8 minutes of fly time?

Magnetic · Dec 7, 2017

Hello -

I was practicing with my new spark indoors today (in ATTI / Tripod mode) but I only got 8:25 of fly time out of the one battery and 9:12 out of the second battery (until it hit 23%). Does this seem right? Both batteries were charged right before flying.

My concern is the batteries sat for a 4-5 days at around 20% from my previous outdoor flight. I'm hoping it's just a fluke and I didn't damage my batteries? Should I re-charge to 100% and try again? Is there a way to test the batteries?

The time I flew outside 4-5 days ago I got 14 minutes out of the batteries.

RaspPiGuy · Dec 7, 2017

Did you have the prop guards on? They'll do it..

Magnetic · Dec 7, 2017

I did actually - that can half the flight time?

msinger · Dec 7, 2017

Magnetic said:
My concern is the batteries sat for a 4-5 days at around 20% from my previous outdoor flight. I'm hoping it's just a fluke and I didn't damage my batteries?

That would not damage the batteries.

Magnetic · Dec 7, 2017

msinger said:
That would not damage the batteries.

Thanks - I thought it was 10-15% but when I looked at my flight logs it shows I landed at around 20%. The battery only had one light though when I started charging this morning.

msinger · Dec 7, 2017

You wouldn't want to normally store your batteries that low for long periods of time. A few days won't hurt them though.

Magnetic · Dec 7, 2017

So what makes the guards kill the battery so much? Weight? Added resistance?

The Editor · Dec 7, 2017

Magnetic said:
So what makes the guards kill the battery so much? Weight? Added resistance?

The weight.

FamKench · Dec 7, 2017

I tested the hovering time today in my living room.

11 minutes to 5% with prop guards.

13 minutes to 5% without prop guards.

~40% power to hover with prop guards.

~35% power to hover without prop guards.

RaspPiGuy · Dec 7, 2017

Nicely done!

Ian-D · Dec 9, 2017

Outside temperature makes a huge difference, the colder it is the less flight time.

Sent from my E6833 using SparkPilots Spark Forum mobile app

Kilrah · Dec 9, 2017

Moving at a reasonable speed uses less power than hovering. Indoors is mostly hover, while when outside you'll be zipping around.

V'lar · Dec 9, 2017

It’s easy to test the battery. Simply look at the go app battery status page.
Capacity is about 1480mAh for a new battery. When battery ages, the value will be less.
The three cell voltages should all be very close to the same.