flying in the cold

Living in the Great White North means living with sub-zero temperatures (that’s under 32 Fahrenheit for my American friends) for a good half of the year. There’s a lot of great things that come with a fresh blanket of snow; the descending snow is beautiful as it meanders through the sky, the white landscape is majestic, and the outdoor winter activities are plentiful. Winter scenes make for some of the most beautiful shots, especially from an aerial vantage point. Most drones, however, are not built to withstand Canadian winters, and usually are not recommended to be flown in sub-zero temperatures. 

This could mean that your drone is completely grounded for half the year, but it doesn’t have to be. Follow these five tips below to enjoy your drone in sub-zero temperatures and tackle those winter project safely. 
 

1. Evaluate your conditions
2. Come fully charged
3. Prepare for take-off indoors
4. Avoid contact with moisture
5. Bundle up
 

Note: Be advised that flying below sub-zero temperatures is not recommended by the manufacturer and will likely void your official warranty.

1 | Evaluate your conditions
 

First thing to do in order to have a safe winter flight is to identify what your drone’s manufacturer minimum recommended temperature is. Smaller drones like the DJI Mavic Pro and the Spark usually bottom out at 0 degrees Celsius. Larger drones, especially ones made to withstand colder temperatures by having dedicated battery heaters can go much lower. The DJI Inspire 2 for example is rated at -10 degrees Celsius. The upper and lower temperature range limits indicate your drone’s ability to have a successful flights without experiencing problems when flown within those ranges. Flying above or below that temperature range is not supported by the manufacturer, and in most cases will void your warranty. However this does not mean that the drone will not operate when flown above or below the stated range. With necessary precautions and preparations you can personally test the limits of your drones and determine which temperature limits you’re comfortable to fly with. 

Once you know your manufacturer limit, open up any weather app to see your flight location’s ambient temperature. If this is your first time flying below zero, it is a good idea to determine your drone’s temperature tolerance gradually, adding (or subtracting) 2-5 degrees at a time with each flight. Generally for smaller drones, I wouldn’t go above 10-15 degrees Celsius below or above the stated manufacturer temperature limits, for larger drones with battery heaters, I would top out at 15-20 degrees Celsius variance. 

Wind chill is a tricky factor to accommodate. Although it does not have a direct effect on the drone’s battery operation, wind chill does dissipate heat off the metal parts quicker than without, having a cooling effect on the drone, and effectively making the conditions tougher to fly in. Generally I meet the ambient temperature and wind chill half way when flying the drone.

2 | Come fully charged
 

Most electronics that run on LiPo batteries hate the cold. The regular chemical reactions that happen inside the battery that power the drone slowdown in cold temperatures, and in extreme sub-zero temperatures the chemical reactions completely “freeze up” inside the battery, hurtling your drone towards the ground. A full battery gives you more chances for chemical reactions to happen and less chances of it freezing up. As a regular flight usually requires a minimum of three battery powered devices (drone, controller and screen device), it’s a good idea to take precautions to protect your investment and make sure you have a safe and enjoyable flight. 

Make sure all your devices are fully charged. Count on getting only around 2/3s of the stated battery life for your drone, controller and screen device. A loss of power mid-flight for any of the three devices could potentially spell disaster and result in losing your drone, or worse damaging something or hurting someone. The fuller the charge, the more chances your devices will continue to produce chemical reactions to keep powering your device.

3 | Prepare for take-off indoors
 

When flying in sub-zero temperatures your goal is to minimize exposure of your electronic elements to the cold air. You want to go from a warm environment to getting up in the air within 5 minutes of having your equipment outdoors. Any longer and your batteries will have cooled off to the point where they will prevent you from taking off or cut your live feed within minutes of taking off, forcing you to land. Prolonged exposure of idle parts to the cold needs to be minimized, so you want to have your equipment in a warm, climate controlled environment and get up in the air and get the motors spinning as rapidly as you can. Once in the air the drone will often generate enough internal heat to keep the battery within tolerable temperatures. 

Once you’ve chosen the spot for your take-off, completely prepare it for take-off, while keeping your electronic gear indoors. Calculate how long it will take you to get your drone from indoors to the take-off location and up in the air. If it’s over 5 minutes, consider investing into battery heat packs and keep the rest of your equipment under your jacket to benefit from your body heat and slow down the cooling off period. 

Indoor prep checklist:

• Check drone integrity, propellers, battery, gimball, and camera

• Completely assemble drone for ready to fly, perform component and propeller safety checks

• Confirm SD card is in, is formatted and has free space

• Configure and assemble the proper ND or polarized lenses for the drone’s camera, if you’re taking footage

• Turn on, connect and sync screen device (phone, tablet, crystal-sky) to controller

• Test the connection of controller and screen device to the drone

4 | Avoid contact with moisture
 

Perhaps one thing electronics hate more than the cold is moisture. Winters are filled with moisture in the form of snow. Whether it is snow on the ground or from above it is not a good idea to be exposed to any form of moisture. 

For example falling snow, as it touches the warm drone in flight, melts, and may seep into electronic parts rendering them useless, or may build up in the propeller wells which then risk freezing up and affecting prop performance. In both cases your drone would be hurtling down from the sky. Similarly, a drone resting on a bed of snow before takeoff may experience seepage into its external components from the underside. 

To avoid this, do not fly in snowy conditions, and for take-offs always use a landing pad, leg-extenders or completely remove snow from your take-off area.

5 | Bundle up
 

Lastly, don’t forget to take care of yourself and protect yourself from the cold! There is nothing worse than cutting your flight short because your fingers are frozen. Even though battery performance is reduced in winter you can still expect about 20 minutes of flight on a full charge. Take a few batteries with you and you’re in for a long, cold operation. Unlike the drone zipping back and forth, generating heat to keep it warm, you likely won’t be moving all that much, so you need to layer and protect yourself. Touch sensitive gloves work well as a layer while still allowing you to control your drone. 

If you fly in cold weather regularly, also consider investing into battery warmers, screen device case warmers and other specialized drone equipment warming tools. A cheap way to warm your equipment and yourself once you’re out in the cold are pocket hand-warmers. Snap a few, put them in your jacket with your spare batteries, and stick your hands in your pockets to warm them up, or put the warmers in your gloves! These will keep your equipment warm and keep you in tip top condition to safely control your drone. 

If you have any additional tips or want to share your footage, leave a comment below. Remember to follow your country's rules and regulations when performing recreational or commercial flights. Enjoy winter flying!