flaying a drone in snow

[elfatih]

if winter comes, can spring be far behind?” – Percy Bysshe Shelley. Is winter right around the corner (or already here) and unlike Shelley, you can’t wait for bright colors to spring up again before you have your fun? Let’s face it – winter has its own beauty and especially if you own a drone with a camera, you don’t want to lose the opportunity to film all that! In this post, we shall look at some tips and tricks and things you need to keep in mind before you head out flying a drone in snow! These tips apply to all manner of RC crafts – including quad-copters and other multi-rotors, RC helicopters and RC planes.
- make sure you have visibility
- keep your hands warm
- coat your craft before flaying it out in winter
- expect lower flight times in snow /winter
- calibrate appropriately
- use wooden or carbon fiber props

 

[BigAl07]

"Flying Cameras" in the snow have a whole new set of things to worry about. How do you keep the lens clean? How do you overcome "fogging/condensation"?

One aspect that's new to us and we need to consider if flying in the USA is Weather Minimums.

Depending on the rules you're flying under (currently anyway this will change soon and pertain to all sUAS operations) you may need to remain clear of clouds both vertically and horizontally. For brevity I'll only toss the relevant portions of 107.51 out here:

107.51c
(c) The minimum flight visibility, as observed from the location of the control station must be no less than 3 statute miles. For purposes of this section, flight visibility means the average slant distance from the control station at which prominent unlighted objects may be seen and identified by day and prominent lighted objects may be seen and identified by night.

107.51d
(d) The minimum distance of the small unmanned aircraft from clouds must be no less than:
(1) 500 feet below the cloud; and
(2) 2,000 feet horizontally from the cloud.

It's expected that once Section 349 is finalized and official even hobbyists will have these same legal requirements.

 

[Ajax]

if winter comes, can spring be far behind?” – Percy Bysshe Shelley. Is winter right around the corner (or already here) and unlike Shelley, you can’t wait for bright colors to spring up again before you have your fun? Let’s face it – winter has its own beauty and especially if you own a drone with a camera, you don’t want to lose the opportunity to film all that! In this post, we shall look at some tips and tricks and things you need to keep in mind before you head out flying a drone in snow! These tips apply to all manner of RC crafts – including quad-copters and other multi-rotors, RC helicopters and RC planes.
- make sure you have visibility
- keep your hands warm
- coat your craft before flaying it out in winter
- expect lower flight times in snow /winter
- calibrate appropriately
- use wooden or carbon fiber props

Will be taking my drone on a ski trip to Japan in February so wish to film some of the countryside, is condensation on lenses a problem going from warm environment to outside and any other problems I need to be aware of?

 

[BigAl07]

Will be taking my drone on a ski trip to Japan in February so wish to film some of the countryside, is condensation on lenses a problem going from warm environment to outside and any other problems I need to be aware of?

Going from warm to cold will most likely cause condensation until the temps equalize and possibly even later. Also flying through any precipitation will get your lens wet within very short order. I cant' tell you how many times I've reviewed the images/video after the fact and had a nasty water droplets that ruined the final product. It doesn't take much to really detract from a great finished product.

 

[mano]

"Flying Cameras" in the snow have a whole new set of things to worry about. How do you keep the lens clean? How do you overcome "fogging/condensation"?

One aspect that's new to us and we need to consider if flying in the USA is Weather Minimums.

Depending on the rules you're flying under (currently anyway this will change soon and pertain to all sUAS operations) you may need to remain clear of clouds both vertically and horizontally. For brevity I'll only toss the relevant portions of 107.51 out here:

107.51c
(c) The minimum flight visibility, as observed from the location of the control station must be no less than 3 statute miles. For purposes of this section, flight visibility means the average slant distance from the control station at which prominent unlighted objects may be seen and identified by day and prominent lighted objects may be seen and identified by night.

107.51d
(d) The minimum distance of the small unmanned aircraft from clouds must be no less than:
(1) 500 feet below the cloud; and
(2) 2,000 feet horizontally from the cloud.

It's expected that once Section 349 is finalized and official even hobbyists will have these same legal requirements.

It was bound to happen...too many crazies out there, and as the price of drones keeps going down, more and more irresponsible people will be piloting these things! I won't be surprised when the day comes we can't legally fly over 100' in altitude. And as cool as it is to fly into a cloud, it has got to be dangerous as heck!

