Overall and thinking about the way you use your drone, what limits how much of your drone's battery you use in a given flight?

[Yorkshire_Pud]

The question is prompted by a thread in here where a drone was suggested based on the flight endurance of the battery.

That made me wonder when out for what people consider the reason for flying a drone in any given flight how much of the battery do you use in that flight?
1) If, for example, you were going out to simply fly I suppose most people will fly the drone until the drone's battery charge level reaches what the pilot considers to be the minimum safe charge level.
2) If you have gone out to get a specific view or capture a specific video or photograph do you, after having got that, simply fly around until the charge reaches your safety level or do you land and either pack up for the day or seek other locations to view etc.?
3) If you wish to 'explore' a location from an 'unusual' perspective, or "see what's out there", then I can imagine you would use all the available endurance as in no 1).

 

[maggior]

Initially I would fly mostly to explore areas and shoot video. I would use up the entire battery and fly all 3 of my batteries.

Now I fly more to take pictures. I still explore but spend a lot of my flight trying to get the best angle or taking many angles to figure out what worked best later on. I still use up the entire battery.

What is different now is that I won't fly all of my batteries at a single location. I may just fly one and then go somewhere else. Or I may just fly that single battery.

I recently upgraded to an A2S from a MA2 and was a bit dismayed by the shorter flight time. I adjusted though and now find the flight time sufficient. If I want more shots, I just fly an additional battery.

 

[old man mavic]

regardless of what my reasons for a given flight are ,i personally like to be on the ground with 40% charge remaining,i would if circumstances required it ,such as not being able to land as planned for some reason out of my control, let the remaining charge go lower ,to say 30% ,but i dont think during all my hundreds of flights, with any of my drones ,have i gone below 30% and it works for me ,so i will continue to do so ,guess i have tempted fate now with that statement

 

[retiredNH]

Most of my flights are relatively short - 5 to 10 minutes. I'm usually capturing a specific location, not just generally exploring. I also live in an area with lots of terrain, heavily forested, and tall trees, so VLOS is very important and it limits how far and how long I fly.

 

[TwoSticks]

Last weekend for example. Water levels are low so I went to an old marina to get pictures of boats that are now out of the water. I used about 60% of the battery before moving to the next location. I swapped batteries because no use in sending the drone out with 40% left knowing I needed more. I used all but 20% of the second battery. Used the 3rd to about 70% and was done. I wont charge them again until tonight to be ready for tomorrow.

 

[lensimages]

The question is prompted by a thread in here where a drone was suggested based on the flight endurance of the battery.

That made me wonder when out for what people consider the reason for flying a drone in any given flight how much of the battery do you use in that flight?
1) If, for example, you were going out to simply fly I suppose most people will fly the drone until the drone's battery charge level reaches what the pilot considers to be the minimum safe charge level.
2) If you have gone out to get a specific view or capture a specific video or photograph do you, after having got that, simply fly around until the charge reaches your safety level or do you land and either pack up for the day or seek other locations to view etc.?
3) If you wish to 'explore' a location from an 'unusual' perspective, or "see what's out there", then I can imagine you would use all the available endurance as in no 1).

I know where I am going to fly , normally two different locations, I love Castles and Forts, I normally plan my flights with Google Maps, then on arrival I take the images I want and then fly around until battery is depleted to a safe level. Same then at my second location. So I leave home with 3 fully charged batteries, and come home with 3 Batteries at a safe storage level. The third battery I use up in the nearest pub having a meal whilst images are downloading to my iPad, cheers Len

 

[retiredNH]

I carry a charger in the car so I can charge a battery as I go from place to place.

 

[edfrombama]

Good afternoon to all-

Despite my favoring long-distance flying, I try to never run batteries down too low. I get nervous when i approach 20% battery left, and last week when I came in with "critical low battery" warnings going off, I was most uneasy.. I like to come home with at least 30 % battery left.

you all be safe and keep well- Ed

 

[Solsearcher]

I generally start to worry at about 30% and bring it home then. A couple months ago I was flying the M3P up my lake a bit. I started getting critical battery warnings and began to bring it home (it wasn't THAT far away). For whatever reason the particular battery I was using dropped from 30% to 10% in no time, and it was auto-landing where it was over the water!!! I somehow coaxed it towards shore (showing 0%) and thankfully it landed a couple cottages over from me only a few feet from the water, and with no damage. Note to self...up the caution percentage to 40%!!!!

 

[DSRT_VLTR]

My usual piloting ground is Tonto National Forest USA in the Sonoran Desert. My two greatest challenges are uneven terrain & random power lines. 56 flights with a Mini 2 has taught me that my max one-way distance @ <30m altitude in light winds, should be 1km. I fly back 'home' when my battery is between 30%-40%.

 

[YVRGUY]

I generally start to worry at about 30% and bring it home then. A couple months ago I was flying the M3P up my lake a bit. I started getting critical battery warnings and began to bring it home (it wasn't THAT far away). For whatever reason the particular battery I was using dropped from 30% to 10% in no time, and it was dropping where it was over the water to land!!! I somehow coaxed it towards shore and thankfully it landed a couple cottages over from me a few feet from the water, and with no damage. Note to self...up the caution percentage to 40%!!!!

