Getting ready for winter survey season up here in Alaska. Temps will be -20F to +10F for the next few months. Running M350 with L2.
Last winter I had battery issues and some crashes due to motor problems in the cold. Looking for tips from others who fly in extreme conditions.
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Sign inKeep batteries warm until launch. I use a cooler with hand warmers - keeps them around 70F. Insert battery, launch immediately. Cold batteries lose capacity fast.
Also preheat the drone if it's been sitting in the cold. DJI has a battery preheat function, use it.
Watch your propellers for ice. Even light icing kills efficiency and can cause crashes. If there's any moisture in the air, it's risky. We've cancelled flights for light freezing fog that looked harmless.
For LiDAR specifically, let the sensor warm up before collecting data. Cold affects the calibration. We run 5 minutes of hovering before starting survey lines.