Top Tips for Drone Filming and Flying in the Rain
Drone pilot Stefanie Williams of Aerialworx has over 35 years flying experience. She has a passion for flying drones and has been flying these wonderful aircraft for almost ten years. She has a natural skill for flying a variety of drones ranging from FPV to complex aircraft in adverse weather conditions. She has flown drones in sub zero temperatures (down to -30’C) and in extreme heat (up to +45’C) in some wonderful locations around the world including the colder climates of Sweden, Norway, Austria and Iceland, the hotter climates of Morocco, Sahara, Peru and the most beautiful native North Wales.
Read Stef’s top tips for flying a drone in the rain.
Introduction
Operating a drone in the rain comes with its own challenges and is totally different to operating a drone in extreme cold, snow or even hale. Check out my other Top Tips Blogs and Videos for more great top tips and advice.
If you own a drone with the suitable IP (Ingress Protection) rating for flying in the rain, don’t worry… just head to the bottom of this page!
Can I fly my drone in the rain?
If you’re not sure of your IP rating, the chances are that your drone is not IP rated and the general answer to “Can I fly my drone in the rain?” is NO.
As a commercial drone operator with over ten years commercial experience, over forty drones within our fleet and offices in Manchester, Wales and Scotland, we often experience the worst of the UK weather and often get asked whether or not we can fly in the rain.
We often operate our drones in extreme and harsh environments, so have to push our drones to the limits, understand the capabilities of the drones and also all other implications.
We’ve spent countless hours testing all the different drones in different conditions and in different locations and pushing them to their limits. Our testing is rigorous and thorough, and one thing we’ve learnt which is common across the board with all the different branded drones is this… If your drone is not IP rated for flying in the rain, then please do not fly it in the rain, it will fail and it’s just a matter of time before it does. It could fail on your very first flight in the rain or some other future flight. Rain can cause electrical shortage, electrical corrosion, mechanical component corrosion or other electrical or mechanical failures.
Against our best judgement and recommendation, there have been times when we’ve been working on productions and decided that due to the conditions and location (e.g. big desserted beach or out at sea), that it would be safe to operate the drone in the rain. In every single case, we’ve encountered problems either immediately, later the same day or a few days later.
Depending upon where you’re flying, rain water can contain salt and this is when rainwater becomes dangerous and conductive and can very quickly short and/or corrode major and critical components within your drone. Just as one example, many drones today have exposed motors and these same motors have sensitive electronics directly below and if water ingress gets into this area, it’s will almost certainly lead to failure. The photo below shows a sensitive electronic circuit board directly below the motor of a DJI drone.
Can I fly in light rain?
Flying in very light misty rain is possible with a number of non-IP rated drones. As we know, rain comes in many sizes, shapes and form. We have everything from light misty rain to torrential rain with thunderstorms. This is all without even considering the wind. Given our experience, the only conditions that we will consider flying a non-IP rated drone in the rain, is when the rain is a light mist (spray like) conditions. If there are visible water droplets or signs of droplets landing in nearby pools of water, then the rain is too severe.
Drone flying in rain.
Other reasons we say NO!
DJI Drones and the Rain
The majority of commercial drone operators and recreational drone pilots in the UK own a DJI or similar branded drone. Virtually all of these consumer or prosumer drones have not been certified for operating in the rain and do not have an IP (Ingress Protection) rating. The manufacturers do not recommend you operating these drones in the rain.
DJI’s official statement is that none of their drones should be flown in the rain unless they are from the Enterprise Range or have an appropriate IP (Ingress Protection) rating.
The DJI drones which have this IP rating are the Matrice range of drones and the Agri (Agricultural) drones. All other DJI drones including the DJi Mini’s, Mavic’s, Phantom’s and Inspire’s are not IP rated and not certified for operations in the rain.
The CAA (Civil Aviation Authority)
The CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) who control the airspace in the UK and govern the regulations and laws, advice that only appropriately certified and IP rated drones are flown in inclement weather. They also prohibit usage of a drone in a way which is not recommended by the manufacturer.
The PLI (Public Liability Insurance)
As a commercial or recreational drone pilot, you should have a PLI insurance policy. The majority of these standard PLI policies do not cover the operations of a drone in the rain or in a way which is not recommended by the manufacturer. There are specialist PLI insurance policies for IP rated drones and drones which can be flown in the rain.
I have an IP rated drone for flying in the rain.
If you’re one of the lucky people who owns an IP certified drone, then you’re okay to fly in the rain, but please do make sure that your insurance covers you for operations in the rain and that you’re operating with reduced capabilities to maintain your safety parameters. Thanks again for reading my blogs.
Stef x
