16 minutes flight time..

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I talked to tech dept. where I bought my last 2 phantoms. I never seem to get more than 16 mins. flight time
I bought from 1UAS. He told me that DJI should have stated hover time at 23 mins. Because in flight time all they get is 16 to 17 mins. also. Another uh-oh from DJI. They just mailed out my extra battery today.. I paid for the bundle over 2 months ago.
 
DJI should have stated hover time at 23 mins. Because in flight time all they get is 16 to 17 mins. also. Another uh-oh from DJI.
To be fair .. DJI specs say:
Max Flight Time Approximately 23 minutes
Does your car maker quote fuel consumption for hard driving or economy driving?
 
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DJI advertises the "max flight time" as "approximately 23 minutes". For many people, the average is approximately 18 minutes. That of course can fluctuate based on temperature, average wind, flying style, etc. It would be tough for DJI to try quoting the average flight time for each Phantom owner.
 
DJI advertises the "max flight time" as "approximately 23 minutes". For many people, the average is approximately 18 minutes. That of course can fluctuate based on temperature, average wind, flying style, etc. It would be tough for DJI to try quoting the average flight time for each Phantom owner.
While I have only been through four complete flights (meaning that I got down below 10% on the battery), they have all been in the 17 to 19 minute range so this corroborates what you say others are seeing. I have been flying in fairly strong winds (8 to 10 mph) so maybe the flight time will be better in more ideal conditions.
 
I picked mine up directly from there store because they are local. Still haven't got my battery yet but maybe I will receive it this week if they shipped yours today.
 
Go out on a calm, windless, cool day and hover at 100 ft. You will probably get 20+ minutes before the battery gets low enough to trigger an RTH.
 
When I first got my P3, I also noticed that my flight times were < 20 minutes. Part of it was because the **** IMU calibration took so long. After recalibrating the IMU (which reduced the IMU warmup time), I was able to get around 20 minutes of flight time.
 
When I first got my P3, I also noticed that my flight times were < 20 minutes. Part of it was because the **** IMU calibration took so long. After recalibrating the IMU (which reduced the IMU warmup time), I was able to get around 20 minutes of flight time.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This.

Do the refrigerator IMU calibration. Previously I had been waiting 2-3 minutes warm up time. Now - insta-flight. I seem to have averaged around 19 minutes, but then again I'm not hard on the throttle usually going for max distance. Shortest was about 15 minutes in some strong head winds and then I rode the tail wind back early to make sure I'd clear the water.

Temp, humidity, wind speed, pilot - all make a difference. I'm sure in an empty warehouse you can get 23.
 
On my 3 mile out and back flight it was 14 minutes full throttle nearly the entire time. Landed with 30%.
 
To be fair .. DJI specs say:
Max Flight Time Approximately 23 minutes
Does your car maker quote fuel consumption for hard driving or economy driving?
you can't hover and get 23 mins. flight time DJI was wrong!!!!
 
you can't hover and get 23 mins. flight time DJI was wrong!!!!
The flight time you are getting is perfectly normal and dji have always advertised it as Meta says. It'll be a few more years before we get actual flying time of 30 mins, it's the same for all multirotors with a camera/payload
 
I also emailed Dji about this and was told not to hover because the phantom was fighting it's back wash to let it rip. Thats what I've done and max is 18 minutes that's better than the hovering 16 minutes. I bought a refurbished p3p and was concerned about the battery.
 
16 minutes is normal on the phantom 3. They advertised a lot of more minutes but the real work tested time is around 16 minutes.
 
Hover comparison test starts at time-stamp 9m: 46s here:
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If you don't want to watch it then I can reveal that the P3 hover time = 19m:44s and the P4 = 21m:48s.

I assume that both craft+batteries were quite new.
 
It is like how walkie-talkie manufacturers say 5 mile range and in reality they only talk about a mile. They are tested in absolutely perfect conditions to make that claim and there is nothing sneaky about it. it's a true claim, technically speaking. 23 minutes flight time is probably true in perfect conditions, running the battery down to 1% or something.
 
The P3P will do 23 mins in less than ideal conditions.

My longest time in the air on P3P is 23mins 8 seconds, landed at 1% battery (97% at launch).

That's what happens when you get caught out by a head wind on the return leg.
 
Most things also include a phrase that everyone seems to miss (or ignore): "UP TO..."
 
I have been flying in no wind and I have also been thinking these flights have been short but it's hard to tell when having fun.I have a small timer I will take with me so I will know for sure next time i'm out.I forgot about the timer til now but I used it when I flew RC planes long ago,now I need to find it.
 

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