I’d check that battery out. If it’s a …put it out of service and continue at 30 % to begin RTH.

 

[Lets Fly]

The question is prompted by a thread in here where a drone was suggested based on the flight endurance of the battery.

That made me wonder when out for what people consider the reason for flying a drone in any given flight how much of the battery do you use in that flight?
1) If, for example, you were going out to simply fly I suppose most people will fly the drone until the drone's battery charge level reaches what the pilot considers to be the minimum safe charge level.
2) If you have gone out to get a specific view or capture a specific video or photograph do you, after having got that, simply fly around until the charge reaches your safety level or do you land and either pack up for the day or seek other locations to view etc.?
3) If you wish to 'explore' a location from an 'unusual' perspective, or "see what's out there", then I can imagine you would use all the available endurance as in no 1).

I set my warning at 25%, when it starts dinging I come back.

 

[Solsearcher]

I’d check that battery out. If it’s a …put it out of service and continue at 30 % to begin RTH.

Colour me daft...I had to look up where "Steveston" was!...Bc...cool.

 

[Ty Pilot]

The question is prompted by a thread in here where a drone was suggested based on the flight endurance of the battery.

That made me wonder when out for what people consider the reason for flying a drone in any given flight how much of the battery do you use in that flight?

98% of the time, the reason I am flying is to get photos or video. When photos; it is almost always a real estate shoot and the airborne photo routine is very straight forward. We coordinate with the client what they want specifically. Usually if they want drone photos on top of our ground an inside work it is because the want to show a proximity of the property to something like a lake or other desirable aspect that can't be seen from the ground. On top of that, we take about 20 other pics and the final delivery of shots from the air is around twelve to fifteen.

Normally I plan this out and can do the shots within minutes. In these cases my target is to be on the ground when the battery hits 'storage' level - on my M2P that target is 48%. Usually I have extra time just to fly around so that when I land that battery can go right back into the case without adding or subtracting voltage on the charger to get to storage level.

For videos, my target is always the same - to get what I need and be on the ground by storage level. In either case if I have to, or want to, go further - The absolute 'on the ground target' then becomes 30%.

I know there are those who believe otherwise but anytime a LiPo or LiHV is above or below storage level, it's usefulness is being shortened. Extreme percentages from storage level (fully charged or flown down to 10% for instance) accelerate the decline in usefulness. This is why LiPos are always shipped from the factory at storage and why DJI added the auto discharge feature to their batteries.

I just try to extend the life of the batteries if possible, but that is just me.

 

[karlblessing]

I like to scout the location in advance and try to get a feel for distance and view points that might be nice (including using Google satilite view or earth to get a what if view).

But I also take the wind/weather into account because that's going to kill my battery further. While I can get away with doing nearly 26-28 minutes of flying before I absolutely must land, I try to plan in 20 minute sessions, I also try to put myself in a central area where I'll be operating from, if not at least being in the same direction of the wind from the Drone to me to help improve battery on return.

I don't usually try to hit every view point or sequence in a single flight, I usually land before I am 20% left, pop a new battery in and go back up for the next scene, typically swapping cards at that time.

 

[EricJT]

I typically charge the number of batteries I plan to use on the day of flying....I have 6 batteries. I fly for the photos and videos, and will land when I finish the shoot or the battery reaches 30%. I never use a partially depleted battery that day.

When I get home I charge all of the batteries used that day to their storage levels, unless I plan to fly in the next couple of days, then they are fully recharged.

Never had a battery issue, touch wood.

 

[Robert Prior]

I aim to land with 30% or more left, just for safety, unless I'm flying almost overhead in which case I'll go longer to get the shot. A few times I've been repeatedly cancelling low battery return-to-home to finish getting the panorama (then landing immediately).

 

[Dbez1]

I land when the Air2S tells me to (at 25%). I’m flying VLOS, so that isn’t a problem. Although I’m perfectly capable of flying home, it’s sort of a game for me to see how close the bird will land to the takeoff point on its own.

 

[Johnmcl7]

Most of the time I'm flying my drone I'm after a particular photograph or similar so just get it into position, get the photo and then get it back down again since I'm usually in the middle of a walk somewhere anyway.

Occasionally I need to keep the drone in the air if I'm waiting for something to happen but similar to others here I want it back on the ground with around 30% battery since that gives me some leeway if I have any trouble getting it landed.

 

[mobilehomer]

I land when the Air2S tells me to (at 25%). I’m flying VLOS, so that isn’t a problem. Although I’m perfectly capable of flying home, it’s sort of a game for me to see how close the bird will land to the takeoff point on its own.

If you follow the Precision Landing instructions, it will land within inches of take-off point. I have done it many times. It works especially well iof you use a high contrast landing pad.

I RTH when the drone says to, then play around my launch point down to about 10%.