Old Man Winter Cometh - Cold Weather Flying

[Trox]

OK, yep, I'm aware of the "specs" that Autel posts for the EVO, its components and the control mechanisms. But its not a perfect world out there and if you stuck to the specs in my case I would be grounded over half the year.

This morning I had first frost of the Fall on the roof at 26°F. Zucchini plants are laying flat on the ground today and the birch trees are beginning to trigger their leaf drop. As one living in Alaska it won't be that far off before my regional climatic flight restrictions of temperature kick in to ground me for a majority of the winter. But I do intend to fly in cold weather and most likely I will exceed the parameters that Autel has listed, at least with a cautionary approach of a little bit at a time.

Since half of the USA and all of Canada have sub-freezing weather in winter I'm sure there are brave pilots out there that have pushed the envelope when flying outdoors. How cold have you winter pilots frequently and successfully flown in? With Climate Change more pronounced in the Arctic than anywhere else on the planet, its a given that we here in the Last Frontier will have brief bouts of above freezing weather fronts throughout our winter. And often very moderate temps from 10°F to 30°F during each month. Yeah it does hit -30°F too.

 

[butch]

Well Trox, I have flown in temps as low as 40 F. The only thing I had to worry about was early morning frost on the wings. I only had a private lic. for single engine prop and flew VFR only. That was waaaay back yonder in the 80s. We didn't worry so much about below 0 as we did above 100.

 

[HiloHawaiian]

I’ve only flown my XSP down to 34F, no wind, and it was fine. I wasn't, LOL. Polar explorer Agustine mentioned warming Lipos with the car heater driving to his winter flights. I tried that, and it worked well. Keeping spare batteries inside your jacket helped too...

From my experience, the LCD’s, OLED’s and batteries on still/video cameras get iffy when you get below zero. Wind-chill factors-in as well. You can shield still/video cameras from wind, but obviously not drones...

I shot Proton rocket launches in Kazakhstan in winter (using acoustic triggers). Protons are built to launch in very cold weather, only my Alkaline AA-powered film-based Nikon F3’s & 4’s worked below zero, and lower than -20F nothing worked. I rigged-up light bulb heaters in enclosures which worked down to -40F windchill, but the truck batteries powering them where iffy. Nikon & Canon only “guarantee” their high-end DSLR’s to work down to 32F, but I tried a D5 in one of these “heated” enclosures at -15F, and it worked.

 

[Trox]

Thanks for your experiences. In looking over the camera exposure specs with an ISO up to 3200 and as I recall a shutter speed down to 8 seconds, that should more than adequately meet my needs for taking stills of the Northern Lights this winter. I've shot some good pics with my DSLR that only had a max of ISO 1600 and was quite impressed with the amateur results. The EVO seems to hover quite stable from what I have experienced so I'd like to give the Aurora a shot this winter. Composition of the frame is everything for impressive Northern Lights photos and with a drone you can get those trees, cabins, and mountains organized so much better in the frame than on the ground on a tripod.

I don't plan on flying in temps any colder than 10°F unless there was some sort of spectacular money shot that demanded taking it out at lower temps. But that would be rare. Ice fishing, snowmobiling, X-Country skiing and the like are all activities I want to shoot with the added heavenly twist when appropriate. I've seen a number of YT vids flying drones after a passing snow storm, or winter scenery so I know it can be done. Just don't know about any wear and tear on the gear that is not obvious.

BTW, a major weather event is heading down from Canada. Says western Montana could get hit with up to 50 inches of snow. Even snow reaching Lake Tahoe and Denver. Batten down the hatches there is an arctic blast coming to kick off the season it appears.

 

[HiloHawaiian]

Thanks for your experiences. In looking over the camera exposure specs with an ISO up to 3200 and as I recall a shutter speed down to 8 seconds, that should more than adequately meet my needs for taking stills of the Northern Lights this winter. I've shot some good pics with my DSLR that only had a max of ISO 1600 and was quite impressed with the amateur results. The EVO seems to hover quite stable from what I have experienced so I'd like to give the Aurora a shot this winter. Composition of the frame is everything for impressive Northern Lights photos and with a drone you can get those trees, cabins, and mountains organized so much better in the frame than on the ground on a tripod.

I don't plan on flying in temps any colder than 10°F unless there was some sort of spectacular money shot that demanded taking it out at lower temps. But that would be rare. Ice fishing, snowmobiling, X-Country skiing and the like are all activities I want to shoot with the added heavenly twist when appropriate. I've seen a number of YT vids flying drones after a passing snow storm, or winter scenery so I know it can be done. Just don't know about any wear and tear on the gear that is not obvious.

BTW, a major weather event is heading down from Canada. Says western Montana could get hit with up to 50 inches of snow. Even snow reaching Lake Tahoe and Denver. Batten down the hatches there is an arctic blast coming to kick off the season it appears.

I’ve been to Glacier NP a few times, once in mid-Oct., it snowed heavily!! But was still gorgeous...

 

[Trox]

Many of us here in Alaska monitor the U of AK Auroral Forecast as a guide to when it might be appropriate to brave the cold and get outside to view nature's Light Show.

As I just checked the forecast we are in a very high index level of 6 out of 10 which means a very strong potential display that will be visible throughout all of Alaska, all of Canada and extending all the way down through Montana, the Dakotas, the upper midwest states and Maine. This posted map of potential Northern Lights visibility is for today September 27th, 2019. It changes from day to day according to how much solar activity is occurring.


For those EVO pilots in the northern latitudes interested in viewing the Aurora Borealis and maybe trying your hand at snapping a few pics you can visit the forecast site for daily references.

Aurora Borealis Forecast for Planet Earth

Looks like maybe tonight will be my first test....providing we don't end up with clouds or overcast. But Canada should get a good show if you are in the clear!

 

[HiloHawaiian]

Many of us here in Alaska monitor the U of AK Auroral Forecast as a guide to when it might be appropriate to brave the cold and get outside to view nature's Light Show.

As I just checked the forecast we are in a very high index level of 6 out of 10 which means a very strong potential display that will be visible throughout all of Alaska, all of Canada and extending all the way down through Montana, the Dakotas, the upper midwest states and Maine. This posted map of potential Northern Lights visibility is for today September 27th, 2019. It changes from day to day according to how much solar activity is occurring.

View attachment 5233
For those EVO pilots in the northern latitudes interested in viewing the Aurora Borealis and maybe trying your hand at snapping a few pics you can visit the forecast site for daily references.

Aurora Borealis Forecast for Planet Earth

Looks like maybe tonight will be my first test....providing we don't end up with clouds or overcast. But Canada should get a good show if you are in the clear!

Cool, lucky, I’d love to see it. I’d sure try to fly in it myself. If I had finished unpacking all my drone stuff and charged a few batterie, I’d have tried to fly in the lightning.