FW 450/550 Flight Times

[SanCap]

I am going back and forth on what I should do with my new E300 DJI Hex motor kit. I have an existing 550 with the red motors. I also have a 450 with pieces parts from a Phantom I built. I have spare 450 and 550 upper and lower plates. I am trying to figure out which new build will give me better flight times. I could take the E300 motors and put them on the 550 or put them on the 450 and have 2 spare motors and esc's for the 450 and use the arms from the 550 for spares.

I did some math (using a 5200 mah 3S 35C battery for both copters) and it looks like the 550 would come in around 1900g and the 450 around 1500g using the same electronics on both. Granted the 550 can lift more but it also has to power 2 more motors. I know I would probably have to have a second battery on the 550 to get close to the flight times of the 450 with a single battery. My goal is longer flight time, any advice or suggestions are welcome.

 

[FangsCPO]

I am going back and forth on what I should do with my new E300 DJI Hex motor kit. I have an existing 550 with the red motors. I also have a 450 with pieces parts from a Phantom I built. I have spare 450 and 550 upper and lower plates. I am trying to figure out which new build will give me better flight times. I could take the E300 motors and put them on the 550 or put them on the 450 and have 2 spare motors and esc's for the 450 and use the arms from the 550 for spares.

I did some math (using a 5200 mah 3S 35C battery for both copters) and it looks like the 550 would come in around 1900g and the 450 around 1500g using the same electronics on both. Granted the 550 can lift more but it also has to power 2 more motors. I know I would probably have to have a second battery on the 550 to get close to the flight times of the 450 with a single battery. My goal is longer flight time, any advice or suggestions are welcome.

Keep in mind that adding a second battery will not double your flight time because you'll be adding additional weight. Check 550 Lounge thread "Acill" posted a 4S battery that is giving him between 15-18 minutes of flight time and his F550 weighs between 2300 and 2350....I can't recall. Good luck!

 

[SanCap]

I put the E300 motors on my 550 yesterday and it flies great. Quite a bit quieter. I have not tested flight times yet. I will post when I do the time tests.

 

[Acill]

The 6600 4S Multistar packs from Hobby King are great for the money. I can fly 15 minutes without worry but have my time set at 10 and usually am on the ground by 12. Sadly they are out of stock now since the word got out. I saw a couple lower capacity still in the USA shipping centre but they are going fast too. At $43 you cant beat them. I picked up 6 packs and have has ZERO issues.

 

[EMCSQUAR]

I use Turnigy 4S 5000 on my 450 w/E300s and get 12mins easily.

 

[OI Photography]

The 6600 4S Multistar packs from Hobby King are great for the money. I can fly 15 minutes without worry but have my time set at 10 and usually am on the ground by 12. Sadly they are out of stock now since the word got out. I saw a couple lower capacity still in the USA shipping centre but they are going fast too. At $43 you cant beat them. I picked up 6 packs and have has ZERO issues.

Yeah I just got one before they ran out of stock, did the first test flight last night. Not the behavior I'm used to in my 4S lips, but pretty much what you would expect from a 10C. Voltage dropped to 15.3 as soon as I took off (was 16.3 with motors idling before launch), and took quite a long time to drop each .1v after that. When I landed at the same voltage most of my regular 4S batts need to stop at, the Multistar 6600 bounced back to 15.1v...so I can easily push it a bit further on the voltage than I do with the others.

Btw mine came in at 498g even with the stock XT90 connector.

 

[SanCap]

The 6600 4S Multistar packs from Hobby King are great for the money. I can fly 15 minutes without worry but have my time set at 10 and usually am on the ground by 12. Sadly they are out of stock now since the word got out. I saw a couple lower capacity still in the USA shipping centre but they are going fast too. At $43 you cant beat them. I picked up 6 packs and have has ZERO issues.

How much does your rig weigh with the battery?