Fly your drone in the snow like a pro with these five expert tips

It’s already March, but it seems like the winter will never end. You’ve had enough of the cold and just want to pretend it’s not there, so you’ve packed up your gear, and you’re planning to go out and take some shots with your drone.

But hey, just because you can ignore the cold and the snow, it doesn’t mean your drone can. You still need to ensure both of you are safe, warm, and getting the best possible shots. In this video, Jake Sloan will give you five great tips for doing it and getting the best out of flying your drone in the snow.

1. Let your drone acclimate: if you start flying straight out of your car or home, the snow that touches your drone will instantly melt and create a lot of moisture, which will then turn into ice on your drone’s body. To avoid this, just let your drone sit in the outside temperature for a bit before you start flying.
2. Keep spare batteries warm: the acclimation tip works for the drone, but not for the batteries. To make the most out of them, you need to keep them warm. If you’re near your car, just leave them in there until you need them. If you’re hiking with the drone, keep the batteries in your trousers’ pocket so that they’re close to your body. You can also keep them in the jacket pockets and use hand warmers to keep them nice and toasty.
3. Use proper gloves: when flying a drone in the snow, your hands will get cold really quickly. It makes it really difficult to control the drone, so you need to make sure to use proper gloves. Something like this will keep your hands warm, and just allow you to reveal your index finger and thumb if you need a tactile feel of the controller.
4. Don’t take off and land on the ground: when it’s snowing, you don’t want to take off or land on the ground. This will make the snow fly all over the place, covering your drone and its camera. Instead, let the drone take off from your hand and catch it when you land it. If you want to take off or land on the ground, get yourself a landing pad, or just use your backpack.
5. Fly backwards or sideways: this is something that didn’t cross my mind, but it makes perfect sense. When it’s snowing, flying your drone forwards will have the snow stuck onto your camera lens as soon as you take off. To minimize this and kep your camera as clean as possible, fly your drone backwards or sideways.

There you go. Now you’re ready to fly your drone in the snow and get some neat aerial shots!

[5 Tips For Flying Drones in Snow, Winter and Cold Weather via FStoppers]