Sport vs. P mode MPG

[Nightowl702]

Hi all. So I just recently began checking out the sport mode on my mavic and I had a thought about the differences in distance vs battery usage between the two modes so I put it to the test. I didn't look to see if anyone had tried this yet but with so many variables I figured another test couldn't hurt. I took it out to my local "proving grounds", that is an area of flat dry lake bed type land south of Vegas before Jean, and set up the tests. The test routine was as follows: Power up the Mavic, wait for it to set the home point, climb straight to 20ft and wait for the home point to be confirmed, then full right stick and half left stick until reaching an altitude of 300 ft. Then continue straight out until the battery level reached 60% and then turn around and head straight back, full right stick the entire time. Upon reaching 1000ft from home full left stick down until 30 ft, then position over the landing pad and land. This was conducted using 2 of my newer batteries, #2 & #3. Both were purchased about a week apart, and they both have 19 charges on them. Each test was flown twice, one time with each battery. It was night, the temperature was around 63 deg, and the wind was fluctuating between 5 to 8 mph although on the final test it was down to around 3 mph. The tests were flown into the wind outbound and tailwind inbound. Here are the results:

Test 1, Battery # 2, P-Mode
Max distance from the home point: 13526ft
Total flt. distance: 27110ft
Flt. time: 17:12
Batt remaining at landing: 32%

Test 2, Battery # 3, Sport Mode
Max distance from the home point: 10246ft
Total flt. distance: 20699ft
Flt. time: 7:47
Batt remaining at landing: 42%

Test 3, Battery # 2, Sport Mode
Max distance from the home point: 11108ft
Total flt. distance: 22468ft
Flt. time: 8:20
Batt remaining at landing: 42%
Received a battery discharge error on test 3, released both sticks for a short bit and then continued the test.

Test 4, Battery # 3 P-Mode
Max distance from the home point: 14696ft
Total flt. distance: 29572ft
Flt. time: 18:51
Batt remaining at landing: 27%

Wind was a definitely a factor. Most noticeable between the two P-mode tests as there was over a 1000ft difference between the two. But these results I think prove that for distance runs sport mode is the way to go. Although it reached 60% batt remaining much faster you can see they landed with a higher reserve capacity so in theory I could have taken it out much further. And while I was just shy of joining the 3 mile club I can confirm that the red LED's on the front were visible out to the max distance I flew it to, and I saw no reason they wouldn't be visible out another 1000ft. So this was my test. Ponder over the results as you wish. Hope you enjoy. Happy flying

 

[BrooklynFlyer]

Is that cat really an astronaut?

 

[Aerial-Pixel]

Thanks for sharing, amazing how much faster sport mode kills the battery, I guess that can be expected. I have to admit I've only flown in sport mode with my Mavic a handful of times.

 

[Lapeer20m]

I find these results surprising.

My limited testing has Quite different results.

Sport mode = further distance traveled
P-mode = longer flight time.

 

[CyberNate]

Hi all. So I just recently began checking out the sport mode on my mavic and I had a thought about the differences in distance vs battery usage between the two modes so I put it to the test. I didn't look to see if anyone had tried this yet but with so many variables I figured another test couldn't hurt. I took it out to my local "proving grounds", that is an area of flat dry lake bed type land south of Vegas before Jean, and set up the tests. The test routine was as follows: Power up the Mavic, wait for it to set the home point, climb straight to 20ft and wait for the home point to be confirmed, then full right stick and half left stick until reaching an altitude of 300 ft. Then continue straight out until the battery level reached 60% and then turn around and head straight back, full right stick the entire time. Upon reaching 1000ft from home full left stick down until 30 ft, then position over the landing pad and land. This was conducted using 2 of my newer batteries, #2 & #3. Both were purchased about a week apart, and they both have 19 charges on them. Each test was flown twice, one time with each battery. It was night, the temperature was around 63 deg, and the wind was fluctuating between 5 to 8 mph although on the final test it was down to around 3 mph. The tests were flown into the wind outbound and tailwind inbound. Here are the results:

Test 1, Battery # 2, P-Mode
Max distance from the home point: 13526ft
Total flt. distance: 27110ft
Flt. time: 17:12
Batt remaining at landing: 32%

Test 2, Battery # 3, Sport Mode
Max distance from the home point: 10246ft
Total flt. distance: 20699ft
Flt. time: 7:47
Batt remaining at landing: 42%

Test 3, Battery # 2, Sport Mode
Max distance from the home point: 11108ft
Total flt. distance: 22468ft
Flt. time: 8:20
Batt remaining at landing: 42%
Received a battery discharge error on test 3, released both sticks for a short bit and then continued the test.

