A Real Beginner's Error.

[PeteTheJack]

I say "beginner", but I have been flying drones for over five years.

I was flying my Mavic Air 2 today for the first time in a month. Batteries were a bit low but there was next to no wind and I was doing a video for a pal who has an industrial unit with a large parking area. I was not going to be flying at any sort of distance. After about ten minutes I was about to land but the craft flew up to about sixty feet and refused to respond. Eventually I manage to regain control and brought it in to land.

When I got back home I checked things out and the battery was very low. Suddenly it dawned on me, "check the audio level on the phone". It was muted and I did not get any of the voice prompts telling me that it was doing a "low battery, return to home".

Lesson learned. I think a flightcheck list is something I'm going to resort to!

With more inclement weather and darker evenings approaching, I think the opportunity to fly will be a bit sparse over the next few months. I know, thanks to this forum, that the batteries do a controlled self discharge after a few weeks. Is it OK to leave them for a prolonged period in the self induced storage mode and charge them a few hours ahead of any planned flying?

Pete

 

[Thomas B]

I say "beginner", but I have been flying drones for over five years.

I was flying my Mavic Air 2 today for the first time in a month. Batteries were a bit low but there was next to no wind and I was doing a video for a pal who has an industrial unit with a large parking area. I was not going to be flying at any sort of distance. After about ten minutes I was about to land but the craft flew up to about sixty feet and refused to respond. Eventually I manage to regain control and brought it in to land.

When I got back home I checked things out and the battery was very low. Suddenly it dawned on me, "check the audio level on the phone". It was muted and I did not get any of the voice prompts telling me that it was doing a "low battery, return to home".

Lesson learned. I think a flightcheck list is something I'm going to resort to!

With more inclement weather and darker evenings approaching, I think the opportunity to fly will be a bit sparse over the next few months. I know, thanks to this forum, that the batteries do a controlled self discharge after a few weeks. Is it OK to leave them for a prolonged period in the self induced storage mode and charge them a few hours ahead of any planned flying?

Pete

yes. That is my habit as long aS they have a 50% charge at the end of the day.

 

[old man mavic]

if you want your drone to last please do not take off with less than a full battery ,lipos as they get below a certain voltage drop of very quickly and you can get caught out if you are unable to get back home because there is not enough charge remaining ,i am not talking about taking off with 75 to 100 % left but with less than 40 to 50% left in the tank

 

[Tufargon]

if you want your drone to last please do not take off with less than a full battery ,lipos as they get below a certain voltage drop of very quickly and you can get caught out if you are unable to get back home because there is not enough charge remaining ,i am not talking about taking off with 75 to 100 % left but with less than 40 to 50% left in the tank

I agree. I learned that lesson with another manufacturer that now suggest you top them off within 24 hours of flight every time. I was at 67% and it suddently dropped to 7%. Fortunately I was not far away and was able to bring her home....... Happened with both my batteries that day. So now (even with the MA2) I top them off within 24 hours of flight no matter what.

 

[vindibona1]

I would presume that the self induced storage mode is there for precisely for longer term storage. I think it tells you to store your batteries somewhere in the 50% range.

 

[dronerdave]

Is it OK to leave them for a prolonged period in the self induced storage mode and charge them a few hours ahead of any planned flying?

Pete

Yeah with most of my typical RC lipos I just discharge them to their storage voltage but I make sure they are between 40-50%. At least DJI batteries do the discharging for you but never store a battery that is below the normal low cutoff point. Recharge it and let it discharge on its own.

 

[old man mavic]

@PeteTheJack with the DJI batteries its best to only fully charge them within 24 hours of your next flight ,if you fly them down to 40% then you will find that after they have cooled down they will show 2 lights solid as the cells recover some voltage after a rest ,this is then great if you intend to fly again in the next couple of weeks ,then as before charge fully before using ,the only time i would charge mine to 3 lights would be if i knew i would not be flying for at least a month or more then every two weeks just check the remaining charge by a quick press on the button ,lipos have two points in their charging cycles when they are most prone to cell damage, fully charged or below 20% for long periods of time

 

[Deleted member 114292]

I say "beginner", but I have been flying drones for over five years.

I was flying my Mavic Air 2 today for the first time in a month. Batteries were a bit low but there was next to no wind and I was doing a video for a pal who has an industrial unit with a large parking area. I was not going to be flying at any sort of distance. After about ten minutes I was about to land but the craft flew up to about sixty feet and refused to respond. Eventually I manage to regain control and brought it in to land.

When I got back home I checked things out and the battery was very low. Suddenly it dawned on me, "check the audio level on the phone". It was muted and I did not get any of the voice prompts telling me that it was doing a "low battery, return to home".

Lesson learned. I think a flightcheck list is something I'm going to resort to!

With more inclement weather and darker evenings approaching, I think the opportunity to fly will be a bit sparse over the next few months. I know, thanks to this forum, that the batteries do a controlled self discharge after a few weeks. Is it OK to leave them for a prolonged period in the self induced storage mode and charge them a few hours ahead of any planned flying?

Pete

Part of your necessary situational awareness is to glance at your instruments from time to time.
Particularly battery level.

