How does extreme cold weather and altitude affect multicopters

[nws]

Hello, First off I want to say that this forum has been a great venue for me to learn since I am new to the RC/multirotor world. I live in a fairly mild climate at sea level. This winter I will be traveling for work and I will have my Droidworx AD6 Heavylift with me. I will be flying it with about a 3 pound payload. I'm wondering if anyone out there has experience flying in cold weather and what this will do to the performance of my craft i.e. battery life. Also, when I am flying at a higher altitudes in the mountains, say 7000-9000 feet I'm wondering if there will be a decrease in what the AD6 can carry.
Thanks for your time

 

[Droider]

The coldest I have flown in was -16ºc last winter.. expect seriously reduced flight times.. Keep your batteries down your pants and make sure your copter is well acclimatised.. At altitude its going to have to work a lot harder.. I know from experience flying in real helicopters that altitude is a problem.. like over 13000/14000ft at higher altitudes every ounce counts. With MR I would expect no difference. I would guess that you will notice a difference in performance at 9000 ft with your MR.. I would be interested to know your experiences when you fly there.. where you off to?

Oh and by the way welcome to MRF.. What is your set up? FC etc.

Dave

 

[baker55]

Dave is right as long as you keep you batteries warm your times will be extended. I don't know about altitude the guys at Quadrocopter.us are at a higher elevation they may be able to answer your question. I have flown in -30c temps and other than very uncomfortable on the fingers my flight time are only slightly lower than in summer. Shaun

 

[baker55]

With a good quality lipo what is the lifespan that one can expect? Before noticable drop in flight time. Shaun

 

[Bartman]

this is an interesting topic....does warming the batteries before flying really help? I was out this week flying and it was mid forties in the morning. the battery monitors would chirp like crazy and then a minute or two into the flight they'd quiet down. I assumed the batteries were warming as they were being used and that made the chirping stop. on the other hand, charging them outside in the chilly air seemed to make then take a lot longer.

 

[nemorov]

Any updates on peoples experiences of flying in Arctic conditions.
I have a filming job on the arctic sea ice early next year and I'm considering taking my multirotor along for some added value.

Expecting temperatures down to -30c.
Airframe is carbon fiber and aluminium ( bare metal covered to prevent sticking to skin ) , no plastic parts apart from DJI flight controller cases.

Do you guys use any heater packs on your batteries during flight or do you just pre warm the packs before flight and reply on the batteries generating their own heat during flight?
Any problems with radio batteries?

Any problems with wiring cracking? I'm guessing because non of the wires are moving this shouldnt be a problem?

Any other advice gratefully accepted.

Thanks

gavin

www.gavinnewman.com


Anybody used a Zenmuse in serious arctic conditions?