Hi, I recently got a DJI MINI 2, I live in Winnipeg, manitoba, Canada, where the Temperature is consistently -15°C and below in winter, can i fly my drone here? I read the operational condition is 0°C to 40°C, anyone has operated before in such conditions? Please let me know.

that -15c is at ground level.  get up 200/300ft and that temperature will generally be much lower. search this forum for people that lost their drone because of cold temps. they always read the same " i know it was lower then dji recommends but iv'e flown in colder weather before".

There have been a couple of cases with people flying in much colder conditions than the specs and having altitude stability issues.
The altitude sensor is affected by cold.

dpeagle Posted at 1-31 14:49
that -15c is at ground level.  get up 200/300ft and that temperature will generally be much lower. search this forum for people that lost their drone because of cold temps. they always read the same " i know it was lower then dji recommends but iv'e flown in colder weather before".

The temp change at height isnt vast for drone usage (120m (400ft)), the rule of thumb is a drop of 1ºC (3.6ºF) per each 100m ascent

Hello there nish_maha. Good day and thank you for reaching out. You are correct the DJI Mini 2 has an Operating Temperature of 0° to 40°C ( 32° to 104°F ). Kindly please fly your DJI drone following the recommended flight environment and temperature to avoid any unwanted incident that might cause damage to the said DJI drone and might void its warranty as well. Thank you and fly safe always.

That is just too cold to be flying.  Forget the drone, there is no way somebody should even be living in a climate that cold!  : )

Bashy Posted at 1-31 20:23
The temp change at height isnt vast for drone usage (120m (400ft)), the rule of thumb is a drop of 1ºC (3.6ºF) per each 100m ascent

it isn't just the temperature. wind chill and humidity also effect flight conditions. wind profiles can be radically different 300 to 400 ft above ground level.

dpeagle Posted at 2-1 07:20
it isn't just the temperature. wind chill and humidity also effect flight conditions. wind profiles can be radically different 300 to 400 ft above ground level.

Windchill is a human factor based on wind removing the small layer of heat from the skin, it has no bearing on inanimate objects...

Humidity does have a bearing, only that if its high, at a guess, >95% and around 0ºC or lower, you will most likely get icing on the props and other leading edges.

It plays no other part in the effectiveness of the ac, except to make it wet, but then it would need to be foggy/misty/clouds etc, but the topic is regarding the cold air, not the saturation of it.

I've noticed that when flying (in +degrees) the battery quickly gets hot and heats up the inside of the drone. Maybe not -15 degrees but a few minus should work.

Bashy Posted at 2-1 08:13
Windchill is a human factor based on wind removing the small layer of heat from the skin, it has no bearing on inanimate objects...

Humidity does have a bearing, only that if its high, at a guess, >95% and around 0ºC or lower, you will most likely get icing on the props and other leading edges.

Not many people understand the effects and no effects of windchill.
I've seen a lorry with a coke holder attached to the external rear view mirror. The coke can will not be colder than the surrounding air, regardless of the wind speed as the can does not have any moisture on its surface and thus cannot be cooled.

I wish people would attend school!

At my own risk, I fly in temperatures below 0 degrees to -10 degrees Celsius, mostly in sport mode, with the battery kept in my pants pocket before flying. The battery is typically around 20 degrees Celsius during take-off and heats up quickly to around 40 degrees Celsius in flight. I know from experience that the most dangerous thing is when the propellers get iced up at 0 ...- 1 degrees Celsius. Once it was 0 degrees Celsius and high humidity, and several dozen meters higher it was already -1 and a message about engine overload appeared. In my case, however, I prefer flights below -1 degree. Warm the battery carefully before flying. Flying in winter, however, gives you the opportunity to capture the wonderful views.

i was incorrect using the term "wind chill", i just use that term whenever cold, wind and humidity are involved. here is a good read related to this question that can explain this better then i can. (https://droneflyingpro.com/how-c ... ld%20weather%20%201,for%20drones%20and%20have%20allowed%20much...%20More%20)

TonyPHX Posted at 1-31 20:52
That is just too cold to be flying.  Forget the drone, there is no way somebody should even be living in a climate that cold!  : )

Lol ! -15 is nominal, we have weeks at -20 and -25 and worse than that !

nish_maha Posted at 2-1 14:50
Lol ! -15 is nominal, we have weeks at -20 and -25 and worse than that !

