First Flight Impressions of the Plus

[Barton]

Regarding ST16S battery life:

I ran a very simple test a few minutes ago. Turned on ST16S with fully charged battery, display brightness on high. Turned on H+. Noted that ST16S battery was at 99% charge. Started stop watch, waited 1 hour. After 1 hour noted that ST16S battery was now at 68% charge.

So, a simple test, with one unit, shows that the ST16S should operate for roughly 3 hours on a new, fully charged battery. Not as bad as I originally thought when I saw the charge level ticking lower fairly quickly. I thought this was pretty fast but I'm probably too used to tablet and smartphone discharge rates... . For this environment, probably acceptable.

 

[Ty Pilot]

Yeah, we got a little spoiled with the 480 in that department. Its just the nature of the beast. The good thing is we don't have to run out and buy expensive flight batteries so an extra TX battery will be on the way soon along with some charge leads and a set of ND filters.

 

[PatR]

Yeah, we got a little spoiled with the 480 in that department. Its just the nature of the beast. The good thing is we don't have to run out and buy expensive flight batteries so an extra TX battery will be on the way soon along with some charge leads and a set of ND filters.

We might want to defer that battery thought for another day a little further down the line. It appears some new H batteries are shipping out with mid 2016 manufacture dates, so their life cycle will be pretty short. If Yuneec leans on the after market battery makers a little (the all share the same general location of manufacture) we might see original H batteries going the way of the Dodo, with only the new 520/H Plus batteries being available. That might sound a little extreme but the 920/920+ batteries they are now selling are ancient and degrading both in flight time and peak voltage quite rapidly, and there are none of the correct size on this continent, worth a crap, or reasonably priced in other countries from the after market makers. We can also look at the Chroma and see those batteries are in the same situation. The current pricing for a "full boat" Typhoon H-480 with a back pack is indicative of an effort to clear the shelves of remaining inventory.

Allowing the continued sale of H batteries that can be used in the Plus and 520 without significant penalty is not beneficial to their profit structure. Thus far Yuneec has established themselves as being extremely obstinate, but not stupid.

 

[Ty Pilot]

Yeah, that sounds l about right, no worries I can hold off a while, thanks for the heads up.

 

[PatR]

My best guess if there is a need to buy batteries for the Plus or the H-480, right now is the time to make a decision about what type you want and get on them quickly. Those with the H-480 may well find themselves looking for alternative battery solutions by year’s end. That would not be hard to accomplish but many may not be pleased in the manner it would have to be done.

 

[rdonson]

I’m wondering to what the improved flight characteristics of the H+ can be attributed to. The new ESCs? Motors? The airframe and props of the 520? Better flight controller, compass, GPS, etc? All of the above?

 

[Barton]

I’m wondering to what the improved flight characteristics of the H+ can be attributed to. The new ESCs? Motors? The airframe and props of the 520? Better flight controller, compass, GPS, etc? All of the above?

Obviously, I don't know the real answer, but it occurs to me that if @Ty Pilot was able to make considerable improvement in the flight control performance of his bird by modifying the rate curves for J3 and J4 that similar modifications by Yuneec for the H+ rate curves for control inputs would be reasonable (and simple) place to start...

 

[Barton]

Regarding ST16S battery life:

I ran a very simple test a few minutes ago. Turned on ST16S with fully charged battery, display brightness on high. Turned on H+. Noted that ST16S battery was at 99% charge. Started stop watch, waited 1 hour. After 1 hour noted that ST16S battery was now at 68% charge.

So, a simple test, with one unit, shows that the ST16S should operate for roughly 3 hours on a new, fully charged battery. Not as bad as I originally thought when I saw the charge level ticking lower fairly quickly. I thought this was pretty fast but I'm probably too used to tablet and smartphone discharge rates... . For this environment, probably acceptable.

