Hi,

I will have a long layover in Frankfurt airport for about 15 hours and of course I will be taking my mavic with me + 2 spare batteries. Batteries will be drained but I was wonder if it is safe to charge them during the last 1 or 2hours of the flight so that I can use them once I land? Is it this really safe?

I only have 15 hours in Frankfurt, I'd really like to make the most out of it being my first time in Germany.

Don't see how it's any different from having laptop plugged in during flight

You should check your airlines policies about even carrying these on, fires on an airplane are not good. Delta for example: https://www.delta.com/content/da ... ance_guidelines.pdf

crahen Posted at 2017-3-12 05:32
You should check your airlines policies about even carrying these on, fires on an airplane are not good. Delta for example: https://www.delta.com/content/dam/delta-www/pdfs/baggage/acceptance_guidelines.pdf

Of course I will take all necessary pre-cautions but just wondering if anyone has ever done it.

As far as I know, happens a very large part of the meltdown on a Lixx battery during charging or at use, not at rest with a low voltage across the terminals. That's why airlines' policy is as it is.

Regards Leif.

Personally I would not take the risk. Things can go wrong and for the sake of flying the Mavic the risks outweigh the need, like texting whilst driving...

HOWEVER! You do NOT need to dis-charge your batteries in the first place. Discharged batteries only apply to batteries being shipped commercially and in bulk. This is a myth which has spread for some reason, probably because the the Mavic opened the doors to so many people and people speculated....

Set your batteries to self discharge after 10 days and charge them up the night before you leave. Problem solved, well no problem to begin with!

Yep, Even if you had them at 60% storage charge before leaving chances are good you could have them completely charged by the time you drive to your destination from the airport.  Why risk possibly bringing attention to yourself in flight and having to spend time at the airport when you land trying to talk authorities into giving you back your batteries.

chippie Posted at 2017-3-12 08:30
Personally I would not take the risk. Things can go wrong and for the sake of flying the Mavic the risks outweigh the need, like texting whilst driving...

HOWEVER! You do NOT need to dis-charge your batteries in the first place. Discharged batteries only apply to batteries being shipped commercially and in bulk. This is a myth which has spread for some reason, probably because the the Mavic opened the doors to so many people and people speculated....

So I can fly with 100% battery charge? It says on the DJI manual that one should discharge before flight

Landbo Posted at 2017-3-12 06:31
As far as I know, happens a very large part of the meltdown on a Lixx battery during charging or at use, not at rest with a low voltage across the terminals. That's why airlines' policy is as it is.

Regards Leif.

Couldn't quite understand that..

I think you should be safe and let the batteries stay until 65% or 50%, I do that if I am not flying within a day.

travelrikk Posted at 2017-3-12 11:00
Couldn't quite understand that..

Simple, the less power an battery contains (low voltage), the less smoke and fire is coming if the incident occurs.

Leif.

travelrikk Posted at 2017-3-12 11:00
Couldn't quite understand that..

You really should check with airline, many airlines have their own policies on lithium batteries and many differing rules. Opinions here won't help you on this unless someone knows who you are flying with and they know the airlines policy,

There are some here on dji forum who have had batteries taken from them and not returned.

travelrikk Posted at 2017-3-12 10:59
So I can fly with 100% battery charge? It says on the DJI manual that one should discharge before flight

Yes correct, the manual is wrong, actually probably where the 'alleged' requirement started! Trust me, this has been discussed to death and only applied f you are shipping batteries over a certain quantity.

I have not come across a single airline where this is a requirement, check out some of the FB groups, I think pretty much every airline has been covered there. Most airlines take guidance and build their their rules around the relative governing bodys recommendations (i.e. FAA), again none of which require batteries of this size, use and situation to be discharged.
It will not hurt to check with the airline of course but remember it is not the airline that checks your luggage, they do not run the security points so will in all likelihood never even see the batteries.
If you do speak with anyone at the airline just remember not to prompt them as they may just agree to what you say, so do not say do they have to be discharged to 50% just simply ask if there are any restrictions. However their website will detail it all anyway.

These rumors somehow always start, just like people think LiPo bags are a requirement, they are not and will probably have little impact if there was a fire anyway (recent tests showed this). Just as people think that the connectors have to be covered to taped over, again, this is not true as the Mavic's connectors are recessed and not even live until you power the battery on. Saying this if doing these things gives you peace of mind then there is nothing stopping you of course.

But, I can safely say that after all the discussions with countless people on forums and FB that we have not come across one airline where it is a requirement to discharge these types of batteries in this scenario.

too many alarmists.

It's a Lipo battery. Lipo is same battery type in any current era laptop. Airlines even PROVIDE AC power outlets to ALLOW you to charge your laptops.

Stop being excessively alarmists some of you

fans90d4f438 Posted at 2017-3-12 14:31
too many alarmists.

It's a Lipo battery. Lipo is same battery type in any current era laptop. Airlines even PROVIDE AC power outlets to ALLOW you to charge your laptops.

My recommendation was simply from a practicality standpoint.  Nothing really to gain by bringing out the batteries mid-flight or having the possibility of some flight attendant who may not be up on every rule and regulation, or overly snoopy passenger in the next seat getting alarmed and the batteries being confiscated during the flight and having to take time after landing to try to get those batteries back.

Just leave them in your carry-on and you won't have to sweat it one way or another.

chippie Posted at 2017-3-12 13:23
Yes correct, the manual is wrong, actually probably where the 'alleged' requirement started! Trust me, this has been discussed to death and only applied f you are shipping batteries over a certain quantity.

I have not come across a single airline where this is a requirement, check out some of the FB groups, I think pretty much every airline has been covered there. Most airlines take guidance and build their their rules around the relative governing bodys recommendations (i.e. FAA), again none of which require batteries of this size, use and situation to be discharged.

Awesome, thanks a lot for the information. I'll take your word for it but are there any articles that I can read which goes in further detail?