I am new to drones and just bought a Mini 2 SE. I see the specs say that the operating temperature range is 0ºC to 40ºC. I’m not too concerned about the heat but wondered about the cold. What cold temps do you guys fly in, without issues (beyond cold fingers anyway ). My flying season will be about the same as my motorcycle season, if I stick to above 0ºC.
I’m not sure how DJI determines the operating temperature limits for each model, but some do have different specified ranges. For example:
Mini 2 SE
Mini 4 Pro
Mavic 3 Pro
It’s possible that DJI’s standards have evolved over time and that they simply haven’t updated the ranges for older models like the Mini 2 SE.
That said, you should be fine flying in colder temperatures as long as you keep the batteries warm until you’re ready to use them. Just keep in mind that battery life depletes more quickly in the cold, so it’s best to play it safe and return to the home point with extra power to spare.
I grew up in Upstate New York and my motorcycles had studded snow tires and I Ice raced on the motorcycle… so my riding season lasted all year… L L . . .
I have seen many videos of pilots flying their drones just fine in subfreezing temperatures. The Big issue as far as yur drone is are the batteries. Keep them in an inside pocket so they are not exposed to the cold… The cold will affect flying time… Once the batteries are put in the drone and the drone is flying, the batteries start to heat up so the cold will not freeze a flying battery. The next issue is the controller display, the cold will make an LCD less responsive, requiring multiple touches… And if it is cold enough, the display will freeze and could even be permanently damamges…
Next, the cold affects you, the pilot… Be sure to use touch screen gloves so you are not constantly removing your gloves to select various options on the screen…
Be sure to use a landing pad. Snow landings are not good for the drone.
Now, go have fun!
I fly my Mav 3 at -30F and have gotten 15min at -40F. I don’t normally fly my small drones (Avata, Avata 2 or Mini 4 Pro) in those temps but don’t hesitate to fly them down to -10F. I keep them closer to home and don’t expect more than 10 or 12 min of flight time when it’s that cold but at 0F I hardly even think about it. I don’t have a Mini 2 SE but if the battery goes into a sleeve it can handle pretty low temps. My Avata2 battery goes into a sleeve and it does much better in cold temps than the original Avata whose battery is exposed directly. Down to 0F you hardly have to worry and if you cut your expected battery life time in half you’ll be just fine and then experience will tell you what you can get away with. If you get a battery warning about temperature, bring it back immediately :).
Nothing like getting the information first hand from an actual pilot… So much better than getting some factories predictive behavior based on their “contrived” conditions…
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