How Weather Impacts Commercial Drone Operation

A key aspect of commercial drone work is fully understanding how weather can impact equipment performance and safe operation. The aerial experts here at TAM have acquired that valuable expertise through many years of experience flying in highly varied weather conditions, not only in Northwest Ohio but all around the country.

Our clients frequently ask us how weather influences our ability to operate, so let’s take a look at the various elements, how they affect performance, and how we determine whether it’s safe to go aloft:

Wind

It would seem logical that drones are unable to operate when it’s windy, but we can fly successfully under relatively high sustained wind speeds when projects call for it and we’re more comfortable flying in windy conditions than many of our competitors are.

Sustained wind speed starts to become a safety issue for us at approximately 30mph. We postpone projects at higher wind speeds because the drone will either have to work excessively hard to make it back against the sustained headwind or will be unable to make progress against the wind at all.

Wind gusts are actually a bigger concern for us. Whereas our drones and pilots can compensate well for sustained winds, there’s no way to anticipate and plan for wind gusts. In gusty conditions, the drone software is constantly adjusting and playing catch-up, which results in reduced stability.

Rain and snow

Generally speaking, we keep most of our gear grounded when it’s raining. However, we do have one drone with an ingress protection (IP) rating of 43, which means that its internal components are protected against solid objects up to 1mm and sprays of water up to 60 degrees from the vertical. We can operate this unit with different imaging payloads in light rain when a client’s project can’t wait for another day.

We can also fly in light snow, but in that scenario, we have to be cognizant of how snow hitting hot components in the drone might impact its performance if it’s not rated for that type of exposure.

Temperature extremes

Sub-zero temperatures in winter and excessive heat in summer are not an impediment to flying, though both circumstances present certain operational challenges that must be taken into consideration.

In cold temperatures, the primary concern for drone pilots is battery management. Drone batteries—even today’s “smart batteries” that are supposed to be superior at monitoring their own status—are the most volatile part of any drone system and must be kept warm to ensure proper function when operating in low air temperatures.

Several of our drones are equipped with a warming function that prevents them from taking off until they’ve reached a sufficient operating temperature. We also make sure our drone batteries are properly warmed in the office before heading to a project site, and we keep extra batteries warming “on deck” in our vehicle on location.

Just as with flying manned aircraft, icing is another potential problem drone pilots must consider when operating in cold temperatures. Icing occurs when moisture in the air condenses and freezes on the drone, changing its weight and aerodynamic properties and potentially leading to motor overload failures and altered flight characteristics. In essence, ice buildup takes a perfectly balanced system and throws it out of balance.

When air temperatures soar, batteries are once again the weakest element in the system. As drone batteries heat up, they become unstable and can drop voltage without notice, so proper cooling becomes a priority at the higher end of the temperature spectrum. For this reason, we would never place an already-hot battery in a drone or on a charger without a proper cool-down period.

Yet another important consideration is the effect temperature has on air density. Simply put, air becomes less dense at higher temperatures and more dense at lower temperatures. Why does this matter? Because it means drones have to work much harder to maintain lift in hot air, which puts more strain on all the working components. We have ample experience flying drones in hot temperatures, but when we do, we have to keep all these factors in mind.

Mother Nature gets the last word

Whether we’re flying in wind, various forms of precipitation, or extreme air temperatures, TAM always puts safety first. We fully understand the limits and capabilities of our equipment, and if Mother Nature dishes out conditions that put safe operation at risk, she always gets the last word.