Hi, i was wondering what parameters drone deploy uses to calculate the number of batteries required. I have a Mavic 2 Pro, so it should be 25 minutes flight time. But it would be good to know what percentage remaining it uses to calculate the drone will return, and if it can be changed. For many missions, where the drone never goes past 500 ft from me, i set my critical battery level very low t maximize battery time.
thanks
Mike
I always forget to add in the flight time from and back to home. I haven’t seen that DD includes this like some of the other apps we have used. You could easily knock off 3 minutes right there. Other than that DD uses the DJI system so it’s whatever you have set in there. I know Phantom 4’s claim 30 minutes of flight time and we get 16-18 minutes of actual useable mapping time. Our goal is to land at 20%.
By trying to save a few minutes by dropping the battery reserve time, my Mavic Air went down in a wooded area. Although I located the drone on the ground, the search cost me far more time than a battery change would have, not to mention a set of propellers. Fortunate that the craft is well built and there was no other damage, even to the gimbel. After that, I put in a fresh, fully charged battery immediately prior to takeoff to get full time. All the preflight, clearing storage cards, calibrating compass, etc, gets done with a different battery.
It’s a scary deal. I have pushed batteries a couple of times and with a forced landing and immediate #adrenalinespike. One thing that people don’t recognize is once the battery hits 20% it discharges very erratically and most of the time faster. Effectively we only have about 65-70% of a battery to work with. By cutting at 25% and landing at 20% we can cover a good 800ft on the return. On a side note we should be very proud of DD’s precision point return. I have not seen it on any other major mapping flight planner and it can save a ton of battery. When you constantly have 1000 - 2000ft lanes thatsalotta battery.