 

[BigAl07]

It was bound to happen...too many crazies out there, and as the price of drones keeps going down, more and more irresponsible people will be piloting these things! I won't be surprised when the day comes we can't legally fly over 100' in altitude. And as cool as it is to fly into a cloud, it has got to be dangerous as heck!

If the Big Boys get their way (Amazon etc) we will be restricted to 200'AGL or less because 200-400 will be for "Commercial Delivery" only. It could easily happen but hopefully with education and self policing we can not shoot ourselves in the foot much more.

 

[depoortereans1967]

if winter comes, can spring be far behind?” – Percy Bysshe Shelley. Is winter right around the corner (or already here) and unlike Shelley, you can’t wait for bright colors to spring up again before you have your fun? Let’s face it – winter has its own beauty and especially if you own a drone with a camera, you don’t want to lose the opportunity to film all that! In this post, we shall look at some tips and tricks and things you need to keep in mind before you head out flying a drone in snow! These tips apply to all manner of RC crafts – including quad-copters and other multi-rotors, RC helicopters and RC planes.
- make sure you have visibility
- keep your hands warm
- coat your craft before flaying it out in winter
- expect lower flight times in snow /winter
- calibrate appropriately
- use wooden or carbon fiber props

 

[graywoulf]

I just can't see the logic in drone deliveries other than in rescue situations. Seems to me that too many things can go wrong as well as the drones being shot down by thieves while en-route to their destination.

 

[fredoman]

Going from warm to cold will most likely cause condensation until the temps equalize and possibly even later.

You're sure about this ? From my experience it's the other way round : when you bring cold stuff in a warm environment you get condensation (people wearing glasses know this). Warm objects in an cold environment should stay perfectly dry (that's why you blow warm air on your cold windscreen to heat it up).

 

[BigAl07]

You're sure about this ? From my experience it's the other way round : when you bring cold stuff in a warm environment you get condensation (people wearing glasses know this). Warm objects in an cold environment should stay perfectly dry (that's why you blow warm air on your cold windscreen to heat it up).

I think you're right about that. I had it backwards

 

[Nope 2.0]

winter is here but where I am but it's soo mild it Doesn't make a difference. I love winter in other places just not here

 

[Virtual1]

I'd still recommend not flying while it's snowing. It's still precipitation, even if it's frozen at the moment. Blow enough snowflakes past a hot motor and it'll start to rust up.

 

[Multikoe]

Funny how you all seem to be worried about the flying in snow, but what is the real reason you get up there during winter?: shooting pictures and video of course! And the most important thing to do when shooting in snow-conditions is to adjust your exposure. The problem is that your camera/software will expose for medium grey. Which means that in snowy conditions, the camera will underexpose, resulting in grey snow. To get proper exposure, you should compensate by at least one stop brighter to get really white snow.

 

[Virtual1]

Funny how you all seem to be worried about the flying in snow, but what is the real reason you get up there during winter?.

Just sayin' I usually prioritize not breaking my quad over getting some good footage...

 

[Chrislaf]

I fly both of my drones in the winter and often in falling snow. Yesterday, I flew all four of my batteries for my Spark in light snow. I had no problems at all. The only problems, I have experienced with the Spark are with the gimbal pitch control in colder conditions (usually below 0ºC) - sometimes the pitch will not work or it will be jerky or not pitch all the way. I can usually clear it up by letting it hover for a bit and then pitching it up and down a few times until it does works smoothly.

Chris

 

[elfatih]

Mind the strength of you your battery.
The main difference when flying your drone in cold condition is the shorter battery life.

The low temperatures slow the chemical reactions inside the drone battery which limits its capacity. The optimal temperature for the battery is above 68ºF (20°C).
Keep the batteries warm as long as possible. You can use a hand warmer, keep the batteries in your pocket or place them above the car heater.
If the battery of your quadcopters is exposed to an open air, you can try to insulate it and keep the cold air away for a little longer.
There are special battery insulation stickers that can prevent some nasty surprises.
Fully charge the battery of your smart device – phone or tablet and keep it warm.
You can use the same technique and put a hand warmer next to it. You can take with you a battery charger and extend the time spent outside