Just an FYI for those of us thinking of using a battery power pack to extend the battery life of the ST16S during missions... It appears that, at least with the standard H+ battery charger with a 1A USB charging port, the 1A charge current will MAINTAIN the ST16S battery charge but will not increase the charge of battery during the mission. I'll do another test when my power pack arrives (claimed charging current up to 3A) to see if it will actually charge the ST16S battery while on a mission (hopefully it doesn't burn up the ST16S charging circuitry... ).

 

[Ty Pilot]

During these first flights I am directing all available brain cells - and there ain't much left - to concentrating on all phases of the flight so I forget stuff only to remember it later. One thing I have noticed is thrust signature whether its close to grass or bushes and causing them to move and particularly over water, is noticeably larger, while at the same time the aircraft is quieter. That picture I posted on the other page was me seeing how close I could get to the water without disturbing it, turn out I need to be about 1 to 2 feet higher than with my 480. As we already know, the props are larger with a greater diameter but also they have a broader chord and a higher pitch to absorb the energy from the larger motors. This was a frame from video and I had just lifted high enough to not disturb the water and see the reflection of the Plus

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

OK... video file question for @Ty Pilot , @Barton , @Mickeyboo and any other current H+ owners... So we all know that video on the H is broken up into 5 minute sequences... so, on the H+, in 4K 60FPS, do you still get 5 minute slices that essentially are 2X the file size? Does that additional file size present any buffering issues? Or does the file size determine that video sequence duration, and 4K 60FPS are only 2.5 minutes long? Da special kid in the back wants to know...

 

[Ty Pilot]

Hmm, @Eagle's Eye Video good question, but perhaps someone else can find out as I have long since stopped - just letting the camera run for the entire flight or even for several minutes. Even the files from the 480 were large enough that my work flow became more focused and script-like and truthfully; this was not just because of the large files but rather it is just a function of knowing (or trying to find) what I want specifically and then go get it. For instance, I will almost never let a clip run more than a about 5 to 10 seconds (In a finished video) before a cut unless; its got a reason to be longer. As such I find that I do more of what film-makers do and run several takes. This make it easier when your viewing the clips to spot the one take that you like and throw the rest out before taking it into the editor. It just makes the whole work flow go better in my opinion.

In the case of the pic above for example: That picture is from a 1:30 clip I did over water with the plus and it is 750 MB! I actually had filmed this with my H a week ago for an upcoming video and the footage was so 'Yuneec" that I decided to repeat it with my plus. So basically I will go out and look at what I want to shoot and then run it as many times as I need making each run a separate clip. The difficulty this adds to the pilot load - to remember to turn on and off the camera - is something that takes time to build into your routine but, in the end it makes the editing job so much easier. On some of my videos, like my Typhoon H Videos, I am doing this with three cameras (Drone, Chest and Ground) and a separate audio recorder so; on top of flying, I am starting and stopping many pieces of the pie, not to mention sometimes doing a vocal part live while trying to stand on a mark and I rarely get it all right. However, that all started with me learning to see the shot by flying and looking at the screen to see a shot I want and then go get it - even if it takes five, ten or fifteen tries. Digital memory is cheap and reusable.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

I was thinking more in terms of general file management... would never be thinking of using a continuous 5+ minute clip.

 

[Barton]

OK... video file question for @Ty Pilot , @Barton , @Mickeyboo and any other current H+ owners... So we all know that video on the H is broken up into 5 minute sequences... so, on the H+, in 4K 60FPS, do you still get 5 minute slices that essentially are 2X the file size? Does that additional file size present any buffering issues? Or does the file size determine that video sequence duration, and 4K 60FPS are only 2.5 minutes long? Da special kid in the back wants to know...

@Eagle's Eye Video Here is a first-pass answer to your question. I plugged in the 16 GB SD card that came with the H+. Set video to 4K, 60 FPS, turned on record and walked away (H+ on a table, scene it was recording basically did not change for 20 minutes). I stopped the recording at 20 minutes with 0.3 GB of free memory left. Below is a screen shot of the directory listing.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

Thanks Barton! That makes sense... so each of the 3.6GB files is 5 minutes... going to guess typical outdoor footage will be closer to 4.5GB... glad I invested in V60 cards.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

Regarding ST16S battery life:

I ran a very simple test a few minutes ago. Turned on ST16S with fully charged battery, display brightness on high. Turned on H+. Noted that ST16S battery was at 99% charge. Started stop watch, waited 1 hour. After 1 hour noted that ST16S battery was now at 68% charge.

