Short flight time with "loaded" Phantom

[Hotrod]

I recently bought a used P1. The reason I bought it was to get some additional flight practice without exposing my P2+ to possible damage.I am on my 3rd gimble/camera on the P2.
The P1 came with a lot of extras which included a FPV monitor and 5.8 mhz transmitter and a set up for dual batteries. The Go-Pro was solid mounted,really simple. When I bought it the FPV parts were not mounted on the unit. It did just what I hoped it would do and proved itself to be almost indestructible and fun to fly.
Eventually I decided to "improve it". I purchased a cheap gimble from China ($60.00) and mounted the FPV transmitter on the craft. My impression of the gimbal was that it looks pretty robust, but is rather heavy. It also takes it,s power from the flight battery. My first flight went OK, but the craft was noticeably more sluggish. And my flight time went from around 15 minutes to about 7. I tried again with another battery and it stayed at around 6 or 7 minutes. At this point I think I will go back to the minimal configuration and just use it as a fun little trainer.
Does this sound typical of what adding a little more weight does? Could the cheap gimble be robbing that much power from the flight battery? I guess I will use my P2+ for any serious photo work and just enjoy flying the P1.

 

[EMCSQUAR]

It's normal for P1 loaded to lose it's normal flight time. Your P2 also has over double the battery capacity when comparing the two.

 

[Hotrod]

Yes, I know. I am just surprised it cut the flight time in half!! And I notice the battery is really warm at the end of the flight. Probably from a big current draw to keep itself in the air.

 

[syotr]

What is your total weight? What battery or batteries are you using? Have you tried the larger P2 props?
If you have the external shelf on each side for dual batteries, be aware that these block air flow. Better to enlarge the battery bay or install the guts in a P2 shell. There are some 2800 mah batteries (Maddog or Dinogy) that fit in the P1 without much modification and would give you more flight time over the standard battery. The cheap gimbals are often heavy.

 

[PsychopathRC]

I have an FC40 and recently bought an Overlander 2900MAh battery for it. It fits in without any mod's. Just about. So if you are looking for more power but no modifications, look for batteries around the 3000MAh range max.

Planning to 'load' mine eventually. I hope I can get around 10 minutes flight time per battery. I hear using '9450' props alone can give you minutes more flight time.