Test 4, Battery # 3 P-Mode
Max distance from the home point: 14696ft
Total flt. distance: 29572ft
Flt. time: 18:51
Batt remaining at landing: 27%

Wind was a definitely a factor. Most noticeable between the two P-mode tests as there was over a 1000ft difference between the two. But these results I think prove that for distance runs sport mode is the way to go. Although it reached 60% batt remaining much faster you can see they landed with a higher reserve capacity so in theory I could have taken it out much further. And while I was just shy of joining the 3 mile club I can confirm that the red LED's on the front were visible out to the max distance I flew it to, and I saw no reason they wouldn't be visible out another 1000ft. So this was my test. Ponder over the results as you wish. Hope you enjoy. Happy flying

For P-mode you need to turn off obstacle avoidance so that speed is 32mph. Looks like you did the test with obstacle avoidance on which has 22mph to speed.

 

[Nightowl702]

I was not aware that turning off OA increased the speed. It was kind of useless to have it on anyways since it couldn't see anything to avoid anyway.

 

[Kestrel]

I was not aware that turning off OA increased the speed. It was kind of useless to have it on anyways since it couldn't see anything to avoid anyway.

Yep, it does, I turn it off all the time especially since I live in a windy climate, I get just as good battery life in gps mode with the sensors off but faster speeds.

 

[nickmavic]

Thanks for sharing, amazing how much faster sport mode kills the battery, I guess that can be expected. I have to admit I've only flown in sport mode with my Mavic a handful of times.

The results he posted don't actually support that with any confidence though.

First off, the test is flawed because it doesn't use the exact same flight path, it varies on max distance from RC, total distance traveled, and more. A true test needs to replicate the exact same experiment over and over again. Especially with something like a drone where there's wind, weather, multiple batteries, etc.

Secondly, assuming we can even rely on the data presented, the results don't support an assertion that Sport mode depletes battery faster over distance traveled.

Test 1 (P Mode) - 398 ft / percentage point
Test 4 (P Mode) - 405 ft / percentage point
Test 2 (Sport) - 356 ft / percentage point
Test 3 (Sport) - 387 ft / percentage point

Test #3 not only has a comparable distance/% measurement, but also was a test where the aircraft was stopped for a brief moment for overvoltage, meaning power was also consumed while not moving.

I would be interested to see a truly controlled experiment, as I think the results will actually be much closer than expected.

 

[dwallersv]

Thanks for doing this test. I apologize for seeming harsh with my response, which is highly critical.

For determining fuel/distance efficiency, your testing implementation was completely invalid. This is because you finished with vastly different amounts of energy used, and "left in the tank". In order to do a valid test, you have to consume the same amount of energy for each run, and see how far you get.

I guarantee you you will bet farther -- a lot farther -- at 35mph than 22, on the same amount of consumed energy.

 

[CyberNate]

I was not aware that turning off OA increased the speed. It was kind of useless to have it on anyways since it couldn't see anything to avoid anyway.

Yes, 32mph is a good speed for efficiency. I have the record for distance at 108,600 feet (54,300ft one way out) and I did it with P-mode obstacle avoidance off (32mph) and using Return to Home plus full right stick forward which give 33.6mph. This was on a day with very little wind. If there is a tail wind, I use sport mode which gives 40mph ground speed.

Edit, keep in mind that this is with modded Mavic where I have extra batteries and stronger antenna with amps, but to get that maximum distance I have to fly smart. There are a few of us whom compete with the same battery setup.

 

[Nightowl702]

Thanks for doing this test. I apologize for seeming harsh with my response, which is highly critical.

For determining fuel/distance efficiency, your testing implementation was completely invalid. This is because you finished with vastly different amounts of energy used, and "left in the tank". In order to do a valid test, you have to consume the same amount of energy for each run, and see how far you get.

I guarantee you you will bet farther -- a lot farther -- at 35mph than 22, on the same amount of consumed energy.

