Does flying at 5300+ feet matter regarding battery life?

[Scott_in_Colorado]

Hey All,

I fly my new Breeze in Colorado. It seems to me like the batteries are not lasting very long - and they are new, and charged ONLY until the green light comes on - meaning the charge is done. But I'd think with less air at about 5300 feet, the motors turn the blades faster to get the lift the Breeze needs to hover, and move around. The faster rotation would cause more current to the motors, thus lower battery life.

Comments?

Thanks

Scott

 

[AH-1G]

Correct

 

[DoomMeister]

I was just wondering that after answering your post in another thread. I'm presently in central Florida and have noticed decreased battery life in windier conditions (although the Breeze seems to do quite well even in gusty winds).

My battery lasts about 8 to 10 minutes hovering with some manuvering. How long are you able fly yours at that altitude?

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

My flight log shows 7:04 as the max so far, but I'm not really trying to fly as long as possible. I land at 20% battery left. I will check the actual duration in the next days. All I know is that it's not long enough. My GOAL is to take this product (some drone) up to the lake, launch it from my kayak, and capture video of me catching fish, and my wife kayaking, then land back on the kayak or catch the drone as it hovers and I reach up and catch it. Sure, a few orbit movies, or fly-away shots showing the nice scenery, and perhaps a few higher up mountain shots of the terrain.

I have to change my expectations if another drone that might fly longer. I know I'd need 10 minutes in follow-me mode at least, before I catch a fish. This seems to be an over-expectation of what this nice Breeze is designed to so. I might be able to launch right after I catch the fish, get 5 minute video, and land, but that's a bit hard to time / do. I'm not sure what the answer is at this point.

 

[Scott_in_Colorado]

New measured data: 8 minutes w/o GPS on, indoors on one battery, and 6:39 with another battery. Both seem very low, but perhaps (MAYBE) the thin air in CO is causing the blades to rotate faster, pulling more current from the battery. Suppose I'll have to measure the RPM and see what it is at a hover, then if I can compare this to someone at sea level, I'll know if my blades are spinning faster, which is all that makes sense to me.