How many flights...

[baker745]

I have to do a proposal to my boss for purchasing a Phantom 2 and one of the questions he is going to ask it how long will it last... How many flights does everyone have on their phantoms? I know there are a lot of variables, like crashing , but I am just looking for total numbers right now.

Thanks in advance for feedback!

 

[d4ddyo]

the biggest issue is crashes and the type of crashes. I don't know that there are failure rates but the phantom 1 hasn't even been out that long relatively and people are still flying and modifying them.

As for the Phantom 2... well as long as you let the motors cool... I don't think there is much wear and tear on the motors. I think the batteries will be the first to go and you will notice it's diminished capacity over time. I'm not sure about the P2 batteries and I'm sure someone can calculate their max life span.

I just asked the question why is everyone going through so many props! LOL.

 

[jumanoc]

I have to do a proposal to my boss for purchasing a Phantom 2 and one of the questions he is going to ask it how long will it last... How many flights does everyone have on their phantoms? I know there are a lot of variables, like crashing , but I am just looking for total numbers right now.

Thanks in advance for feedback!

Here completed 350+ flights in 14 months (Phantom 1), spares required:

* 1 motor (replaced after changing bearings and 100+ flights againg sounds "clank - clank"). T-motors added around 250 flights
* 3 prop sets (12 props)
* 1 Compass cable (broken on bump landing) + landing skid
* 10 Batteries
* 1 bottom shell (some cracks appeared around the motor mounting screws)

 

[d4ddyo]

I have to do a proposal to my boss for purchasing a Phantom 2 and one of the questions he is going to ask it how long will it last... How many flights does everyone have on their phantoms? I know there are a lot of variables, like crashing , but I am just looking for total numbers right now.

Thanks in advance for feedback!

Here completed 350+ flights in 14 months (Phantom 1), spares required:

* 1 motor (replaced after changing bearings and 100+ flights againg sounds "clank - clank"). T-motors added around 250 flights
* 3 prop sets (12 props)
* 1 Compass cable (broken on bump landing) + landing skid
* 10 Batteries
* 1 bottom shell (some cracks appeared around the motor mounting screws)

Holy Crap! 10 Batteries? even so... assuming that the P1 has half the flight time... 5 P2 Batteries?

 

[jumanoc]

I have to do a proposal to my boss for purchasing a Phantom 2 and one of the questions he is going to ask it how long will it last... How many flights does everyone have on their phantoms? I know there are a lot of variables, like crashing , but I am just looking for total numbers right now.

Thanks in advance for feedback!

Here completed 350+ flights in 14 months (Phantom 1), spares required:

* 1 motor (replaced after changing bearings and 100+ flights againg sounds "clank - clank"). T-motors added around 250 flights
* 3 prop sets (12 props)
* 1 Compass cable (broken on bump landing) + landing skid
* 10 Batteries
* 1 bottom shell (some cracks appeared around the motor mounting screws)

Holy Crap! 10 Batteries? even so... assuming that the P1 has half the flight time... 5 P2 Batteries?

Nope :lol: 4 of my 2200 mAh and 2700 mAh batteries provides the same flight time than 1 PV2 battery, so really just 2 PV2 batteries equivalence.

 

[d4ddyo]

That makes a lot of sense now. LOL. but i'm sure some of those batteries don't count because they are still serviceable ?

 

[jumanoc]

That makes a lot of sense now. LOL. but i'm sure some of those batteries don't count because they are still serviceable ?

The 2200 mAh are used now for TX and Monitor /RX power (3 units). The 2700 mAh just for flying (7 units).

 

[d4ddyo]

Basically if you don't crash service and maintenance is minimal

 

[jumanoc]

Basically if you don't crash service and maintenance is minimal

Right !. And in addition, some advises:

1) No speedy fingers on TX,
2) No risky flights when windy / rainy / non Satellite lock
3) No loose LOS even if many people around asking a lot
4) Not accept crazy challenges from friends on distance, height, speed...
5) Check your batteries before each flight
6) Compass dance before first flight

and other not written here

 

[QYV]

if you need a talking point for why you can't give an exact answer to a question like "how many flights will you get with a Phantom" try this: how many drives do you get with a car? there are so many variables not the least of which is just plain luck.

 

[d4ddyo]

if you need a talking point for why you can't give an exact answer to a question like "how many flights will you get with a Phantom" try this: how many drives do you get with a car? there are so many variables not the least of which is just plain luck.

