Flying a Drone in Winter: 5 Things You Must Know

Winter drone flying can sometimes be challenging in extreme conditions. Low temperatures can impact flight performance, and weather can be unpredictable. It’s possible that you will encounter rain, fog, or snow during flight. So how can you have a safe flight and capture great shots during the winter months? Here are some safety and camera settings tips to keep in mind when flying your drone during winter.

Battery

Like many of the latest portable devices, DJI drones use Lithium Polymer (LiPo) batteries. Cold temperatures can put your batteries out of their comfort zone, decreasing the chemical activity within batteries. Follow the tips below to ensure a safe flight:

• Only use fully charged batteries.
• Pre-heat your battery to 20°C (68°F) or more. You can check the battery temperature in DJI GO. Use a Battery Heater if one is available for your product.
• Hover for about a minute to allow the battery to warm up.
• Only push the control sticks gently to prevent any battery voltage drops.
• Batteries drain faster in cold temperatures. Always check your drone’s battery status during flight.
  

Environment

Reduced visibility and the moisture of snow can be the hidden dangers behind shooting spectacular winter scenery. It’s essential to take the right precautions:

• Before flying your drone, check the weather conditions. Avoid strong wind, rain, and snow.
• Do not fly in temperatures below 0°C (32°F).
• Avoid contact with snow. Moisture can damage the motors. It’s recommended to use a landing pad for taking off and landing your drone.
• Ensure that the GPS signal is strong.
  

Stay Warm

Ever experienced your mobile device unexpectedly shutting down from the cold? As explained at the beginning, cold temperatures can shorten a LiPo battery’s life. So while taking good care of your Intelligent Flight Batteries, don’t forget to keep your mobile device warm. Additionally, watch out for frostbite. Operating a remote controller with numb hands is dangerous. It’s a good idea wear gloves when flying outdoors during winter months.

Camera Settings – Exposure and White Balance

To capture the beauty of snow, you need to manually set camera exposure and white balance. Shooting in Auto mode can result in dark images. This is because the camera’s exposure system can sometimes underexpose snow, tricked by its brightness. By adding additional stops, you will slightly overexpose your photos but get the right compensation for snow shots. Similarly, you need to adjust the white balance accordingly to get the right color balance of the snowy landscape. Otherwise, the snow may look grey.

Storage

If your drone is idle for a long time, its performance might be affected. Storing it properly is key to a safe flight. Make sure to:

• Fully charge and discharge the battery once every three months to maintain battery health.
• Remove the propellers and attach the gimbal clamp when storing your drone.
• Store your drone in a dry, non-magnetic place at around 25°C (77°F).
  

Ready to capture a winter wonderland with your drone? Have fun with your winter flying and don’t forget to share your photos with us here!

The content origins from : BUYINGGUIDES

Perfect advice!

My favorite part, "Stay Warm!"

Yes, sonds good.
Allready made a few flights in snowy landscapes. It has its own magic...

Chris

Great tips, as usual!

Great advice. Debating taking my mavic to Iceland in a few weeks....think If I don't I might regret it but its extra luggage and weight to carry...

Definitely flying all winter here in CT,great state to fly in beautiful videos

So obvious question here, usually, for snow to fall, and settle the ambient air temp is at or below 0oC (32F)  did I miss something along the way as, not flying at 0oC (32F) or less means you wouldnt be able to capture a snowy landscape. Also windchill further lowers the temperature that the battery would 'feel'. Would appreciate an answer from the author just so I fully understand. Maybe I miss understood and it was intended to read do not fly if the battery temp is 0oC (32F) instead of the suggested 20oC (68F).
Cheers
Rob

As always Grace, good useful advice, thanks.

ShadyDealer Posted at 2017-12-1 15:47
Great advice. Debating taking my mavic to Iceland in a few weeks....think If I don't I might regret it but its extra luggage and weight to carry...

You will regret it if you don’t. No serious flying restrictions, more wild nature than Africa and not one single tree of note. They say in Iceland, if you get lost in a forrest all you need to do is stand up to see where you are. OK, the days are short at this time of the year, but that leaves more time for spotting Trolls and of course the Aurora Borealis.

Long exposure Kirkjufellsfoss

Great info, very useful tips, but I would like to know what are the settings and how to modify them within the drone for better pictures and video shooting. For example what are the settings for the Spark and where do you change them, there might be new users that could find this information very useful.  

Dockater Posted at 2017-12-2 13:09
You will regret it if you don’t. No serious flying restrictions, more wild nature than Africa and not one single tree of note. They say in Iceland, if you get lost in a forrest all you need to do is stand up to see where you are. OK, the days are short at this time of the year, but that leaves more time for spotting Trolls and of course the Aurora Borealis.
[view_image]
Long exposure Kirkjufellsfoss

Wow, amazing picture, thanks for sharing

I for one am personally looking forward to flying in Denver this month. Hoping all goes well with the Mavic Pro Platinum. I will plan to warm them up in the car  using the heater. These posts and information is useful.

