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Flying in the rain?

BenDisinger

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I’m curious to learn if anybody here flies their Evo II when it’s raining. I’m new to drones and I’m not sure if it’s smart to fly when there is precipitation. The Evo has been great in the wind, but I usually bring it down if there are any sprinkles. Am I being too cautious?
 
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I’m curious to learn if anybody here flies their Evo II when it’s raining. I’m new to drones and I’m not sure if it’s smart to fly when there is precipitation. The Evo has been great in the wind, but I usually bring it down if there are any sprinkles. Am I being too cautious?
Your drone is covered in air vents that not only let cool air in, but also water.

Your drone is not waterproof.

Don't do it.
 
I’m curious to learn if anybody here flies their Evo II when it’s raining. I’m new to drones and I’m not sure if it’s smart to fly when there is precipitation. The Evo has been great in the wind, but I usually bring it down if there are any sprinkles. Am I being too cautious?

Not even close to worth it, Not only will you almost certainly lose the drone...but the footage won't even be worth filming. Drone cameras cannot see rain drops and all you will film is dark gray skies unless it is really pouring down at which point you will lose the drone faster. Snow is a different story but that's still risking the drone.
 
I’m curious to learn if anybody here flies their Evo II when it’s raining. I’m new to drones and I’m not sure if it’s smart to fly when there is precipitation. The Evo has been great in the wind, but I usually bring it down if there are any sprinkles. Am I being too cautious?

The EVO 2 is a beast in the Rain if you have the Wet Suit which Protects the Battery and the Power Button.
Most People ,, just talk from Fear Based dogma , the Same as was once on the DJI forum but now after thousands of Wet Suits sold , not so much... :) Were talking Mavic 2 :pPhantom 3 / 4 : AIR 2 : AIR 2S: even the Mini 2 and Mavic Pro can now all fly in the pouring Rain. One thing you can notice right away in the DJI forum are those flying in the storm to capture it... as many have the Wet Suits.


For instance most do not know that The Motors on the EVO 2 are Aluminum Brush less motors designed to negotiate water so well that these are the same Motors used in Submersible Drones.

So the Weak Link in the EVO 2 is the Power Button and the Battery and the Sensors. and Vents Thus the Wet Suit Was engineered to enhance those area making if fully capable to fly in the pouring Rain. Used by Search and Rescue Teams all over the world.



One of the problems we had with the Evo 2 was how easy it was to hit the Power Button so we gave it some extra love so that would not happen and we sealed it Air Tight.

We have posted over 225 videos and climbing on our website
Phantomrain.org


View attachment P1002607.JPG


IMG_9742.jpeg
 
Not even close to worth it, Not only will you almost certainly lose the drone...but the footage won't even be worth filming. Drone cameras cannot see rain drops and all you will film is dark gray skies unless it is really pouring down at which point you will lose the drone faster. Snow is a different story but that's still risking the drone.
You can get an occasional rain drops on the lens , but as someone that has flown now hundreds of flights in the rain, the drops do not stay on the lens , they fall off rather easily . You can see this in many of our videos where we submerge the drone in the water and the drops our gone off the lens.

Sometimes when your flying , you can drop the camera lens down quickly to release the drops

Here is a great example of how that works: We have over 225 videos but this one is fun.

Gear to fly your EVO 2 in the Pouring Rain.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your EVO 2 in the Pouring Rain.

 
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<SNIP>
Most People ,, just talk from Fear Based dogma ,</SNIP>
...while some use a valid concern, from an inexperienced member concerning the safe use of the Evo II, to make a sales pitch. Also, talking down to your potential audience is rarely effective.

Now, to actually answer the OPs question... no you are not being too cautious.

I would take a look at what PhantomRain has to offer, and decide if you intend to regularly fly under those conditions. If so, their products could be well worth it. But if you are planning just to fly recreationally, that level of protection can easily be obtained by checking weather forecasts.
 
...while some use a valid concern, from an inexperienced member concerning the safe use of the Evo II, to make a sales pitch. Also, talking down to your potential audience is rarely effective.

Now, to actually answer the OPs question... no you are not being too cautious.

I would take a look at what PhantomRain has to offer, and decide if you intend to regularly fly under those conditions. If so, their products could be well worth it. But if you are planning just to fly recreationally, that level of protection can easily be obtained by checking weather forecasts.
Noted, I did miss the OP was new to flying so you make a good point.

But the EVO 2 is one of the better drones to fly in the rain because of its unique design. So being cautious is always good but I would not panic with an EVO 2 caught in the rain, should hold up pretty well compared to other DJI drones.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your EVO 2 in the Pouring Rain.
 