Bad example.For the most part... If you know what type of car you have and what kind of tires... under normal driving conditions you can predict the maintenance cost over time. Car manufacturers do this all the time. They can predict your maintenance schedule.

We just don't have enough data. Basically the cost is minimal assuming you do everything right and don't get into an accident.

 

[laselvasurf]

My first phantom I had well over 150 flights(at 5 minutes a flight). On my P1.1.1 phantoms I had probably 20 flights(at 6 minutes a flight). On my P2 I already have around 50 flights(at 15 minutes a flight).

My first phantom had upgraded motors, and I never had a single issue with it. The others were stock, other than iosd/fpv ect...

In reality, I would say you'll crash it before it will fail because it will "run out of life" or break. I've yet to crash any of my phantoms. Not even a single hard landing... But I'm extremely cautious and have been flying RC for years and MRs for years before the phantom.

 

[QYV]

if you need a talking point for why you can't give an exact answer to a question like "how many flights will you get with a Phantom" try this: how many drives do you get with a car? there are so many variables not the least of which is just plain luck.

Bad example.For the most part... If you know what type of car you have and what kind of tires... under normal driving conditions you can predict the maintenance cost over time. Car manufacturers do this all the time. They can predict your maintenance schedule.

We just don't have enough data. Basically the cost is minimal assuming you do everything right and don't get into an accident.

I take your point but he wasn't asking for maintenance costs which indeed are predictable (on a car), he was asking "how long will it last" and the answer is "it depends"... on a great many things. skill of pilot, proper maintenance, bad luck, other people... random birds

there's people on here with hundreds of flights and I've seen other threads where people fire it up and either break or sink it in water within a week.

my point which I definitely didn't make in the other post is I'd concentrate on the value added to the business not "how long will it be operational". might be an easier sell.

 

[d4ddyo]

Which is why maintenance cost is more important. When you ask how lomg will a Toyota Camry last assuming you bought brand new. You can answer in terms of maintenance. For the first 100,000 miles driving you can guarantee if driven average and no accidents that maintainance cost will be very low. Oil changes and wearable like tires. Same thing with the Phantom. It's a better quality consumer grade quad that assuming you don't crash it will last a lomg time before you have to replace anything expensive.


Yes. It's value and that is determined by cost of ownership which I think he's trying to guess. In the case of the phantom. It's basically over the course of at least the first 2 years assuming no defects or accidents: very very minimal maintenance so you can pretty much take the cost of the phantom.

Honestly comparing this to let's say the Walkera where the workmanship is far from good (heard of bad soldering and lose solder shorting things out) might have a higher average cost per use because of higher possibility of repair costs or general item failure in the same time span.

 

[ElGuano]

Like jumanoc I have several hundred flights and approaching 100 hundred hours on the airframe last I checked. Heavily modified but no replacements parts and no maintenance. Almost all flights are very slow and steady AV style, very little throwing the craft around or acro horseplay.

 

[baker745]

Hey Guys. I appreciate all the feedback. I understand all the variables. I just was looking for some numbers so I could use to say, "there are people who have gotten ____ number of flights out if these things." I just want a real number to throw out there. I have over a hundred flights on mine without a single incident. But, I fully realized I could destroy it the next time it goes up.

 

[jumanoc]

if you need a talking point for why you can't give an exact answer to a question like "how many flights will you get with a Phantom" try this: how many drives do you get with a car? there are so many variables not the least of which is just plain luck.

Except for 15+ test flights, I film all my phantom flights (GoPro Hero3) sometimes with gimbal, other just hang on stock mount, so, not only I'm sure how many flights my phantom has but also how many hours it has been on air : 82~ :geek:

 

[ElGuano]

if you need a talking point for why you can't give an exact answer to a question like "how many flights will you get with a Phantom" try this: how many drives do you get with a car? there are so many variables not the least of which is just plain luck.

Except for 15+ test flights, I film all my phantom flights (GoPro Hero3) sometimes with gimbal, other just hang on stock mount, so, not only I'm sure how many flights my phantom has but also how many hours it has been on air : 82~ :geek:

Nice. I track flight time by logging batteries. Every flight is timed and logged on into a spreadsheet along with total airtime, lv trigger time, and landing voltages. I don't have nearly enough HD space to save all the random videos I take--I'll extract a few choice clips from each flight, save the raws from major flights (destination flights) and sadly dump the rest.