Tips For Flying a Drone in the Winter and Extreme Cold

If you are new to flying drones you might be wondering if you can fly your drone in the winter. Or perhaps if it is really cold outside. How about if there is light snow, can you still fly your drone. In this video, I try to answer all your questions and offer some tips about flying a drone in the winter, in snow, and in extreme cold. It is ok to do but there are some extra precautions you should take to ensure a safe and successful winter drone flight. Tips for flying drones such as the DJI Mini 3, Mini 3 Pro, DJI Air 2S, Mavic 3, and even the DJI Avata in the snow, cold, and winter conditions.
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[@sztiriztaznyisztiricsmorri3612]

A very important tip in the cold, that you unfold the arms while being in warm, and DONT fold in cold weather, as it may cause damage to the cables!

[@JainoCMathew]

thats a good point

[@offbeatwarble]

Pop the drone in a sealed plastic bag before taking it back indoors or in the car, once it's up to ambient temp remove it, saves condensation buildup on gimbal and circuit boards

[@rappy90]

One thing a lot of drone reviews of the mini 3/4 models is the ability to operate in below freezing compared to the earlier minis

[@joestrahl6980]

Thanks for your tips! I am an occassional drone flyer in southern Sweden. My mini 2 works fine down to about -5C if it gets a little colder it becomes sluggish. Never had any problems with ice build up on propellers because when it gets cold enough here it is also often dry. Best of Shawn's tips (unclear if I spelled your name correctly!) is storing batteries in inner pockets. I could also add: put your used batteries in inner pockets as well to limit temperature shifts when going back in doors.

[@richiet6381]

I just got back from Anchorage about a week ago… It was -21°F. My batteries were warm but maybe not warm enough… As soon as it took off, my drone started shuttering I checked by doing it again, and the same thing happened as soon as I got back to warmer weather flew perfectly. I think it was just too cold for it which is a bummer because it was beautiful.

[@robertbdrone6835]

Great video appreciate all the information

[@skycam509]

Thanks for the informative video. Here's an additional tip from personal experience: If you have gloves that allow you to fold the tips of the index finger and thumb back to expose them for more precise control, check to see if they have magnets in them to help hold those flaps back out of the way. I couldn't get my compass to calibrate one time after a few tries, and realized those magnets were probably messing with the compass. As soon as I tried it without the gloves on, it calibrated normally.

[@AirPhotography]

Great tip. Thanks for sharing

[@georgekelly1948]

Great advice, Shawn. Thanks and cheers from Wisconsin.

[@Bisonmaczr2]

Excellent content. Thank you

[@RonaldBrown59]

I don’t often fly in extreme weather conditions, but if I do, I will follow your tips. Great video Shawn, and thanks for sharing.

[@oscarcanelo6262]

Thank you so much, love your videos,always wonderful information, keep up the good work! Cheers from Albuquerque,NM USA.

[@DKHD176]

You always take such great shots of London. I even spotted my neighbourhood once!

[@acemannw]

Another thing when it is snowing is I keep the drone in the trunk of my car this keeps the drone and camera below the freezing temps so snow does not stick or melt on contact with my drone. Also help my props from icing due to them being already cold.

[@StephanieFerrante_]

Hey. I cannot wait to get my drone out today. I enjoyed the video. Thanks for the content and hard work.

[@ElevationDronePro]

Video tutorials do not come any better than this amazing video! Nothing flashy and showy. Just clear and concise information. I cannot thank you enough! Keep up the great work!

[@AirPhotography]

Wow, thanks!

[@lynsmith1096]

Good tips Shawn

[@Caldor101]

I love the tip to stay in your warm car from the video.

[@AirPhotography]

Indeed. Makes for a much more enjoyable winter flight. Lol.

[@chriswedgworth]

Great job 👏

[@michaelpoczynek]

Coffee from Tim Hortons in Canada of course. Good info thanks very much. Happy Holidays! 😀

[@vonheise]

I watch a Canadian cold weather camper who uses a drone and he uses gloves that have no finger tips on them, so I got a pair and they work great. You will get cold fingers over time, however, they still work well if you manage your time.

[@HebrewNomadOverlander]

Nope I always place my extra batteries in my tactical jacket pocket with 1 or 2 hand-warmers. My hand-warmers work up to 8 hours if properly sealed in a closed space. Works like a charm

[@martinstreasurehunting]

Sounds like common sense to me EH! Cheers from Halifax.

