I plan on flying my Inspire 1 commercially for a Firework company I currently work for. Given that most of our work is done in the winter months my question is regarding rain, can the drone handle any level of rain i.e. light drizzle etc. or is it an absolute no to flying in wet weather.

A very very light drizzle but that is it.  Also photos or video are going to be rubbish if you ask me.  I would not fly in the rain period.

This is my opinion- others chime in

donnie

One drop of water in the wrong place and your bird could drop out of the sky. Also, as Donnie says, a lens with water on it will yield pretty crappy results. So in short, flying in rain=bad idea.

Mark G.

Want to risk your investment??
Manufacturer says not to fly in rain, so do so entirely at your own risk.
I don't / wont.

Hi,I think you`d better do not to fly in rain.It is about safety reasons and our User Manual mentioned this.
And the safety is the first thing we should to focus on.

I dont think you will have problems unless it really gets soaked. Make sure to always point the camera backwards otherwise you will not see very much soon.

There is a video somewhere of a DJI presentation where they fly it themselves in haevy rain.

However this is not a recommendation to fly in rain and I dont take any responsibility if you do so and crash because there is some weak point which should not get wet.

But I would also like someone explaining excatly where this point is and what is the risk. "Dont fly in rain" is not  enough!

I agree with Donnie and Machoman,  Light drizzle and mist are fine but your shots are crap so why risk your rig?

Machoman Posted at 2016-10-10 22:08
I dont think you will have problems unless it really gets soaked. Make sure to always point the came ...

It would not have been for the Inspire. The industrial Agras MG1 is the one on record that is water resistant.

I also agree that there is no point in risking your investment, since water damage will automatically void the warranty.

I don't use my other video and still cameras in the rain without rain covers, so I don't understand why I'd fly my aerial cameras in rain.   Most of the time, it's difficult to keep water off the lenses, which yields a bad result.  If you are truly flying for commercial endeavors, it seems like you would not want sub par images unless the rain look motivates the look you are going for.

Do you hold an FAA  Remote Pilot Certificate??? What are the FAA's requirements for flying in BAD weather? If you hold the certificate, you better know! Ken

OH, sorry, you are from across the pond. You better check with your local authorities, on flying in certain weather conditions COMERCIALLY . DON'T BE A STATISTIC or a BAD example! Thanks, Ken

I have experience with the Phantom 3 pro flying in extreme heavy rains and the first thing that failed was the camera's gimbal chip socket which started burning after 20 minutes in heavy rain.

In terms of clouds no problem at all, I've flown in clouds a lot.

There are coatings to waterproof electronics that do work and are proven like corosionX. That is if you are planning to film in rainy or snowy conditions

To fly commercially in the UK you will need a PFCO issued by the CAA. To get this you will need to have submitted both your Operations Procedures and your £5m liability insurance. Both of these will need to show you have assessed the risk of flying in the rain which need to be aligned with the manufacturers guidance. Simply put "No flying in the rain/precipitation" for an Inspire flown commercially.