The flight time is a problem that many people are concerned about. As we know, battery capacity and fuselage weight directly affect the flight time of drones.
However, the duration of drones’ flights will be influenced by a few other factors as well. In this article, we will explore the 5 factors that affect the flight time of drones.
1. Wind Speed
Drones need more power than usual to fly in wind or headwind conditions (It is not advised to fly in high winds or headwinds).
2. Operation habits
Everyone's operating habits are different, and operations such as fast flight, emergency stops, and ascent consume more power.
3. Payload
We've found through testing that a reduction of roughly one minute occurs when the payload of drones is increased by around 10 grams. Additionally, the percentage of power lost increases with the payload's weight.
4. Low temperature environment
When drones fly in extremely low temperatures (below freezing), their batteries need to consume more power to maintain heat.
5. Shooting, entertainment, and other functions
If you record videos or take pictures throughout the flight, it needs to consume more power to continuously transmit signals between the camera and the remote control or the mobile phone, and it will consume more power.
Additionally, the flight time will be shorter by utilizing other features on the app than only flying, and the endurance reference in the manual is calculated based on pure flight only.
Conclusion
The flight time of a drone depends not only on battery capacity and fuselage weight but also on several other factors. Flying in windy conditions, at high speeds, and frequently emergent stopping or climbing will shorten the flight time. In addition, the drones’ payload, flying in low-temperature environments, filming, and using other entertainment functions will also shorten the flight time. Therefore, it is recommended to consider these factors and adjust accordingly, or purchase 1 or 2 spare batteries to fly as long as planned, it is recommended to equip with a total of 3 or 4 batteries for one drone.