So, a simple test, with one unit, shows that the ST16S should operate for roughly 3 hours on a new, fully charged battery. Not as bad as I originally thought when I saw the charge level ticking lower fairly quickly. I thought this was pretty fast but I'm probably too used to tablet and smartphone discharge rates... . For this environment, probably acceptable.

I think you are overestimating a bit... I think that it could be agreed that at least with the H and the ST-16, that the most you would want to operate the controller would be maybe 35%? So if you were to lose about 32% of your battery per hour with the ST-16S, you will be at 36% at the 2 hour mark... and done for the day, without any additional power source or 2nd battery.

Also, when in actual use... I'm sure that constantly changing, active display consumes more battery power... then add in the constantly updated control signal when actually flying the H+, as opposed to passively sitting on a table. Based on your conditions and results, I'd hazard closer to 90 minutes under real use conditions. Still more than enough I would think, for any average day's flying.

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

Just an FYI for those of us thinking of using a battery power pack to extend the battery life of the ST16S during missions... It appears that, at least with the standard H+ battery charger with a 1A USB charging port, the 1A charge current will MAINTAIN the ST16S battery charge but will not increase the charge of battery during the mission. I'll do another test when my power pack arrives (claimed charging current up to 3A) to see if it will actually charge the ST16S battery while on a mission (hopefully it doesn't burn up the ST16S charging circuitry... ).

On those power banks can you select the rate (2A, for example)?

 

[Barton]

I think you are overestimating a bit... I think that it could be agreed that at least with the H and the ST-16, that the most you would want to operate the controller would be maybe 35%? So if you were to lose about 32% of your battery per hour with the ST-16S, you will be at 36% at the 2 hour mark... and done for the day, without any additional power source or 2nd battery.

Also, when in actual use... I'm sure that constantly changing, active display consumes more battery power... then add in the constantly updated control signal when actually flying the H+, as opposed to passively sitting on a table. Based on your conditions and results, I'd hazard closer to 90 minutes under real use conditions. Still more than enough I would think, for any average day's flying.

Agreed, my estimate leaves no buffer or safety margin.

In my case, being a 'belt and suspender personality', if I'm planning a mission that would last most of the day (traveling, etc), I'll use the power bank battery to keep the ST16S battery charged as much as possible while flying.

 

[Barton]

On those power banks can you select the rate (2A, for example)?

Can't change the rate directly. The battery should arrive on Monday or Tuesday. Here is what the manufacturer claims:
iM-Power Technology
Your digital devices are on and off automatically when they are connected and disconnected.The power bank detects
your device intelligently and quick charges your device at highest possible speed.
Both USB ports detect your device intelligently and deliver the faster charge, 3*USB 5V/3.4A (Max.),
supports to charge three devices at the same time.
Multiple Smart Protection System: keeps your devices safe from over-charging, over-voltage, over-current, and short circuit.

Guess we will find out

 

[Eagle's Eye Video]

Can't change the rate directly. The battery should arrive on Monday or Tuesday. Here is what the manufacturer claims:
iM-Power Technology
Your digital devices are on and off automatically when they are connected and disconnected.The power bank detects
your device intelligently and quick charges your device at highest possible speed.
Both USB ports detect your device intelligently

I'll pay you $50 if you post a screenshot of that powerbank readout... "ST-16S Detected"

NO Photoshopping

 

[Barton]

I'll pay you $50 if you post a screenshot of that powerbank readout... "ST-16S Detected"

NO Photoshopping

Your $50 is safe since the only readout the powerbank provides is a digital readout (in %) of the remaining charge IN THE POWERBANK.
The features I listed are all manufacturer 'trust me' features - could be validated I suppose. I'll start with functional performance and a smoke test