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[CyberNate]

So I went for 10 miles today and I.... FAILED! Failed to get out to 52800 feet and failed to make it back. Just one complete failure of a flight. Tried to go low at just over 120 feet to save battery and ended up getting bitten by lost signal which stalled my progress. Wind was also a bit unpredictable, changing directions many times and I ended flying nearly the entire flight in sport mode to leverage any gusts of wind. I was pushing to the very edge on this flight, calculating the run which would leave me at 1%. What I found is that the my Mavic is not flyable at 3% and below with a heavy load. It started flying sideways, spinning around, and ended up landing just over 1200 feet away. So from now on, 3% is my new 0%. I expected that I would be able to fly a bit at 0% using the external batteries, but apparently the voltage was too low, or perhaps the battery clip mod has too much resistance. I think I'm about at the limit for my current setup and time to change the battery mod to a better configuration.

 

[dirtybum]

All part of the game huh Nate! good try though, you'll get out and back you just need to wait for calmer weather. while you're waiting pop that top shell off and do the direct mod[emoji41]

 

[dirtybum]

it was a 10 mph wind, but I wanted to try it out anyway. 40,000 turned at 55% landed at 21%
8.0 3s lipo overpacked to 4.32

 

[Phxbird57]

So I went for 10 miles today and I.... FAILED! Failed to get out to 52800 feet and failed to make it back. Just one complete failure of a flight. Tried to go low at just over 120 feet to save battery and ended up getting bitten by lost signal which stalled my progress. Wind was also a bit unpredictable, changing directions many times and I ended flying nearly the entire flight in sport mode to leverage any gusts of wind. I was pushing to the very edge on this flight, calculating the run which would leave me at 1%. What I found is that the my Mavic is not flyable at 3% and below with a heavy load. It started flying sideways, spinning around, and ended up landing just over 1200 feet away. So from now on, 3% is my new 0%. I expected that I would be able to fly a bit at 0% using the external batteries, but apparently the voltage was too low, or perhaps the battery clip mod has too much resistance. I think I'm about at the limit for my current setup and time to change the battery mod to a better configuration.

View attachment 14444 View attachment 14445

Nate you need to pop over here to Phoenix maybe in Nov ( cooling down). I can show you the perfect spot you can go till your heart stops. I'm talking a good 20 miles. flat and nothing over 100 ft. Just dirt & some green fields.

 

[Phxbird57]

it was a 10 mph wind, but I wanted to try it out anyway. 40,000 turned at 55% landed at 21%
8.0 3s lipo overpacked to 4.32

DirtyBum is there a drone under there I see the arms...

 

[Ed209]

it was a 10 mph wind, but I wanted to try it out anyway. 40,000 turned at 55% landed at 21%
8.0 3s lipo overpacked to 4.32

That looks like a killer combo!

 

[Phxbird57]

That looks like a killer combo!

Ed I like your choice of words " KILLER combo"

 

[CyberNate]

it was a 10 mph wind, but I wanted to try it out anyway. 40,000 turned at 55% landed at 21%
8.0 3s lipo overpacked to 4.32

Hmmm, this setup didn't seem to perform as well as your 6600. How many minutes was the entire flight? That setup should give you over 40 minutes, having somewhere close to 9000-9500 mah after over packing. The thing is these heavy payloads don't do well with any significant wind.

 

[dirtybum]

very windy out Nate! 10 mph headwinds. not even worth testing but was fun. 8.0 only weighs about 82 g more than the 6.6 & weighs apprx. 48g LESS than (2) 4.0's . also I've been running some log numbers checking different flights, I'm not so sure sport mode is even worth it! I know that's your trick and maybe Keith's, but the numbers I'm seeing in review even when I have a good tailwind and stay at a very reasonable rates get you there faster, a.k.a. less flight time, but the mileage per battery percentage doesn't change a lot. Just an observation I'll keep playing with it. somebody can correct me if I'm wrong but I think you may have the overpacking concept wrong, and 8000 MAH battery is still just that, I don't think just because I over packed the voltage that it holds more mah than specified

 

[CyberNate]

very windy out Nate! 10 mph headwinds. not even worth testing but was fun. 8.0 only weighs about 82 g more than the 6.6 & weighs apprx. 48g LESS than (2) 4.0's . also I've been running some log numbers checking different flights, I'm not so sure sport mode is even worth it! I know that's your trick and maybe Keith's, but the numbers I'm seeing in review even when I have a good tailwind and stay at a very reasonable rates get you there faster, a.k.a. less flight time, but the mileage per battery percentage doesn't change a lot. Just an observation I'll keep playing with it. somebody can correct me if I'm wrong but I think you may have the overpacking concept wrong, and 8000 MAH battery is still just that, I don't think just because I over packed the voltage that it holds more mah than specified

It's not a such a large difference, but I believe you save a slight amount of battery in sport mode with tailwind if the wind is consistent and over 6 mph. A 7 mph tailwind is 32-33 mph air speed when you see 40mph ground speed. Really, it's like comparing 22mph with obstacle avoidance to 32 without. Of course you get better range at 32. If you're going too slowly, all of your energy goes towards a long hovering time. The more energy you put into forward motion versus the energy you use to keep the craft at altitude, the better. Now that only applies up to around 32-33mph air speed. Once you go higher than that (with a high payload), the motors are pushed to an RPM level that results in heat and fluctuating speeds as the RPM limit is bounced off of.

