Battery flight times and stock range

Adamday331 · Jul 1, 2016

Ok I'm disappointed. Flew all 3 batteries tonight in much less wind. Probably about 10mph. First one lasted 11.5 mins to 14.7v. 2nd lasted 10.5mins to 14.7v. 3rd lasted 14.5 mins to 14.5v. I fly in rabbit mode with my sticks full forward to get into positions then hover and move slightly to get the shots. I think I may end up returning this

BobW55 · Jul 1, 2016

Are you charging with the stock Yuneec charger?
My flight times got better after switching to a Hitec charger. I think it does a better job of balancing.

Adamday331 · Jul 1, 2016

Yes I am using the stock one which should be absolutely fine. Either something is wrong with my charger all the batteries or the machine

Dragonflyerthom · Jul 1, 2016

Sorry you feel that way Adam. You seem to fit in here.

Adamday331 · Jul 1, 2016

I want to keep it but I'm beginning to feel I should have waiting for the pro model or just saved more money and got one that takes the gh4 or similar. Even the phantom is looking a better option at the moment. I have all the current issues plus short flight times and it's putting a downer on it. For a months wages I want to be happy but I'm just not. Sending you an email tomorrow yuneec uk if you're reading this.

BobW55 · Jul 1, 2016

I will have to try my stock charger next time. I believe it took way longer than yours to indicate charged.
I agree, your times should be longer.
And having the camera record 100% of the time is not going to hurt your flight time by much. Moving the camera gimbal around all the time could.
Next flight I will put a stop watch to my stock charge time.

David Wilson · Jul 1, 2016

Adamday331 said:
Ok I'm disappointed. Flew all 3 batteries tonight in much less wind. Probably about 10mph. First one lasted 11.5 mins to 14.7v. 2nd lasted 10.5mins to 14.7v. 3rd lasted 14.5 mins to 14.5v. I fly in rabbit mode with my sticks full forward to get into positions then hover and move slightly to get the shots. I think I may end up returning this

Why are you only flying to 14.7? I fly down to 14.4 every flight. I fly HARD as most know and I get 18-19.5 minutes per flight. You can go down to the 14.0 cut off, it won't hurt these batteries. Now I do wish they charged faster... You will get a little more flight time with a P4 but it's going to look and feel like a toy after owning the H.

Adamday331 · Jul 1, 2016

David Wilson said:
Why are you only flying to 14.7? I fly down to 14.4 every flight. I fly HARD as most know and I get 18-19.5 minutes per flight. You can go down to the 14.0 cut off, it won't hurt these batteries. Now I do wish they charged faster... You will get a little more flight time with a P4 but it's going to look and feel like a toy after owning the H.

I fly to 14.5 to 14.7. There is no way my batteries would last 18 minutes so something is a miss. I'll try to film the st16 screen next time so you can see the voltage drop

richard bottos · Jul 1, 2016

First; it is noticeable that you are from a country that drives on the proper side of the road!!! I also like the curve ends of the plowing, unique. 'I'm still waiting for my return of my first one as it appears to have been tried out at the distributor, and the camera had fallen off!!. Sent back to distributor. It appears to me that the yuneec charger may be limiting the charge. I'm in process of making my universal charge adaptor, but many have added the cables to use the cradle itself and your own better charger. The forum also has excellent li-po replacement components for additional battery selection. Times are transient without a standardized functional test, but that appears to be coming. Enjoy your H I think it is a very good solution and my choice of multis over the past 4 or 5 years.
Regards Dick Bottos

Jimmylee · Jul 1, 2016

[QUOTE=" You will get a little more flight time with a P4 but it's going to look and feel like a toy after owning the H.[/QUOTE]

Or a fine tuned sports car! Couldn't resist, still love my Phantom a lot.

FlushVision · Jul 2, 2016

David Wilson said:
Why are you only flying to 14.7? I fly down to 14.4 every flight. I fly HARD as most know and I get 18-19.5 minutes per flight. You can go down to the 14.0 cut off, it won't hurt these batteries. Now I do wish they charged faster... You will get a little more flight time with a P4 but it's going to look and feel like a toy after owning the H.

I completely agree with this. I can't understand why some folk are artificially limiting their flight times by landing at 4.7v. So long as you have landed or are about to land at 14.3v (first low level battery warning) you'll be fine and get in the region of 18 minutes + flight time. There is absolutely no reason why you can't fly to 14.3v under load, and the battery will bounce back to about 14.6v after landing.

Adamday331 · Jul 2, 2016

I don't think 0.4v isn't going to add 8 minutes to my flight.

Got extremely annoyed with it today waiting for the camera to connect. The short cut rarely works. Missed two excellent filming opportunities because of it and when it finally connected I just sat there waiting for the the next cyclist. Thankfully a group came past after 5 minutes.

Before this the first battery was under 10 minutes to 14.7. It drained to 15.5 after only 3 minutes of flight.

Adamday331 · Jul 2, 2016

The auto white balance spoils it a bit and I had to lose a scene because the colours were so different but here are the bikes from this morning.

FlushVision · Jul 2, 2016

Adamday331 said:
I don't think 0.4v isn't going to add 8 minutes to my flight.

You'd be surprised the difference it makes. There is a fast power drop from full to about 15.0 v but after this the drain is much slower to 14.3 v and will easily add a significant time to your flight. So long as you are landed by 14.3v your battery won't suffer at all. Try it and see.

Adamday331 · Jul 2, 2016

FlushVision said:
You'd be surprised the difference it makes. There is a fast power drop from full to about 15.0 v but after this the drain is much slower to 14.3 v and will easily add a significant time to your flight. So long as you are landed by 14.3v your battery won't suffer at all. Try it and see.

Ok I'll give it a go

FlushVision · Jul 2, 2016

Adamday331 said:
Ok I'll give it a go

Good man.
Don't be afraid to push these batteries down to the first low level warning...they'll take it. Just make sure you are landed or about to land at 14.3v. These batteries are good to go lower...the 14.3v gives a good safety margin.

Dragonflyerthom · Jul 2, 2016

Adam you can go past the first vibration with no harm. The only problem is when you are too low TH will land. On what is anybody's guess. Nice video

FlushVision · Jul 2, 2016

Dragonflyerthom said:
Adam you can go past the first vibration with no harm. The only problem is when you are too low TH will land. On what is anybody's guess. Nice video

On my first flight with the H I ended up landing AFTER THE SECOND warning (the reasons are in another thread). I don't know what the voltage was but I'm guessing pretty low. It was still a good controlled landing though.

I wouldn't want to do that again because it's bound to not be good or the battery in the long term, but I agree, It's good for after the first warning...being on the ground or in the process of landing at the first warning, then, gives a good safety margin.

Dragonflyerthom · Jul 2, 2016

Being battery aware is a good habit. Kinda like keeping an eye on your auto fuel level. Running out of gas isn't good for your motor. TH is just too much fun to fly, time can ge away from you.

Adamday331 · Jul 3, 2016

I managed to get 17.50 minutes then the low battery came on. Forget to time the second battery!

Made this edit today. It was filmed in full 4k then movie maker saves to 1080p. The cloud shadows are terrible, seems like lots of frames are missing. Maybe its because my notebook doesn't have the power I'm not sure.

Films smooth in 1080p but jittery in 4k.