Phantom 4 battery life

[John Locke]

Ironically, OA on produces the longest battery life for me, as it limits the speed to 22 mph, which appears to be a sweet spot for battery life, but not for distance flying. Consistent 25 minutes, or so, flying that way. Too slow for me, though! Bought this thing for speed, not maximizing battery life! Still getting 25+ minutes at 32-40 mph in P mode with external batteries and a battery mod!

All you guys say you get 22mph with OA on, but not for me. I've owned two P4's (DJI exchanged my first one) and they both crawl along at 15mph most the time in P mode while OA is enabled. Once I got it up to 19mph when I was flying with the wind. It's pretty lame, it should have no problem going 22mph since it goes over 40mph in S mode. I realize the OA can't work going faster then 22mph, but why does it take so long to get to 15mph? Any why can't mine break the 20mph milestone? Funny thing is during RTH (which I rarely use) I've noticed the craft flies exactly 22mph on it's way back to home, this is while OA is enabled. Have you guys actually seen 22mph while flying P mode with OA enabled?

 

[phlyer]

So I have 3 batteries to run to 50% when my phantom arrives tonight

You'll be glad you did. I've found that the batteries are more efficient and in sport mode I regularly run at more than the 40 mph claimed (up to 62mph with following wind). It's also good to make sure the batteries are fully charged before a flight as they can run down more quickly than expected if they are below 75%.

"When charging new batteries, it is advisable not to fast charge for at least the first few cycles. This means charging no faster than ‘1C’ (I’ll explain charging rates in more detail later). The same applies to the first few discharge cycles. Some say that this isn’t essential. However, it certainly won’t do any harm. It’s thought that a ‘Breaking In’ procedure is a good idea. The idea is to fly gently and only discharge your batteries to 50% for the first few flights. This is thought to help settle the internal makeup within the battery and help set the pack up for a prolonged life. After the first few cycles, it’s not unusual to see a slight increase in performance and usually a sign that the pack is ready for normal use." The Ultimate LiPo Drone Battery Care Guide - Dronethusiast

 

[GadgetGuy]

All you guys say you get 22mph with OA on, but not for me. I've owned two P4's (DJI exchanged my first one) and they both crawl along at 15mph most the time in P mode while OA is enabled. Once I got it up to 19mph when I was flying with the wind. It's pretty lame, it should have no problem going 22mph since it goes over 40mph in S mode. I realize the OA can't work going faster then 22mph, but why does it take so long to get to 15mph? Any why can't mine break the 20mph milestone? Funny thing is during RTH (which I rarely use) I've noticed the craft flies exactly 22mph on it's way back to home, this is while OA is enabled. Have you guys actually seen 22mph while flying P mode with OA enabled?

I'll have to recheck. I only tested using OA once, and I wasn't paying attention to the actual speed, as I was flying full throttle, knowing it was throttled to 22 mph max. I found it way too slow for my purposes even at 22 mph. P mode frequently flies at 40 mph with full throttle, so I never needed Sports mode either. Most efficient speed appears to be 31-33 mph, if you need to nurse it back home on a low battery. Flying low helps keep it below the wind, too.

 

[r62ewa]

All you guys say you get 22mph with OA on, but not for me. I've owned two P4's (DJI exchanged my first one) and they both crawl along at 15mph most the time in P mode while OA is enabled. Once I got it up to 19mph when I was flying with the wind. It's pretty lame, it should have no problem going 22mph since it goes over 40mph in S mode. I realize the OA can't work going faster then 22mph, but why does it take so long to get to 15mph? Any why can't mine break the 20mph milestone? Funny thing is during RTH (which I rarely use) I've noticed the craft flies exactly 22mph on it's way back to home, this is while OA is enabled. Have you guys actually seen 22mph while flying P mode with OA enabled?

I was following your first posts about your first Phantom not reaching 22 mph and your second now either. I was interested to see if you found a solution as mine is the exact same way. When I turn on OA and push it forward it tilts a very little and crawls away, top speed 15 mph or so, I like you, have seen it do nearly 22 mph maybe once or twice. With OA off she comes alive. I know the 22 mph is for the OA to work but mine never reached that with OA activated.

 

[John Locke]

I'll have to recheck. I only tested using OA once, and I wasn't paying attention to the actual speed, as I was flying full throttle, knowing it was throttled to 22 mph max. I found it way too slow for my purposes even at 22 mph. P mode frequently flies at 40 mph with full throttle, so I never needed Sports mode either. Most efficient speed appears to be 31-33 mph, if you need to nurse it back home on a low battery. Flying low helps keep it below the wind, too.

Yes, it's very slow. It's strange why it doesn't zip up to 22mph and maintain that, if the OA only works up to 22mph. It shouldn't accelerate so slow, and it should go 22mph. When you enable RTH, it zips right up to 22mph to head home, and OA is enabled. That's how it should fly all the time when OA is enabled. It's really strange behavior, and a key reason I don't use OA hardly ever, it's too dang slow. It acts like my old Yuneec Q500 with a 15mph top speed.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Yes, it's very slow. It's strange why it doesn't zip up to 22mph and maintain that, if the OA only works up to 22mph. It shouldn't accelerate so slow, and it should go 22mph. When you enable RTH, it zips right up to 22mph to head home, and OA is enabled. That's how it should fly all the time when OA is enabled. It's really strange behavior, and a key reason I don't use OA hardly ever, it's too dang slow. It acts like my old Yuneec Q500 with a 15mph top speed.

Yes, turning off OA was the very first thing I did on my P4. If I can't see what I am about to run into flying forwards and avoid it, and don't yet know how to properly set my RTH altitude and loss of signal setting to RTH, I don't deserve to be flying faster than 15mph!