Anyway, I look forward to your test results. I haven't actually recorded data to verify. I'm just thinking logically that it has to be better putting more of the energy into forward motion rather than to keep the craft in the air longer.

 

[Ed209]

It's not a such a large difference, but I believe you save a slight amount of battery in sport mode with tailwind if the wind is consistent and over 6 mph. A 7 mph tailwind is 32-33 mph air speed when you see 40mph ground speed. Really, it's like comparing 22mph with obstacle avoidance to 32 without. Of course you get better range at 32. If you're going too slowly, all of your energy goes towards a long hovering time. The more energy you put into forward motion versus the energy you use to keep the craft at altitude, the better. Now that only applies up to around 32-33mph air speed. Once you go higher than that (with a high payload), the motors are pushed to an RPM level that results in heat and fluctuating speeds as the RPM limit is bounced off of.

Anyway, I look forward to your test results. I haven't actually recorded data to verify. I'm just thinking logically that it has to be better putting more of the energy into forward motion rather than to keep the craft in the air longer.

There is a sweet spot (I don't know what it is with the Mavic) because too much forward momentum will create too much drag on the surface area of the Mavic. You're motors will spend more energy trying to keep the Mavic at the right angle, actually from tumbling over if you go too fast. For people not milking the last 1% out of their batteries this might nit matter but for those depending on every last mAh, this could be the deciding factor between making it home or not.

Also, coming back with a tailwind means you went out into a headwind unless you got really lucky and had a miracle wind shift that happened after the turn. Unless you're gaining altitude to get that tailwind but that's just trading off energy burned to gain altitude to get to that tailwind. Not sure if I'm following you 100%.

 

[dirtybum]

I've been running distance since the first week of owning the phantom 2, then it moved up to the vision, then the vision plus. Eventually the P3 and then P4, none of those Aircrafts were owned for taking little pictures. With the P2 series I used to think going atti mode full throttle both ways was the way to gain the records, it wasn't until the PIII days where we realized, at least I did,that GPS mode conserved battery better. yeah we tried the atti with P3 also. Then the P4 everyone thought battery consumption mode was to stay around 28 to 30 mph, I started getting distance records pushing that to 34 to 36, later Unknown discovered full throttle is better. So it's all been done and sport mode is definitely worth paying attention to, but looking at my flight logs and paying careful attention to how much distance is burned with each battery percentage over a half a dozen logs, Some sport, some GPS at 31 mph, I'm just not seeing the benefit right now. I'm seeing it eat up more battery not by much, but enough to confuse somebody who is noticing how fast they're making it back but not trying that same trip making it back slow in GPS and then reviewing the logs. i've done that both ways and I think everyone should before just throwing it out there when a new flyer asks what's the best way to fly distance with the Mavic.

 

[CyberNate]

There is a sweet spot (I don't know what it is with the Mavic) because too much forward momentum will create too much drag on the surface area of the Mavic. You're motors will spend more energy trying to keep the Mavic at the right angle, actually from tumbling over if you go too fast. For people not milking the last 1% out of their batteries this might nit matter but for those depending on every last mAh, this could be the deciding factor between making it home or not.

Also, coming back with a tailwind means you went out into a headwind unless you got really lucky and had a miracle wind shift that happened after the turn. Unless you're gaining altitude to get that tailwind but that's just trading off energy burned to gain altitude to get to that tailwind. Not sure if I'm following you 100%.

I think you're following me just fine. I don't use sport mode into the wind. I only use it on return leg in case there is a tail wind to leverage. We'll see what DirtyBum finds in his tests. Perhaps it's not as much gain as I'm thinking.

 

[Phxbird57]

I've been running distance since the first week of owning the phantom 2, then it moved up to the vision, then the vision plus. Eventually the P3 and then P4, none of those Aircrafts were owned for taking little pictures. With the P2 series I used to think going atti mode full throttle both ways was the way to gain the records, it wasn't until the PIII days where we realized, at least I did,that GPS mode conserved battery better. yeah we tried the atti with P3 also. Then the P4 everyone thought battery consumption mode was to stay around 28 to 30 mph, I started getting distance records pushing that to 34 to 36, later Unknown discovered full throttle is better. So it's all been done and sport mode is definitely worth paying attention to, but looking at my flight logs and paying careful attention to how much distance is burned with each battery percentage over a half a dozen logs, Some sport, some GPS at 31 mph, I'm just not seeing the benefit right now. I'm seeing it eat up more battery not by much, but enough to confuse somebody who is noticing how fast they're making it back but not trying that same trip making it back slow in GPS and then reviewing the logs. i've done that both ways and I think everyone should before just throwing it out there when a new flyer asks what's the best way to fly distance with the Mavic.

