What's the most economical speed to fly In calm wind

[Craig Notts]

Hi all ,has anyone worked out the best speed to fly in say calm conditions to get the most out of your battery. I usually go flat out in normal mode but wondered if anyone had worked out anything better

 

[zeusfl]

Usually normal mode is the best way from the 3 options. I know in the Mavic Air, 2 Miles below the top is the most efficient way but ....

 

[MA2 317]

Hi all ,has anyone worked out the best speed to fly in say calm conditions to get the most out of your battery. I usually go flat out in normal mode but wondered if anyone had worked out anything better

After flying my Spark for years with it's 12-14 minute flight time, I would fly in normal mode with the OA off as this made the Spark fly a little faster.

If I had a photo op away from me at a distance, I would fly Sport mode there and back. I would switch to normal mode while capturing the subject.

I haven't thought about the efficiency of the the MA2's 30 minute flight time.
I guess I would fly it like the Spark.

I have time now to relax and fiddle with camera settings and do multiple video runs of a subject with the MA2.

I'm still looking at the battery gauge every other minute as it's hardwired in me from flying the Spark.

 

[old man mavic]

the problem with flying a drone, is there are many variables that can contribute to the flight time,the real world time will never compare to what is advertised ,even two different batteries can give different times ,temperature will affect flight time ,whether you have added accessories to the drone will have the same effect, the props themselves can influence flight time if they have any nicks or are misshapen due to being stored incorrectly
the drone itself does not really give any lift its all down to the props ,it is true that flying at a steady speed is better than hovering

 

[Droning on and on...]

My guess would be the 18 kph listed in the manual next to the max flight time.

 

[nn666]

I know with tests with other drones using sports mode uses more power to get the same distance than normal mode.

 

[GadgetGuy]

The worst mode for maximizing distance is Sport mode, similar to driving your car at 100mph! It will go faster, but will not get as good gas mileage as it will at 65mph! Don't use wasteful Sport mode unless time is of the essence in getting to your destination before the moment is over. Certainly, never use Sport mode on the return, unless you have battery to burn, need it to overcome a headwind, or are trying stay ahead of an approaching rain storm. Save Sport mode for chasing nearby fast moving objects.

 

[ilovebeermoney]

From my usage it seems like flying around 20mph get's you the most miles per battery.

It's not hard to test actually. Just start flying at full speed at tripod mode (about 10mph) and look at how much battery time it calculates you have. Then switch it to 15mph but in normal and see it decrease, but not by too much. Try 16mph, 18mph, 20mph....where I found the sweet spot. Go to 22mph, 25mph, etc and you'll see the minutes drop significantly...at least they did for me.

 

[GadgetGuy]

From my usage it seems like flying around 20mph get's you the most miles per battery.

It's not hard to test actually. Just start flying at full speed at tripod mode (about 10mph) and look at how much battery time it calculates you have. Then switch it to 15mph but in normal and see it decrease, but not by too much. Try 16mph, 18mph, 20mph....where I found the sweet spot. Go to 22mph, 25mph, etc and you'll see the minutes drop significantly...at least they did for me.

It should be right about 27mph, for the MA2, which is the max speed in N mode. It's been that way on all the DJI drones in P mode that max out at around 31mph. Tripod mode is too slow. Sport is too fast. Normal or Program at max speed is most efficient.

 

[Craig Notts]

From my usage it seems like flying around 20mph get's you the most miles per battery.

It's not hard to test actually. Just start flying at full speed at tripod mode (about 10mph) and look at how much battery time it calculates you have. Then switch it to 15mph but in normal and see it decrease, but not by too much. Try 16mph, 18mph, 20mph....where I found the sweet spot. Go to 22mph, 25mph, etc and you'll see the minutes drop significantly...at least they did for me.

That's a good idea I will try this and make a note of which seems best overall

 

[GadgetGuy]

From my usage it seems like flying around 20mph get's you the most miles per battery.

It's not hard to test actually. Just start flying at full speed at tripod mode (about 10mph) and look at how much battery time it calculates you have. Then switch it to 15mph but in normal and see it decrease, but not by too much. Try 16mph, 18mph, 20mph....where I found the sweet spot. Go to 22mph, 25mph, etc and you'll see the minutes drop significantly...at least they did for me.

While that is an interesting method, it depends entirely upon the remaining battery algorithm, rather than actual tested flight times to battery exhaustion from long distance flyers at different speeds on the different aircraft. The default RTH speed is always too slow, and you would assume it should be the most efficient, too, but it isn't. Try 27mph. It is likely far more efficient, for distance covered, than 20mph.

 

[ilovebeermoney]

While that is an interesting method, it depends entirely upon the remaining battery algorithm, rather than actual tested flight times to battery exhaustion from long distance flyers at different speeds on the different aircraft. The default RTH speed is always too slow, and you would assume it should be the most efficient, too, but it isn't. Try 27mph. It is likely far more efficient, for distance covered, than 20mph.

I agree with you...the default RTH speed is horribly inefficient. The drone is smart enough and should figure out the best speed to get back...but it doesn't do that. If you use the default RTH speed, you get home with less battery than if you speed it up.

 

[Ben Anderson]

MA2 in calm air:
Max time = 18 kph
Max distance = 36 kph

 

[Droning on and on...]

MA2 in calm air:
Max time = 18 kph
Max distance = 36 kph

What is your source for the max distance figure?

 

[szakeetm]

MA2 in calm air:
Max time = 18 kph
Max distance = 36 kph

Isn't max time = 0kph?

 

[Droning on and on...]

Isn't max time = 0kph?

If we're talking about time in the air, no. Hovering uses more energy than forward flight.

 

[Ben Anderson]

What is your source for the max distance figure?

I don't have a specific source. When I got my MA2 about three months ago, the best speed for max distance interested me and I read up on it and watched max distance videos. Even came across some aeronautical engineers discussing it with formulae, although I don't recall where that was. The number was 36 kph. Interestingly with the current firmware and software, RTH is set by DJI at 36 kph.

 

[Ben Anderson]

If we're talking about time in the air, no. Hovering uses more energy than forward flight.

In flight the drone generates turbulent air with a downward vector. The drone must then use more power to generate lift. By constantly moving, the drone will stay in stable air.

 

[GadgetGuy]

MA2 in calm air:
Max time = 18 kph
Max distance = 36 kph

The 36kph/22.5mph is at least getting closer to the likely max distance speed of 27mph. What distance was covered at 22.5mph vs. 27mph, which is the max Normal speed? The RTH speed is almost never the max distance speed, although it always should be! RTH speed has always been around 22mph, yet the max distance speed on all Phantoms and the Mavic 2 series has always been the maximum speed in P mode, or roughly 31-34mph.

 

[GILDAGUZ]

Hi all, is there any way to lock the max speed on the mavic air 2 the way that even having the stick all the way forward it does not pass thet preset speed, my previous drone was the fimi x8 se 2020 and it has that feature