 

[GFields]

According to a DJI rep I chatted with, he said that DJI recommends charging the batteries (after the day of use) to 100% and then store in a cool and well-ventilated place to let them auto drain. Charge before using back to 100%

 

[Bill Kennedy]

@PeteTheJack with the DJI batteries its best to only fully charge them within 24 hours of your next flight ,if you fly them down to 40% then you will find that after they have cooled down they will show 2 lights solid as the cells recover some voltage after a rest ,this is then great if you intend to fly again in the next couple of weeks ,then as before charge fully before using ,the only time i would charge mine to 3 lights would be if i knew i would not be flying for at least a month or more then every two weeks just check the remaining charge by a quick press on the button ,lipos have two points in their charging cycles when they are most prone to cell damage, fully charged or below 20% for long periods of time

I'm a bit confused and hoping you'll point me in the right direction regarding 'overwintering' my batteries. I was out the other day and as normal ran the batteries down to about 30% before cooling and packing away. This was likely to be my last outing for some considerable so what precautions should I take to ensure battery health over the winter period?.

 

[old man mavic]

I'm a bit confused and hoping you'll point me in the right direction regarding 'overwintering' my batteries. I was out the other day and as normal ran the batteries down to about 30% before cooling and packing away. This was likely to be my last outing for some considerable so what precautions should I take to ensure battery health over the winter period?.

charge them to 50to60% store them in a cool place away from pets and children ,but not somewhere where they could get really cold and damp
once a month check the charge level and if all is well go another month ,then check again ,after two months give them a full charge and then you can let them discharge on their own if you have an older Mavic you can set the discharge to start from one day up to 10 days in the app do it for each battery ,i have mine set for 3 days,they will get slightly warm during this process this is normal ,of course if at the two month period you have a chance to fly then drop them down to 50% ,and your good for another period of storage

 

[Bill Kennedy]

charge them to 50to60% store them in a cool place away from pets and children ,but not somewhere where they could get really cold and damp
once a month check the charge level and if all is well go another month ,then check again ,after two months give them a full charge and then you can let them discharge on their own if you have an older Mavic you can set the discharge to start from one day up to 10 days in the app do it for each battery ,i have mine set for 3 days,they will get slightly warm during this process this is normal ,of course if at the two month period you have a chance to fly then drop them down to 50% ,and your good for another period of storage

That's brilliant thanks. Would you recommend storing them in the drone carrycase or on a shelf in the open indoors?

 

[old man mavic]

i keep mine in the case indoors have done it that way for the last two years ,you could put them in lipo safe bags and keep them on a shelf away from heat, the main thing is to check them to make sure they are not to low on charge ,if you were to go away for a few weeks ,then you could put them in a metal box in a clear area of your kitchen say and cover the tin with a fire blanket, just to give you peace of mind if one of them did catch fire ,its best to have them in individual lipo bags in the tin ,these precautions are really up to you ,in many years of using lipos i personally have luckily not had any lipos self ignite

 

[Bill Kennedy]

Cheers for that. I'll make a note to check regularly and leave them in the case- I have an old timers habit of putting things away in safe places, then forgetting which safe place it was. Stay safe and chill out in lockdown. Lechyd da.

 

[Woodbane]

For anyone using an iphone/iPad with iOS 14 or later you can set up an automation to set your phone volume to whatever level you like when you launch the DJI Fly/Go app.

I have one that sets my phone volume to 80% and also puts a notification on the top of the screen reminding me to switch the phone WiFi off (to prevent interference).

Works a treat. Unsure about Android based phones but I’d be very surprised if they cant do something similar, or there’ll be an app that does it for you.

 

[Galeforce1]

I'd like to see DJI include a flight checklist feature in their apps to encourage pilots to make sure everything is ready and checked off before flying. As a private pilot, flying light aircraft, I always used to consult my checklist even though I knew it off by heart. It was too important, and risky, to trust my memory.

 

[Thomas B]

I'd like to see DJI include a flight checklist feature in their apps to encourage pilots to make sure everything is ready and checked off before flying. As a private pilot, flying light aircraft, I always used to consult my checklist even though I knew it off by heart. It was too important, and risky, to trust my memory.

Agree Fully about the need for a checklist. Should anyone be flying if they can’t make their own checklist?

 

[Galeforce1]

Agree Fully about the need for a checklist. Should anyone be flying if they can’t make their own checklist?

No, they shouldn't. It is a fundamental discipline of flying - any type of flying. There is no flying training that I know of where pilots are NOT taught to use checklists before (& after) take off, and landing. There are so many reasons for using checklists, and no valid ones for not.

 

[PeteTheJack]

I'd like to see DJI include a flight checklist feature in their apps to encourage pilots to make sure everything is ready and checked off before flying. As a private pilot, flying light aircraft, I always used to consult my checklist even though I knew it off by heart. It was too important, and risky, to trust my memory.

I used to race cars and always had a checklist and ticked/checked all the items. This was not the procedure followed by my pal Paul (a pro mechanic) who failed to tighten up my front wheel nuts, when I was testing the car before a weekend race at the Brands Hatch GP circuit. Fortunately I felt something was wrong and took it easy after the first couple of corners. It did take several laps before I felt able to fully commit though!

 

[dronerdave]

Personally I don't want the app to layout a check list on any of my quads. Prior to flight there are many other items I check that have nothing to do with the aircraft itself. I had a guy ask me about flying in a specific area he frequently operates his drones at and asked if it seemed like a good spot. I said yes, except it was in classified airspace and he'd have to obtain clearance...he didn't have a clue. How many people think the DJI geofencing feature is the same as a sectional? Even the OP's question about discharging could be answered by reading the instructions. But I don't blame people for asking questions here. I was a bit overwhelmed with the manual of my first quad and I feel this site and videos I watched help quite a bit. Now I'd agree a basic check list could be offered in the instructions. Most of the basics are in the manual but the info is spread out all over place.
I have several laminated check lists for different situations such as times where I want certain sensors on or off for a specific purpose. I consider it more of a cheat sheet when dealing with a function I rarely use.