Hi, yeah cold weather flying with Spark. No wind now... in the 20's... and snow on the ground. Wanna take a video or stills for the DJI  Xmas contest... Is it safe? What will happen with the AC after 2 minutes? Anyone tried this? Thanks... Really for me,  it has to be at least... 40 sunny an dry.

Flying in Cold Weather.

Ensure batteries are fully charged: Some drone batteries include technology that automatically discharges battery power after a certain period of inactivity. This maintenance feature helps extend the battery life, but if you haven’t flown for a few weeks it can be easy to forget that your batteries may no longer be at the levels you expect. Before you head out the door, take a minute to verify that your batteries are fully charged.


Minimize heavy control inputs: Flying at high speeds or at full throttle requires a heavy current from the battery and can cause a sudden voltage drop. Avoiding full throttle, especially during the first few minutes of your flight, and minimizing heavy control inputs will help extend the flight time.

Avoid draining the battery: Under normal weather conditions, maxing out the flight time and flying to a low battery level is common. But when you’re flying in cold weather, completely draining the battery can be risky. Fly until the battery drops to 30-40 percent capacity, and then bring the drone back down. Pack a few spare batteries if you know you’ll need a lot of time in the air.
Bring a portable charger for your mobile device: Many popular drones stream live video to a mobile device on the controller. Remember that the battery in this device will also be impacted by cold weather. You may want to purchase a small portable charger to power up your mobile device if needed.

Steer clear of precipitation

Most drones aren’t waterproof and precipitation of any kind can damage the camera and gimbal, short out a motor, or cause other malfunctions to the drone or controller. If your drone does get caught in the rain or snow, land it as soon as possible. Make sure to dry off the props and body of the drone. In particularly cold weather.

Went out last week and filmed the snow here in Texas with my Spark. I charged the batteries fresh right before going outside and while the batteries were still relatively warm, proceeded to fly. I switched to the second battery, which was in my pocket, at around 10 minutes of flight time. The second battery also lasted around ten minutes but I was beginning to get warnings on the second battery. Other than that the machine flew exactly like any other day and the pics and vids came out great.

Ahhhh.... Thanks so much Hall for your time and thought. Very much appreciated. I'm really not gonna go for it... To many bad factors going on... Just wanted input... Thanks.

Some sound advice here

Thanks Jezmo...

Hmm... My best take is have a newly charged/warm battery before going outside. So... that helps... And all you said hall...

I was kinda thinking there was a failsafe sys. in there smart battery that prevented it from operating in temps under 32 degree, 0 celsius

sSkyPilot Posted at 2017-12-14 16:28
Hmm... My best take is have a newly charged/warm battery before going outside. So... that helps... And all you said hall...

I wouldn't use a freshly charged battery immediately, but would recommend a freshly charged battery that has settled to around room temperature. Then start the spark and let it hang out for 1-2 minutes for the battery to be at proper operating temperature...then fly out in the cold with the recommendations above, like no heavy input, don't  drain it all the way. A user in another thread flew in -4F using these recommendations safely and successfully.

Ok... Sounds right Bramble.... If I go the plan it will be over in less than 5 minutes.