Good question. Maybe we need to ask a Canadian to respond as they fly all year round

 

In big helis 700-800 I would not expect troubles in -10 degrees Celsjus.

In 450 you can burn servo.

Probably all depends on what lubricant is used on servo gears. Some of them become solid in low temperature. Some probably do not.

Before you fly try if servo horns move without using excessive force.

It is my recommendation.

It is basen on my experience in low temperatures.

Been there done that.

Use common mind... be carefull.

Keep in mind in Australia our friends have spring now and pretty hot climate.

 

Thanks for the idea with the lubry. that is becoming solid at cold temperatures. Thats a good point! @utrinque

But whats with the gyro chipset?

 

I was using old good ZYX. It never failed on me even if weather was freezing cold.

Now I use VBar clones on almost all my helis and did not test them in cold weather yet except last Sunday. 700 was behaving normal in 7 degrees Centigrade.

Do not take it for granted. I am sure we are less immune to cold and wind than our FBL gyros...

 

My biggest problem with flying in the winter is my thumbs go numb before my timer goes off. I have sat in my warm truck while flying a few times. It worked ok but I didn't do much more than hovering and puttering around .

Someone told me it's better to get the gyro to outdoor temps before flying. Instead of going from a warm car to instantly flying in 5 degree weather. Not sure it makes a difference though

 

I have something interesting here:

Today I was flying my Rex 500 DFC pro which has the AR7200BX FBL unit on it.

As i gave power to the system the swashplate servos began to tweat.. Then I repeated the initialization process and it was gone. It was the same with every of four lipo packs i shooted today. In warm conditions this was never the case!

Servos are right but it seems that the FBL dont likes cold temps. I repeated the initialization a few hours later at my warm place. No problems at all.

Temperature was about 6 degrees C. My thumbs where cold as well but I dont feel my hands anyway when Im flying. I just do it..

However.. I was flying 3D and speed. The 500 performs good as allways.

Kind regards,

 

I used to have three beastX gyros. They were good but were sensitive to temperature variation - expecially that first flight. I used to spool and watch the swash plate very carefully. If it started to tilt or act weird, wait a bit and reset the heli. I don't know why but for me it was always that first pack that i had to be cautious of and expecially if it was colder.