Thanx for the advice looking forward to flying in the snow IF we get some

Hey Grace, thanks for sharing the tips with us! You are a great helper of the Forum.

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-12-3 18:50
Hey Grace, thanks for sharing the tips with us! You are a great helper of the Forum.

so are you !

A CW Posted at 2017-12-1 04:54
Perfect advice!

thank you!

Brum Ken Posted at 2017-12-3 06:56
Thanx for the advice looking forward to flying in the snow IF we get some

where are you from?
some places in China because of the climate, there are no snows
But I come from a place where it snows almost everyday in winter

Jr_holland28 Posted at 2017-12-3 02:59
I for one am personally looking forward to flying in Denver this month. Hoping all goes well with the Mavic Pro Platinum. I will plan to warm them up in the car  using the heater. These posts and information is useful.

Good luck and happy flying!

Viking-Pilot Posted at 2017-12-3 00:58
Great info, very useful tips, but I would like to know what are the settings and how to modify them within the drone for better pictures and video shooting. For example what are the settings for the Spark and where do you change them, there might be new users that could find this information very useful.

thank you for your comment, Viking!

Dockater Posted at 2017-12-2 13:09
You will regret it if you don’t. No serious flying restrictions, more wild nature than Africa and not one single tree of note. They say in Iceland, if you get lost in a forrest all you need to do is stand up to see where you are. OK, the days are short at this time of the year, but that leaves more time for spotting Trolls and of course the Aurora Borealis.
[view_image]
Long exposure Kirkjufellsfoss

how beautiful here!

fans8b236542 Posted at 2017-12-1 14:22
Great tips, as usual!

Thank you!

Adam Osborne Posted at 2017-12-1 05:26
My favorite part, "Stay Warm!"

hahaha
Happy flying!

Great tips!!!

Great tips !!! Thank you

Great tips !!! Thank you for sharing

DJI Grace Posted at 2017-12-3 18:57
thank you for your comment, Viking!

You are welcome Grace, If you could forward the request of the camera settings, which parameters and how to modify them within the drone to the corresponding department so we could get that info in this threat. THAT would be nice ;-) thank you in advance.

Do you have to work on the actual temperature or on the real feel. Here in Austria we sometimes have 0°C to 1°C but the real feel will show -6°C with no wind.

Will this still be safe for flying. Realy want to capture the snowy landscape while it last.

Thank you for this!

Great tips!

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-12-5 06:27
Great tips!

Thank you!

DJI Grace Posted at 2017-12-5 17:22
Thank you!

You're welcome!

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-12-5 23:04
You're welcome!

I have added the free points this morning around my time.
You can check it!

DJI Grace Posted at 2017-12-5 23:05
I have added the free points this morning around my time.
You can check it!

Thank you!
I saw that

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-12-5 23:09
Thank you!
I saw that

Glad to hear that!

Flew in -7  cel 2 weeks ago  northern Ontario 2x20 min some tablet problem but ok

djiuser_hkRhBwT Posted at 2017-12-6 17:18
Flew in -7  cel 2 weeks ago  northern Ontario 2x20 min some tablet problem but ok

Take care and happy flying!

Rob Hulford Posted at 2017-12-2 01:40
So obvious question here, usually, for snow to fall, and settle the ambient air temp is at or below 0oC (32F)  did I miss something along the way as, not flying at 0oC (32F) or less means you wouldnt be able to capture a snowy landscape. Also windchill further lowers the temperature that the battery would 'feel'. Would appreciate an answer from the author just so I fully understand. Maybe I miss understood and it was intended to read do not fly if the battery temp is 0oC (32F) instead of the suggested 20oC (68F).
Cheers
Rob

Wind chill has no affect on anything other then exposed skin.

Nice tutorial, the photos are well done in it.

Rob Hulford Posted at 2017-12-2 01:40
So obvious question here, usually, for snow to fall, and settle the ambient air temp is at or below 0oC (32F)  did I miss something along the way as, not flying at 0oC (32F) or less means you wouldnt be able to capture a snowy landscape. Also windchill further lowers the temperature that the battery would 'feel'. Would appreciate an answer from the author just so I fully understand. Maybe I miss understood and it was intended to read do not fly if the battery temp is 0oC (32F) instead of the suggested 20oC (68F).
Cheers
Rob

I live in the Mountains at an altitude of 8,000 feet.  Yes, in order for snow to "stick" the temperature needs to be at or below freezing.  But that is not to say that after it snows and the weather get a bit warmer that the snow melts instantly.  There is usually a few days when the temp raises into the 40's and 50's and there is a beautiful blanket of snow on the ground so that's when you would film the landscape.

As far as windchill...It only affects living organisms.  Once the battery reached the ambient air temperature, wind would have no effect on it.