[@derekdunn9643]

Before Christmas, we had some snow, but also winds gusting in excess of 40+ mph, coupled with temps that were below 0 or in single digits. Didn't take the drone out in that kind of weather. Think I'll wait for warmer weather.

[@majorbrighton]

Nice sky at the end. Thanks for the tips. I´m a past drone user, yet had a break from them. Now using a dji air 3 I'm thinking about when I was taking more photography and how back then, it was good practice to have a plastic bag (large one) outside with you, putting your camera inside, meant it and metal parts heated up slowly. If not then you will have issues with internal condense. It´s just a simple tip, yet it depends on just how cold your drone gets I guess. Thanks for the video.

[@gimpman1357]

My hands’ tolerance for cold is the biggest limiting factor for flying on cold days. I won’t fly when temperatures are below 5 C or 40 F and winds above 10km or 6 mph. Wind chill kills. PS. Winter time is for toy quadcopter indoor flying. I have 20 to choose from.

[@Jo77We]

Ant tips on ND-filter? Snowy landscapes are bright, but what ND-filter is good?

[@dennisbrooks240]

Check out Hex Armor cut proof gloves for hand launch and hand catch. Do wear a heavy coat to protect your arms. Merry Christmas!

[@billmckim532]

I flew over the ocean yesterday 8 degrees Fahrenheit, no issues

[@PtolemyCeasar]

I never fly in winter, DJI is an excellent company and i follow there best practises.

[@nedcook2]

Can you provide links to the landing mat and the gloves?

[@WaterfallWhispering]

That’s what dji insurance is for!!! 😂

[@lensinfield2591]

I did a five minute flight at -32c with my mini 2 without any problems. Battery was at 17 degrees after the flight. I was most concerned about possible blade failure.

[@joekaspar8004]

I fly the mini2 few days ago in montreal which was -20 and drone just fell out of the sky like a dead bird, luckily the snow was deep enough that took all the impact, battery was warm before flying prop were in good condition, what happened i believe for the mini2 the gimbal flex cable have the compass module got frozen, even tho was 12 minutes flight

[@SniperPFL]

I'm in Montréal too, will have to wait until it warms up to start flying =)

[@DanielBerke]

Not quite Canada-level cold weather, but I was flying my drone yesterday at about 10,000 feet in Hawaii and noticed a bit of degradation in my image quality; when my drone got back I noticed there was a bit of condensation build-up on the camera lens (it's a Mini 3 Pro). Any tips on how to avoid that? (The clouds _were_ starting to come in at about that height while I was flying, so maybe it's as simple as "don't fly while the clouds are coming in at altitude where it's colder"… 😄)

[@rikysupercharged6522]

It’s a common issue among mini 3 pros. The camera lens can be dismounted and cleaned. There are videos on how to do that 😉

[@rubengarciajr7560]

I’ve heard the gimbal motors tend to get stiff and throw a gimbal motor stuck error.

[@AirPhotography]

I fly quite a bit in the winter and cold temperatures and I’ve never had that problem myself. But I have read of others experiencing similar problems. I think it is rare. One thing that can happen is the rubber dampeners that are attached to the gimbal to help prevent vibrations and Jell-O get a little stiffer in cold weather and don’t offer as much antivibration so you could get some Jell-O in the video on extremely cold days

[@washviewphotography3211]

Could someone please answer why my sd card says low speed please I have a extrem A2 128 gig in the mavric 3 mini 3 and a 64 gig in the R1 controller Many thanks Steve

[@sutv6754]

Try another card. That doesn’t sound right. I try another card.

[@sutv6754]

Try another card. That card should work. Perhaps defective

[@MollAs97]

when i go to take video in cold the camera blurs. is there a solution for this problem? is this an industrial problem?

[@AirPhotography]

What drone are you flying? I know sometimes if it’s really cold the dampeners that reduce vibration in the gimbal can get a little stiff and cause Jell-O. I usually get this with my Autel drones on extremely cold days

[@MollAs97]

@@AirPhotography DJI mini 3 pro

[@dylancleveland]

probably condensation.

[@kamikazekaos]

Stay indoors 😎

[@goktur]

And use SimuDrone :)

[@londenard]

What do you know about cold weather in Canada? Hmmm? Hahaha!

[@JosyBanks]

Just ripped up Big Cottonwood Canyon here in SLC and was having so much fun flying in the snow which is how I got here...as I then though...hey maybe you should just do that without knowing some more about it! Thanks and Aloha!

[@AirPhotography]

That is awesome!