First time flyer - would like some clarification

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Hi, so I just took my new P3P out for the first time and it was a blast - easier to use than I had expected (though, it'll take some time getting used to controls being swapped when the bird is facing me, but that was expected and not an issue for me).

I have some questions that I would just like some clarifications on.

Firstly, I've read over and over to never take off on a battery less than 100%, when turning it on. I guess what I'd like to know here is why? Is it a strict DO NOT DO IT if it's not 100%? Or would something like 99, 98, 95% be ok?

Second, does the same apply to the RC? I'm sure it doesn't, but I just want to be certain.
 
The only time you will see 100% is if you take it off your charger and plug it into your P3 and fly right away. I charge my batteries at home then drive to the flying area. I always end up taking off with 99 or 97%. There's nothing wrong with that. All batteries will lose some power over time.
This has been my procedure since day 1 of owning my P3P an I have had 0 issues with it. I also always run the latest firmware on all my devices.

I've also fly with anywhere from 65-100% charge in the controller, and usually charge it up when only the two left lights are on ( neither flashing) this indicates 50% charge. Again, no issues for me but I always fly L.O.S. If you plan to fly long distances then always fully charged would be recommended.

Enjoy your new bird and be safe...


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Thank you! I thought it was weird that I keep reading to only fly at 100% charge, that would be really tough to do. I charged mine fully, and then I ran the firmware update. By the end, my battery was down to like 96% and because of what I read, I charged it to 100% again just to be sure I follow what people here say. But, I felt pretty stupid having to charge it again after only doing a FW update. But, I'd rather feel stupid doing something like that over watching it fall from the sky.
 
The only time you will see 100% is if you take it off your charger and plug it into your P3 and fly right away. I charge my batteries at home then drive to the flying area. I always end up taking off with 99 or 97%. There's nothing wrong with that. All batteries will lose some power over time.
This has been my procedure since day 1 of owning my P3P an I have had 0 issues with it. I also always run the latest firmware on all my devices.

I've also fly with anywhere from 65-100% charge in the controller, and usually charge it up when only the two left lights are on ( neither flashing) this indicates 50% charge. Again, no issues for me but I always fly L.O.S. If you plan to fly long distances then always fully charged would be recommended.

Enjoy your new bird and be safe...


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is exactly how I handle my pro. I have yet to see 100% when I fly, but it's between 97% and 99% after I fully charge that day or day before.
 
I guess what I'd like to know here is why? Is it a strict DO NOT DO IT if it's not 100%?
A fully charged battery is recommended (anything above ~90% is fine) since taking off at a fast, steep ascent causes the battery voltage to drop. If you take off and slowly ease your Phantom into the air, you'll notice the battery voltage does not spike as much. The problem is that many people pay no attention to that -- and, then when they try doing it with a battery that is half depleted, the voltage drops to a dangerously low level. That could either cause your Phantom to auto land at its current location (critical low battery) or just shut off mid-air. DJI has attempted to prevent the Phantom from reaching the point where the battery shuts off, but it's probably not possible to prevent it completely without severely handicapping the Phantom's performance.
 
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If you haven't done so, now is an excellent time to get a little sister for your Phantom. A Hubsan X4 or similar. Even one of the really tiny ones. The idea is to practice joystick control until it's muscle memory. Back and forth, rotate, yaw. Drives my dog nuts - he wants eat it.

But it's great on those days when you can't fly the Phantom. I just wish I could find one with autohover to make it a bit more similar to the bigger bird. But muscle memory is muscle memory.
 
A fully charged battery is recommended (anything above ~90% is fine) since taking off at a fast, steep ascent causes the battery voltage to drop. If you take off and slowly ease your Phantom into the air, you'll notice the battery voltage does not spike as much. The problem is that many people pay no attention to that -- and, then when they try doing it with a battery that is half depleted, the voltage drops to a dangerously low level. That could either cause your Phantom to auto land at its current location (critical low battery) or just shut off mid-air. DJI has attempted to prevent the Phantom from reaching the point where the battery shuts off, but it's probably not possible to prevent it completely without severely handicapping the Phantom's performance.
Thank you for this - That makes a lot of sense and I'll make a habit to pay close attention to the voltage.
 
I take off all the time with the battery at less than 100% (down to 35%) and have never had an issue. I think common sense is to fly with as much available battery as possible... if you take off with less... realize you will trigger the fail-safe earlier. I have just found this issue to be turned into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

I have 5 batteries and a lot of times I take short flights to shoot something I am interested in... it would drive me crazy to leave so much flight time on the table if I never took off with less that 100 percent battery
 
We also understand that DJI has "a battery" fix in 1.6 FW, though exact details are not known but time will tell us if all battery related issues are resolved. Even if all issues are not resolved but if we get timely warning to take it down, we can relax and fly.
 
I take off all the time with the battery at less than 100% (down to 35%) and have never had an issue. I think common sense is to fly with as much available battery as possible... if you take off with less... realize you will trigger the fail-safe earlier. I have just found this issue to be turned into a bigger deal than it needs to be.

I have 5 batteries and a lot of times I take short flights to shoot something I am interested in... it would drive me crazy to leave so much flight time on the table if I never took off with less that 100 percent battery

You have five batteries - why would you even risk being close to running out? It's not like you can't recharge the things. You aren't leaving anything on the table. I'd always fly with as full a battery as possible. Never know when that UFO is going to set down in the next field.
 
You have five batteries - why would you even risk being close to running out? It's not like you can't recharge the things. You aren't leaving anything on the table. I'd always fly with as full a battery as possible. Never know when that UFO is going to set down in the next field.

I'm filming in pretty remote areas... which is why I have 5 batteries. My point is, though.... I have been taking off with less than 100% for a long time and have had zero issues. I don't tend to take off very often with less than 40%.... but I have for a 2 or 3 minute flight.
 
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I find that if I charge the battery till the lights go out it only registers 98% in the app. To get to 100% you need to turn the battery on, then plug it into the charger till the lights go out & you will have a Fully Charged battery.

This method works well for topping up 'fully charged' batteries that have been lying around for a couple of days.

Going out to fly with fully charged batteries gives you a little bit more confidence, imo.

Did I mention Fully Charged batteries?

Saying that I took off last night with a 60% charged battery that had been unused for a few days and everything was fine - short flight, slow & steady and kept my eye on the all important voltages. Those xmas drinkies gave me full confidence!
 
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I've landed, killed the engines and started it back up many times in the 50-6-% range. No issues.
 
I've landed, killed the engines and started it back up many times in the 50-6-% range. No issues.
Many people do this. And, it can be safely done if you understand how to monitor the battery voltage and what causes the battery voltage to spike to dangerously low levels.
 
A fully charged battery is recommended (anything above ~90% is fine) since taking off at a fast, steep ascent causes the battery voltage to drop. If you take off and slowly ease your Phantom into the air, you'll notice the battery voltage does not spike as much. The problem is that many people pay no attention to that -- and, then when they try doing it with a battery that is half depleted, the voltage drops to a dangerously low level. That could either cause your Phantom to auto land at its current location (critical low battery) or just shut off mid-air. DJI has attempted to prevent the Phantom from reaching the point where the battery shuts off, but it's probably not possible to prevent it completely without severely handicapping the Phantom's performance.

I've experienced premature low battery warnings on a flew flights. The default 30% "bingo" alert after ~5 min of flight on a fully charged battery. After reading this, and thinking back on those few occasions, it makes sense...the few times it's happened were during some aggressive periods of flight - full forward and full ascent. I hadn't considered draw on the battery...makes me wonder how close I'd come to disaster.
 

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