The few times I took my Mavic out I've tried coming back in RTH mode with the right stick all the way up. I was able to achive 1 or 2 mph faster than going out and this is with no wind. going out is 30 or 31 mph coming back I'll get 32 or 33 mph. I got this from Nate. and for me it does work. I agree with Db that even in the Mavic the perfect speed is around 33 mph. In the P4 I notices it was around 36mph there again this is with 0 wind. Here is the wind comes up one minute it will be west to east then east to west and maybe a little southwestern, it changes fast. and you never really know. I don't have the back ground that Db, Ed or Dig's have. This is just what I've seen and reading the data files. Besides chatting with Db, Nate and the rest of you. anyway my season is coming to a close. Even if I did some night flying it's close to 100. Not sure if I want to see a battery blowup in mid air.

 

[Phxbird57]

There is a sweet spot (I don't know what it is with the Mavic) because too much forward momentum will create too much drag on the surface area of the Mavic. You're motors will spend more energy trying to keep the Mavic at the right angle, actually from tumbling over if you go too fast. For people not milking the last 1% out of their batteries this might nit matter but for those depending on every last mAh, this could be the deciding factor between making it home or not.

Also, coming back with a tailwind means you went out into a headwind unless you got really lucky and had a miracle wind shift that happened after the turn. Unless you're gaining altitude to get that tailwind but that's just trading off energy burned to gain altitude to get to that tailwind. Not sure if I'm following you 100%.

Ed you brought up something I've been thinking about. that is air drag. Waxing the top of the mavic maybe and leaving the clear cover on the camera. to me that would be better. The clear cover would be more aerodynamic then with out it. by no meets am I a specialist.

 

[TTFullTimer]

Ed you brought up something I've been thinking about. that is air drag. Waxing the top of the mavic maybe and leaving the clear cover on the camera. to me that would be better. The clear cover would be more aerodynamic then with out it. by no meets am I a specialist.

Remember a golf ball flys better with divits. Smooth surfaces usually produce thicker drag producing boundary layers with more separation drag at the end of the vehicle. That and tail geometry can cause energy eating vortices. I don't think DJI does any wind tunnel testing. Another real drag creator are winds at 45 degrees, and that on road vehicles that are not getting displaced in the horizontal direction. Wind is best taken head on if the alternative means an angling wind.

 

[CyberNate]

Ok @JakeMaxxUAV, I've set a new world record that I believe should hold up for awhile. 54,236 ft (10.27miles 16531meters) out and 108,600ft (20.56miles, 33101.28meters) total.

I changed my battery mod from battery clip to direct mod and gained a couple minutes flight time. During landing, my voltage was so low that the craft bounced off the ground and flipped over. The last couple hundred feet I flew sideways and backwards to get home as it started spinning again, but this time I made it.

 

[MacIak]

Ok @JakeMaxxUAV, I've set a new world record that I believe should hold up for awhile. 54,236 ft (10.27miles 16531meters) out and 108,600ft (20.56miles, 33101.28meters) total.

I changed my battery mod from battery clip to direct mod and gained a couple minutes flight time. During landing, my voltage was so low that the craft bounced off the ground and flipped over. The last couple hundred feet I flew sideways and backwards to get home as it started spinning again, but this time I made it.

View attachment 14495
View attachment 14496

Yeeehaa! Insane, sweet job!

 

[CyberNate]

Ok @JakeMaxxUAV, I've set a new world record that I believe should hold up for awhile...

Well, then again we have @Unknown Caller, the drone jedi master, who has also done direct mod along with a few other master pilots. We shall see!

 

[Phxbird57]

Ok @JakeMaxxUAV, I've set a new world record that I believe should hold up for awhile. 54,236 ft (10.27miles 16531meters) out and 108,600ft (20.56miles, 33101.28meters) total.

I changed my battery mod from battery clip to direct mod and gained a couple minutes flight time. During landing, my voltage was so low that the craft bounced off the ground and flipped over. The last couple hundred feet I flew sideways and backwards to get home as it started spinning again, but this time I made it.

View attachment 14495
View attachment 14496

Nate you got video of that return to home with the bounce and flipped over. I hope all is well with the drone though. I think I may have the record for the longest bounce with my p2vp. I think it was 20 out and 12 ft back up. Nate