist conditions (visible moisture) during the extremely rapid expansion at the propeller tips. This leaves you with very little cooling effect so the moisture has no chance to turn to ice . In any case, the additional cooling is negligible, not really enough of a difference to notice ice at above freezing temps. So for all intents and purposes there is no icing that occurs above freezing.