That is what I was attempting to do. By flying in a straight line out to 60% batt remaining on each run and turning around. Unfortunately the wind here has been blowing and hasn't ever stopped since I bought it! If I can ever get another still wind day I might try this again since it is apparent that the wind was a factor. And also with OA off. I want to hit that 3 mile mark!

 

[Chun]

Thank you Nightowl702 for taking the time to post your results. I considered oa being on as part of the comparison. As far as wind , we are all at the mercy of mother nature. So no one is going to get true scientific results. Bet you had fun doing it though.

 

[TTFullTimer]

The results he posted don't actually support that with any confidence though.

First off, the test is flawed because it doesn't use the exact same flight path, it varies on max distance from RC, total distance traveled, and more. A true test needs to replicate the exact same experiment over and over again. Especially with something like a drone where there's wind, weather, multiple batteries, etc.

Secondly, assuming we can even rely on the data presented, the results don't support an assertion that Sport mode depletes battery faster over distance traveled.

Test 1 (P Mode) - 398 ft / percentage point
Test 4 (P Mode) - 405 ft / percentage point
Test 2 (Sport) - 356 ft / percentage point
Test 3 (Sport) - 387 ft / percentage point

Test #3 not only has a comparable distance/% measurement, but also was a test where the aircraft was stopped for a brief moment for overvoltage, meaning power was also consumed while not moving.

I would be interested to see a truly controlled experiment, as I think the results will actually be much closer than expected.

What is a me a ment? It is a measurement with the sure taken out.

Yes a controlled environment would be more accurate, I don't think that there are any straight line enclosed spaces that are close to three miles long. So we are stuck with the great outdoors for experiments. Experiments can have varying conditions.

The Mavic must have some speed at which one can obtain maximum distance. I always experiment with my road vehicles to see where the sweet spot is for miles per gallon. The best ever was my wife's Cadillac Fleetwood which maxed out at 27 mpg at 105 mph. 23 at 85 and 23 at 127 Mileage went down to about 19 at 55 mph. The engine was just not efficient running so far down the torque curve.

I now travel full time. My truck maxes out mileage at 62 mph with a mileage variance from 9 to 12 mpg depending on terrain, with an all up weight of the truck and trailer at 25000 pounds. The truck alone at 5800 pounds maxes out at 22 mpg at 75 mph.

So I think if one were to fly many many experimental missions at a set of speeds in one mode a fairly good idea of the sweet spot for that mode could be determined. That would take a large amount of determination to repeat flights over and over and over at each speed. However, a nice Excel plot would reveal that maximum. From my understanding one would need to repeat the sequence for GPS and Sport mode with and without OA and any other thing one could determine sucks power like maybe recording video.

 

[dwallersv]

Guys, the concept is simple to illustrate by the extremes.

If you launch and then just hover until the battery runs down, how long will it take? 27 minutes? 30?

Doesn't matter, because the point is it would travel a distance of 0 feet. Which demonstrates that some power must be expended just staying up in the air at altitude, regardless of the speed over the ground.

Now, if you go just infinitesimally slowly in some direction, so that you cover, say, 50 ft over 30 minutes while the battery runs down, you'd have some figure for energy efficiency vs. distance. It would be very crappy, but it would be real and valid. (in fact, 50ft / 3830mah = 1.3 ft/Ah)

Obviously, as we continue this progression there's a speed at which the balance between forward and upward thrust vectors gives us the optimal performance in energy ("gas") for distance.

For the Mavic, this is in the 30-32 mph spot.

 

[TrayBoz]

I'm confused. I thought when you put the mavic into sport mode, OA is automatically disabled? But you're talking about disabling it first. ??? My "sensors indicator" turns red when I put it into Sport mode indicating that it's turned off automatically.. so what am I missing?

 

[Kestrel]

I wouldn't trust sport mode for distance flying, I don't need a test to confirm that it uses a lot of battery because I've seen it happen in my own flight, dropping 20% on

I'm confused. I thought when you put the mavic into sport mode, OA is automatically disabled? But you're talking about disabling it first. ??? My "sensors indicator" turns red when I put it into Sport mode indicating that it's turned off automatically.. so what am I missing?

Sport mode and flying with the sensors off are two different things. You are still in P-mode when you turn off the sensors.

 

[Nightowl702]

Is that cat really an astronaut?

Actually his name is Morris, and he is a U-2 pilot.

 

[AGT]

Take a look at this thread:
Mavic Battery and Speed efficiency chart