Winter has arrived…
Don’t miss the following scenes of hills suddenly blanketed in snow, lakes suddenly polished by ice, and lights growing brighter as revelers throng the city. Despite the fact that it may be one of the most stunning images a drone can record. Many drone pilots wonder, “Can I fly a fpv drone in cold winter?” Or “Will drone operations be impacted by the cold?” Avoid flying while it is raining or snowing since these weather conditions might make the fpv drone less reliable.
Winter is when fpv drones need the most attention and care, but with the right measures in place, you might be able to capture some of the year’s best movies and photos. Throughout order to assist you overcome these challenges and keep your drone flying in the winter, we’ve put together some best practices and tried-and-true recommendations.
If you want to move on (fpv in the cold winter), we’ll cover the following topics：
Conformal Coating
The best approach to protect your electronics when flying in the winter when it is snowing or there is snow on the ground is to treat them with a silicone-based conformal coating. By doing this, you’ll significantly lower the possibility that condensation from a warm automobile moving into a cold environment or moisture in the snow may result in a short circuit and destroy part of your components.
The motors don’t need to be covered since if they get wet, they won’t short out. However, you must protect your camera, ESC, video transmitter, receiver, and potentially even some of your flying controls.However, when applying the coating, you must be extremely cautious. The coating will prohibit the buttons, USB ports, barometer, and camera sensors from operating correctly, therefore you shouldn’t attach anything there.
See this tutorial on how to make waterproof FPV drones for more information on conformal coating of fpv parts.
Check the battery
Winter’s chilly temperatures might reduce the battery life of your drone. Batteries drain significantly more quickly in the winter than they do at other times of the year because they produce less current when utilized in low conditions. Your flight duration will be shortened, the voltage will decrease more quickly, and the sag will be worse.
You can fight off the cold.
1.Check battery voltage.
Check your OSD’s voltage and keep your flying duration shorter than usual. Also keep in mind that the mAh use figure might not be an accurate representation of how much power is available from the battery when it is cold.
2.Use a battery that is completely charged.
Bring a brand-new battery to guarantee you have the greatest flying time possible because a battery that lasts 6 minutes in the fall may only last 4 minutes in the winter. Bring extra batteries or a portable charger if you intend to fly your drone on several journeys.
3.Keep the batteries in a warm location.
The cold outside will have an immediate impact on your battery, so try to maintain it at a more comfortable temperature. Use an Ethix heated battery bag if you’d like. Or to maintain your batteries at a comfortable temperature, wrap them in a scarf so they face the sunlight on the dashboard of your car.
4.Avoid extending your flight time.
The secret to utilizing your drone in the cold is moderate flight. It’s recommended to monitor battery levels closely in this new setting and to dock your drone earlier than normal. In an atmosphere where batteries are depleting quickly, it is better to be safe than sorry!
5.Warm up your drone.
Preheating your drone before flight is one of our more crucial recommendations. To warm up the batteries and ensure optimum performance, you should hover your drone for up to 30 second to a minute. This advice also allows you to see how the drone responds to the weather, such as whether the wind is too severe.
Flying outdoors
Gloves for radio transmitters
There are steps you need to take to keep your hands warm while flying if you are not taking off from a vehicle. Because of the different connection between your hands and the joystick while wearing gloves, flying can be very challenging. Using “large waterproof thermal gloves” that fit your radio and your hands to keep them warm is one way to deal with this issue.
Warm clothes
Though it ought to be clear, I had to learn this lesson the hard way. It doesn’t matter whether you’re traveling from a heated automobile since you still need to have cold weather gear including coats, hats, gloves, and boots. You’ll be happy you brought additional clothing if you crash far away and have to search through heavy snow in chilly weather to find your drone.
Using FPV Goggle Fan
Your goggles could have a propensity to fog up in chilly temperatures. Make sure the goggle fan is on before you fly to avoid this issue. You never want your goggles’ lenses to unintentionally fog up while you’re flying.
Disposable Hand Warmers & Disposable Foot Warmers
You can also prepare disposable hand warmers so that when you take off your transmitter gloves, your hands or foot will feel cold after a while. Not only for FPV, you can easily use it when walking outdoors in cold weather.
Flying in the car
You may do fpv flights from inside your car. keeping your hands warm and cozy without the need for gloves. Flying from your automobile may significantly shorten your range and place you in a more constrained area, but it will also make flying in really cold weather more bearable.
One thing to keep in mind is how the radio signal gets to the drone. When you fly with the radio on your lap, a lot of signal is lost since it must go past the car’s engine to reach the drone. The signal won’t weaken as much, though, if it has to pass through the side door of the automobile. Initially, you might need to comprehend the range decrease you will experience, but after a few flights and some practice, you will have a solid sense of what works and what isn’t suitable for your specific situations.
If you fly from your automobile, you might want to do so to avoid landing and taking off in the snow. You might be able to jump out of your automobile from the hood or top, depending on your particular model. If your automobile has a motorized tailgate, you may land within it after setting it down until you land, pressing the button to open the tailgate. This is demonstrated in the video below.
Find lost models
Snow may seriously impair your radio signal and make it difficult to see where you’re going down if you crash in deep, soft snow. Use a separate buzzer device that will inform you when you crash to aid with this issue.
Extra 3D TPU parts and propellers
In general, when the temperature lowers, polymers become more fragile. In particularly cold flights, even TPU parts created via 3D printing might stiffen and shatter quickly. It’s the same with propellers. Carry extra TPU components and propellers if you can just in case. Also, I’ve observed that in colder weather, antenna tubes and props are more susceptible to breaking.
Field of view visibility issues
Please be aware that visibility may not be as good as usual in cold weather. This is particularly valid while circling closely over a level, snow-covered area. Flying in flat snow conditions, which typically occurs on gloomy days or while flying in the shadows, may be challenging to calculate your distance from the ground, just like when attempting to fly over a crystal clear lake. Flying on a clear day when the light casts some contrast or tiny shadows on the surface texture you are over might help to decrease this.
To help ensure a safe flight if you must fly in windy circumstances, stick by these suggestions
- Fly parallel to the wind. If you can’t, fly first upwind and then downwind in your direction.
- Be aware of your drone more than normal, especially when it is flying into the wind. Bring it home right away if you find it hard to maintain it level.
- When taking off and landing, exercise caution. While the wind is stronger the higher you go, it is also easier for your drone to veer off course while it is just off the ground or slowing down for a landing.
Set the camera’s parameters
Winter landscapes may be magnificent when photographed from above. However, this is predicated on the camera settings of your drone being set to a low temperature level.
To enhance the effectiveness of your shots.
- Increase exposure
The drone’s camera could inadvertently underexpose the scene due to the snowy surroundings. Set the exposure to zero or higher to compensate for the reflecting ground beneath. - White-balance adjustment
Adjust the white balance before flying the drone to ensure a clear, accurate image since the quantity of white in the frame may cause images to appear bluer than planned.
Preparing for your flight before going to the field makes sense. Your exposure to the cold can be cut down. In the end, you should reschedule your flight for one day if you believe the cold or bad weather is too much to control. Follow the a week weather report so you can change your flight’s departure date as soon as you become aware of impending severe weather.
