November of 2015, some places are snowing already, some places are just getting cold, but it doesn’t stop us from flying…However we have to be careful flying in this weather conditions…

All we know that batteries used in DJIaircraft are Li-Po batteries. Li-Po stands for Lithium-Polymer, which means it allows us to withdraw a lot of power out of small battery pack.

Basic knowledge:

1.      Full charge your battery before each flight.

2.      Never overdischarge your battery

3.      Cycle the battery by discharging to 8% and full charging again every 20 flights

4.      Intelligent flight batteries can automatically discharge themselves to enter storage mode

5.      Discharge time depends on users settings and takes from 1 to 10 days

Alright, let’s get back to our topic. Since Li-Po batteries are not made to fly below 0 degree C︒ battery performance can be not as good as in a normal temperature 5C︒ to 30C︒

Low temperature flight negative consequences:

1.      Shorten flight time

2.      Fast voltage drop

Ways to prevent the issues described up there:

1.      Never store packs in cold

2.      Start the motors but don’t fly up, let your bird to warm up for a minute.

3.      Please keep

the aircraft

hovering  for 30 to 60 seconds before taking further action.

4.      Do not keep the aircraft fully accelerated for long time.

5.      Be gentle on a RC sticks

6.      Outdoors keep your batteries in thermal insulation box with bag of hot rice  

(Uncooked rice warmed up in a microwave keeps  temperature very good)

7.      Inspire owners can use the battery insulation stickers

8.      Inspire owners also can use a battery heater to pre-heat their batteries before the flight.

Here is the video I really like, at 1:20 on a timeline professional pilots from DJI Studio talking about batteries usage in extreme cold conditions

Fly safe and have a great winter!

As usual, great info Tim!

Great Stuff Tim....Not so cold here in New Mexico yet but plan on flying when it does

I am trying to order Insulation stickers for 2 months without success now. Ok I am not willing to pay 20,- postage for a letter and I dont pay 5,- for a 2,- product like many dealers try to sell it up to 5x retail price.

So I could find not ONE dealer in my area where a) I could pick it up - NO ONE HAS THEM b) I could order at normal price - incl. amazon and ebay of course where you also cannot buy it.

The video is very interesting - but would be fine to know how they fly. Is it Atti or autonomous? I see they fly below 2m following the vehicles - is this really safe no to crash it into the road? Also do they have sensors switched on or off? If on why is the snow not a problem like the manual says?

Nice sharing ! Tim !  This is really useful when winter is comming to most of countries in the world .

Great reminders Tim.

We Canadians have to keep that in mind at all times.

I did some flying around last weekend around +5C and already felt that the batteries discharged a bit faster.

None of the less, still I had the usual blast.

Hello Tim, Great reminders and thanks for sharing the DJI video.... That's Cold!!

Rich

Could be a good thing to have a spare battery in a pocket ner your body, when it's cold outside.

/Lempa

Thanks for your support, guys! keep it warm!{:3_48:}

Great stuff Tim. Also a reminder to let the camera adjust to the ambient temperature outside prior to installing the battery. In doing that the camera lens will not fog up.

One piece of gear that I find "handy" are Millar Mitts and after each flight I pull the battery and use it to warm my hands.

Thank you for posting. But, why does the manual that came with the battery say it can be used between -10C to +40C?

RozBujnik Posted at 2015-11-12 11:11
Thank you for posting. But, why does the manual that came with the battery say it can be used betwee ...

Hi RozBujnik,

Yes you can use the battery at -10C but don't expect it to discharge the same rate as at +25oC.

That is not DJI that is the nature of the LiPo technology.

Cheers.

Machoman Posted at 2015-11-11 11:35
I am trying to order Insulation stickers for 2 months without success now. Ok I am not willing to pa ...

ebay has stickers for batteries

sallen9735@aol. Posted at 2015-11-12 23:34
ebay has stickers for batteries

I am in Europe it doesnt help me if there are some at 2 USD in USA but will have 20 USD sending cost.

BTW Tim, great video on the Audi shoot.

great info, what is the best operating temperature?  is there a temp we should get to just by hovering before actually taking off?

Awesome share. Thanks. Really helpful especially in mother Russia

Thanks for infos!

Thanks Tim

Thanks for info Tim!

That video was so awesome

How risky is it to fly a Phantom 2 during a snowfall? I've gotten great usage out of it already and I'm willing to get another money shot at my drone's expense. Is there any way to protect and wrap the copper coils?

I was having an issue with sudden voltage error... I pre heated the batteries that solved the problem... Keep batteries warms is a must

Great info, I live in cold climate most of the year, just a reminder that any Apple device will get cold fast and power will shut off, fly carefully

sallen9735@aol. Posted at 2015-11-13 06:34
ebay has stickers for batteries

B and H sells them as well.

The below graph illustrates the Lithium-Polymer batteries family Capacity ver Temp. Especially note the initial and sharp voltage drop.

Good write up, but call me superstitious if you must, I take exception to #3)  hover 30-60 sec before further action....

My take on reading about real flyaways is the majority of real flyaways happen during no stick input hovering....  I NEVER hover for 30-60 sec:  I use that time slowly moving the sticks to keep action happening and not let the little guy get bored and decide to head for the west coast of Africa....  why take chances?  just jiggle the sticks a little during this warm up period, still gets the job done....

yorlik Posted at 2015-11-18 23:43
Good write up, but call me superstitious if you must, I take exception to #3)  hover 30-60 sec befor ...

yes, it totally works, being soft and gentle on a sticks is pretty much the same as hovering. Main point of it is not to make any movements that will increase battery current amperage

Waldemar Posted at 2015-11-18 03:23
The below graph illustrates the Lithium-Polymer batteries family Capacity ver Temp. Especially note  ...

This picture explains everything, but the only thing i don't understand is a green line. seems like once you turn it on, battery voltage drops down to 3.0v (which almost brakes the battery) and it grows back to 3.3v ?

That SQ5 shoot was a great video!

Wow!

Here is the final product from the video above for those of you that enjoyed that video like I did.

DJI-Dave Posted at 2015-11-19 08:22
Here is the final product from the video above for those of you that enjoyed that video like I did.
...

Music... cuts... and puppies... that's what makes a final edit.

DJI-Tim Posted at 2015-11-19 10:28
This picture explains everything, but the only thing i don't understand is a green line. seems li ...

Yes! That is the case in the extreme -40degC and the reason for the follow up Vol increase is the battery temp rise once you have current drain. That is why one should never use cold battery in the extreme low temp environment and the Battery Heater is an option “worth a gold”

Does this apply to let's say 50-60deg weather too? Or just super cold weather that is below 40 etc.?

Great!!!

Any heater for the P3 Pro battery?

I use those pocket heather inside a small isolated lunch pack with my batteries inside to keep them warm and ready.

http://heat.thermacell.com/heat-packs/heat-packs-pocket-warmer

The other problem is to keep our tablet warm. Not simple.

I plan to do aerial footage in mountain areas near Gatlinburg, TN, in late January or early February. I already ordered a battery heater and have some stickers. Is it fair to say that both can work in conjunction? Once I put the stickers on, should I ever remove them? Are they to only be used during the colder weather? Also, does anybody know about how long the battery will drain when using the battery heater?

Thanks Tim, very useful information!