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...while some use a valid concern, from an inexperienced member concerning the safe use of the Evo II, to make a sales pitch. Also, talking down to your potential audience is rarely effective.

Now, to actually answer the OPs question... no you are not being too cautious.

I would take a look at what PhantomRain has to offer, and decide if you intend to regularly fly under those conditions. If so, their products could be well worth it. But if you are planning just to fly recreationally, that level of protection can easily be obtained by checking weather forecasts.

I know for the work I do I've never needed to fly in the rain nor attempted to. @phantomrain.org's footage was pretty cool especially with the sun backlighting the raindrops, but my clients tend to want the best light possible on sunny days or clear nights which is fine with me. I can imagine maybe shooting some rain scenes for a music video but its rare in FL to get the sunlit backlighting to achieve the proper visual effect and without it the footage loses much of its appeal to me.
 
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Noted, I did miss the OP was new to flying so you make a good point.

But the EVO 2 is one of the better drones to fly in the rain because of its unique design. So being cautious is always good but I would not panic with an EVO 2 caught in the rain, should hold up pretty well compared to other DJI drones.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your EVO 2 in the Pouring Rain.

@phantomrain.org, I want to thank you for that reply... it shows a lot about your company, to be able to take a step back and re-evaluate a posting, in terms of what is truly serving your customer base.
 
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I know for the work I do I've never needed to fly in the rain nor attempted to. @phantomrain.org's footage was pretty cool especially with the sun backlighting the raindrops, but my clients tend to want the best light possible on sunny days or clear nights which is fine with me. I can imagine maybe shooting some rain scenes for a music video but its rare in FL to get the sunlit backlighting to achieve the proper visual effect and without it the footage loses much of its appeal to me.

The idea for most of us that Fly in the Rain is either Search and Rescue or as a hobbyist capturing the Storm Pictures.

To do that you need to be able to negotiate the rain that comes with that.

last night we had sheets or Rain that were coming down , but what was happening over the lake was something I had never seen before. I used up 8 Batteries and all my drones to keep up with the changing sky. Shot over 100 Large Size Panos , not all of them came out because of the Rain but many of them made it.

That is the Adventure for most of us , and just to do it as safely as possible , that is where the Wet Suit enhances the safety of the Drone.

Here is 1 of 100 pano Pictures i captured , I had never ever seen the sky go Purple ever. No editing.
This was the Pull back shot from the lake after being in the Rain for hours. For me this is the Adventure .

You can see the Thread in the DJI Forum as i continue to post pictures. Dragon Skies .
I shot with all the drones , the Mini 2 was the only one that failed it was just to much wind. .

The adventure is there for the taking , for those that have the EVO 2.

screenshot_349.png
 
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I got caught yesterday flying in rain. Where I was at upon lift off , all was clear, however, as I flew a bit away from my location, I was caught by a rain cloud. Not much , but enough to make me wonder, will my Bella be ok? Brought her back, with no issues. Dried up the arms and the suit with a small towel I always carry and waited till the clouds passed. Btw, I’m in Kissimmee Fl. Happy I had the wetsuit. It’s like having insurance. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. ?
 

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I got caught yesterday flying in rain. Where I was at upon lift off , all was clear, however, as I flew a bit away from my location, I was caught by a rain cloud. Not much , but enough to make me wonder, will my Bella be ok? Brought her back, with no issues. Dried up the arms and the suit with a small towel I always carry and waited till the clouds passed. Btw, I’m in Kissimmee Fl. Happy I had the wetsuit. It’s like having insurance. Better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it. ?
Sometimes just knowing you do not have to panic when it rains is priceless and your battery is safe from being compromised. Cannot wait for your first Storm picture. :p i feel its coming.

I captured this last night at 1:30 am it was heat lightning and light rain. I have yet to capture the Lightning in a PANO , but I keep trying .

DJI_0616-1-2.jpg




Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your EVO 2 in the Rain.
 
You can get an occasional rain drops on the lens , but as someone that has flown now hundreds of flights in the rain, the drops do not stay on the lens , they fall off rather easily . You can see this in many of our videos where we submerge the drone in the water and the drops our gone off the lens.

Sometimes when your flying , you can drop the camera lens down quickly to release the drops

Here is a great example of how that works: We have over 225 videos but this one is fun.

Gear to fly your EVO 2 in the Pouring Rain.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your EVO 2 in the Pouring Rain.

You can use rainx on the lens...it should help, I also use it on my vehicles and literally do not used my wipers!
 
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