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Blades icing up causing problems?
601 7 2019-1-12
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84chevyguyid
lvl.1
United States
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Just bought a Mavic Air yesterday, spend most of the afternoon getting software updates, charging everything, ect. Took it out early evening to finish compass calibration and got it ready to fly. I live in southeast Idaho and air temp was 17 degrees yesterday evening and the sky was clear fyi. I flew it around in my back yard and ended up with 5 minutes of video, everything worked perfect with it. This morning I took it out and am having issues with it, if I launch and just let it hover 4 feet or so off the ground, after maybe 15 to 30 seconds I start getting warnings about maximum motor speed reached, motor current, prop obstruction, and it starts wobbling really bad and I hurry and get it on the ground as I'm afraid its going to crash. Tried it 4 different times with different batteries and it keeps doing the same thing. Outside air temp is about 20 degrees. Everything was in my house so its all warm and basically I just walk out, turn everything on and try to fly so its not like any of the components should be cold as nothing is outside long enough. There is some fog around this morning and I noticed a tiny bit of icing on the props, would that be causing my issues? Thanks!


2019-1-12
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Skeeter Honey
Second Officer
Flight distance : 1032569 ft
United States
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Yes, icing can do this because it alters the aerodynamic properties of the blades.  The cold will also change the output of the batteries since Lipos don't like cold.  My guess is that the ice on the blades made them have to spin faster to stay in place and the cold made providing that extra current less achievable.
2019-1-12
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DJI Tony
Administrator

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Hi, we're sorry for the inconvenience that it caused. I would like to ask if the error message occur upon trying to flying it indoors? Did you manage to remove and clean up the propellers to see if this situation will persist? Please keep us posted and ensure that there are no interferences during your test flight to avoid the incident. Thank you for the support.
2019-1-13
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fivetonine
Second Officer
Flight distance : 985135 ft
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Austria
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Icing can be a serious condition - even above the freezing point. The combination moisture/temperature needs to be observed.
2019-1-13
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Bart B
Second Officer
Flight distance : 878852 ft
United States
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20 Degrees and fog is a recipe for disaster!
2019-1-13
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84chevyguyid
lvl.1
United States
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The blades icing up were definitely the problem. I took it back in the house and let it sit for an hour and tried it indoors and it flew great. The next morning was a little foggy again but by noon the sky was clear and I made several flights in the afternoon with no problems. Thanks for the replies and advice everyone!
2019-1-14
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DJI Paladin
Administrator
Flight distance : 318 ft

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84chevyguyid Posted at 1-14 07:34
The blades icing up were definitely the problem. I took it back in the house and let it sit for an hour and tried it indoors and it flew great. The next morning was a little foggy again but by noon the sky was clear and I made several flights in the afternoon with no problems. Thanks for the replies and advice everyone!

I'm glad that your able to figure out what is the main problem. If you have other concern, please feel free to contact us. Thanks for your support.
2019-1-17
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FatherXmas
Captain
Flight distance : 4058619 ft
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United States
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I haven't had a chance to prove it since we really haven't had proper conditions for icing, but I read a while back that if you wipe down the props with Rain-X, it helps prevent icing.
2019-1-17
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