If the drone goes down, I would be leaving it for collection some time after it warms up.  : )   Good luck!

I’ve flown in -20C a few times. Sometimes no problems, but a couple times the drone just started climbing on its own.
I’ve seen others having this issue, though not sure what the temp was.
See my post in this forum.

Snoopy70 Posted at 2-2 16:50
I’ve flown in -20C a few times. Sometimes no problems, but a couple times the drone just started climbing on its own.
I’ve seen others having this issue, though not sure what the temp was.
See my post in this forum.

Thanks, this is helpful. i guess i'll try my first flight.

Bashy Posted at 2-1 08:13
Windchill is a human factor based on wind removing the small layer of heat from the skin, it has no bearing on inanimate objects...

Humidity does have a bearing, only that if its high, at a guess, >95% and around 0ºC or lower, you will most likely get icing on the props and other leading edges.

Its true what you said about windchill and intimate objects  as long as that object is cooled to the actual air temp. If that object is above actual air temp, then windchill will have an effect on the object. It will cool it down faster, removing heat faster until the object reaches actual air temp. In this case, the batteries would be effected by windchill as the heat they produced during use would be removed much faster than without windchill. This could be bad for the bateries as its better for them to have some internal heat. At the very least, overall capability would be reduced.

DAYTONA392 Posted at 2-2 18:01
Its true what you said about windchill and intimate objects  as long as that object is cooled to the actual air temp. If that object is above actual air temp, then windchill will have an effect on the object. It will cool it down faster, removing heat faster until the object reaches actual air temp. In this case, the batteries would be effected by windchill as the heat they produced during use would be removed much faster than without windchill. This could be bad for the bateries as its better for them to have some internal heat. At the very least, overall capability would be reduced.

Whilst that is true, that's not "wind chill" though, wind chill is a perceived temperature, you're just on about the cooling effect of the wind. Do not get mixed up with the 2 effects wind chill cools lower than the air temperature, inanimate objects cannot be.

Wind chill is based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold, only...

Therefore, the wind makes it FEEL (being the operative word here) much colder. If the temperature is 0°F and the wind is blowing at 15 mph, the wind chill is -19°F. As i am sure you are aware, inanimate objects cannot feel ;)

Now, having said that, by all accounts, there are a few exceptions to the rule, such as external water pipes that have internal heat sources and chemical reactions such as cement, i.e. concrete relies on internal heat to set, it may set improper if the wind extracts this heat.

The wind chill strips internal heat but like most simple inanimate objects, they will not become colder than the air temperature.

I don't know much about anything but if there are a few things i am better at than others, 1 would be the weather, I own pro weather station and run my own server that's housed in France that serves my weather site(s)

Disclaimer, when i write posts, i generally fact check prior to posting just to make sure i am posting correct information, this may also lead to my posting similar worded paragraphs, this is because they have explained it better than i can.

TonyPHX Posted at 2022-1-31 20:52
That is just too cold to be flying.  Forget the drone, there is no way somebody should even be living in a climate that cold!  : )

But I like living in Massachusetts...  Not for nothing I flew yesterday at -7 F and my mini 2 did great. I flew around a nearby lighthouse from my car (maintaining VLOS) and I returned after each flight with 35% battery because I didn't want to take too many chances.

I would not fly too far away and would not do it for long flights. But if prudent it seems the Mini 2 handled the extreme temps well. It also enabled me to fly from my heated car and because I didn't go over 70 ft in height I was able to keep it in sight when I needed to. (Per FAA rules)

The lighthouse pic is beautiful!  That makes some of the cold worthwhile!