Slow and steady or speed?

[Jacobegg]

Hey guys! I was wondering, for those of you that cover a lot of distance while flying, how fast do you go?
15mph?(DJI says it's the best speed for battery life)
22mph? (Top speed not in sport mode)
40mph? (Sport mode)
For these options I notice you get to fly longer at 15. But I don't know if sport mode would be better? Even though you are killing the battery you are covering more ground. Anyone have an idea which is the best?

 

[maikm]

Of course there are several variables affecting this. Quadcopters spend most of their energy to stay up at all, while high travel speeds with high pitch of course will consume even more energy, but also cover more ground. As far as I see there's no direct way to display the current watt usage, so we could relate that to effective speed?

A reasonable way to gain experience could be to watch the controller. It has gauges on the left for speed and on the right for motor rpm. Any forward speed you can achieve without spinning up the motors too much is probably most economic. There is a dude on Youtube with a distance record (modified antennas and additional batteries) who mentions that slow and steady is the key, so the most economic speed is probably somewhere between 15 and 22 mph?

 

[Jacobegg]

That's what I thought. But most of the YouTube videos I've seen people are in sport mode?
Maybe they just are giving it full throttle.
I have my batteries all charged up and I'll give it a test tonight.
You think I should try all three speeds?
15/22/40?


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[dirkclod]

Runs are what I have been doing to find the sweet spot and sport for me wasn't it ,not wide open anyway .
Seems so far 29/30 is what has got me the best so far and someone told me last nite 27 was what he read was it .
I fly over fields so not having to go high but wind keeps getting me .I had a chance yesterday morning between rains
to take 2 trips and was a little breezy .Didn't come close to my goal but see next trip I will go out 65% then return .
Sure I could go lower on the % but battery's still new and don't want to push em to hard yet
If I do hit a snag in this location I can set it down in a field but think I will be alright .
Screenshots from the best trip yesterday .
I have got that distance with my 4K so I know I can do better .Just have to do it at the right time .
Maikm DBS is who you were referring to and he has a great place to fly . He's why I have the itelite panel's on my Phantom's.
Do share what you come up with Jacob

 

[Jacobegg]

I'm thinking about tap fly to do the 15/22 mph speed


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[Foxtrot Uniform]

Interesting topic. I plan to experiment with each speed as well. I enjoy distance runs over the ocean!!

 

[Jacobegg]

I wish I could have that kind of view but I'd be terrified to fly over the ocean. How much distance do you get?

Anyone know if turning of obstacle avoidance will save power?


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[dirkclod]

I would think it does and that is what I do .
Also in that trip yesterday I did have full bars as far as the signal but that little head wind ate up power .

 

[Foxtrot Uniform]

I wish I could have that kind of view but I'd be terrified to fly over the ocean. How much distance do you get?

Anyone know if turning of obstacle avoidance will save power?


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17,500ft is my current record over the ocean. (auto RTH due to battery) Not sure if it saves any power but I always have OA disabled b/c I have constant issues with false alarms in bright sunlight.

 

[Jacobegg]

Dang that's what I'm trying to beat.
I got that with my p3. Never thought it would go that far.

Hopefully we can find out a good speed and get further


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[maikm]

You think I should try all three speeds?

Dude, I have no idea. Scientifically best would probably be to to a series. Start with the same battery every time at 95% or so, go some distance lateral to the wind and back, and note how much battery is left when you are done. Repeat with different speeds and make a graph of that

Could also turn out that Sports mode in some of the lower speeds is best, as all the sensor stuff is switched off, so the CPU doesn't consume as much energy ;~)

 

[Jacobegg]

Little update on my findings (it was windy so I could not get accurate results)

Sport mode flight:
12 minutes
30,000 feet covered

15/22mph:
25 minutes
35,000 feet covered

I'll have to try this again as I was getting 9mph against the wind with sport mode off. But I thought I'd let everyone know.



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[flatland]

Very interested to hear more data on this. I was wondering about this same thing last weekend when I got a low battery warning two miles out. I flew back full throttle in sport mode and literally made it back to the home point right as the battery ticked down to 10% and started landing on its own (really good low battery calculations by the drone). I would be nervous flying it back with a beeping low battery warning while going so slow, but maybe that is the most efficient way to fly.

That was a real wake up call for me as I had already covered a mile before deciding to fly off into the distance for 2 miles out and back (covered 5 miles total).

 

[Jacobegg]

Yea, I remember flying with the p3 you could coast in a way. Not give it full throttle but get a good 30mph out of it. Haven't mastered that with the mavic yet. I'll try more test tomorrow


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[Bivalve]

I realize that no one is really at risk on these things, but as a pilot I just can't stand the idea of running out of gas... I have been very cautious so far, but I think I'm going to run some tests of my own. I want to know what 'fuel consumption' is at different settings so that I can reliably get back with 20% remaining, which is my personal minimum. I need data!

 

[Jacobegg]

Yea and running out of fuel is even scarier when you can't glide! Let us know on your results! I'd love some help to find the best speeds.


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[Jake Galloway]

I made just over 19,000 feet in P-Mode, without using sport.

 

[Jacobegg]

I made just over 19,000 feet in P-Mode, without using sport.

How fast did you go???

 

[Jake Galloway]

How fast did you go???

It was averaging ~21 mph heading out, and ~15 mph on the flight back.

 

[flatland]

Very interested to hear more data on this. I was wondering about this same thing last weekend when I got a low battery warning two miles out. I flew back full throttle in sport mode and literally made it back to the home point right as the battery ticked down to 10% and started landing on its own (really good low battery calculations by the drone).

For what it's worth, the flight I mentioned above covered 29,052 ft and was done mostly in sport mode. Landed with 10% left.