Plane battery life in flying

FDS

Elite member
That depends on the size of the plane, how fast it’s going and how big the battery is. We would need to know the plane design you are building and the motor and prop. You can work it out by using the power output in Watts of the motor and prop vs the capacity of the battery. That still only gives you a rough idea, as air temperature can make a difference as can battery age.
 

kareez

Member
That depends on the size of the plane, how fast it’s going and how big the battery is. We would need to know the plane design you are building and the motor and prop. You can work it out by using the power output in Watts of the motor and prop vs the capacity of the battery. That still only gives you a rough idea, as air temperature can make a difference as can battery age.
So transmitter not show battery charge in airplane. :unsure::unsure::cautious::cautious:
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
So transmitter not show battery charge in airplane.
You can do that but you will need hardware the fixed wing guys tend to not use. Your radio is set up to handle telemetry and if you are using the proper receiver and engine voltage telemetry module you can set that up.

From the Radiolink ad on GetFPV:"Both R10DS and R9DS support extended engine voltage telemetry module PRM-01 and OSD info telemetry module PRM-02. PRM-02 can feedback GPS, SPEED, voltage etc."

I'm a Taranis guy so I don't know Radiolink but you should be able to find the connections (assuming you have the telemetry module(s)) online.
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member

FDS

Elite member
It’s much easier to just fly for 5 mins, land, check the battery voltage and capacity, then fly another 2 mins, rinse and repeat until you get to about 3.6v per cell and around 30% capacity remaining. That’s your total flight time, it allows a margin of error so you don’t land with no power to spare or puff your pack. Set the timer on your TX to do the right time to give you the above voltages when you finish, then it beeps when time is up, so you can land.
Most FT planes fly for 5-10 mins depending on how hard you fly and the air temp.
 

CrazyFastFlying

Elite member
It’s much easier to just fly for 5 mins, land, check the battery voltage and capacity, then fly another 2 mins, rinse and repeat until you get to about 3.6v per cell and around 30% capacity remaining. That’s your total flight time, it allows a margin of error so you don’t land with no power to spare or puff your pack. Set the timer on your TX to do the right time to give you the above voltages when you finish, then it beeps when time is up, so you can land.
Most FT planes fly for 5-10 mins depending on how hard you fly and the air temp.

Why wouldn't you just put an alarm in the battery like I said? It would be a lot easier than landing, checking the voltage, flying more, landing checking the voltage and so on.
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Battery alarms are nice... But you dont always hear them. Ambient noise, distance, wind all reduce the effective range of beepers. Timers are nice but also not the best to use. You dont always fly at the same throttle.

However a Throttle %timer works perfectly every time no matter how much or how hard you fly. I can cruise around for 5 to 6 minutes on my race quads or I can hammer them around flags near full throttle and drain a pack in under a minute and my batteries come down within .05 volts depending on how soon I land after the timer goes off.

When they go back on the charger they are all sitting at 3.65 to 3.85 volts per cell depending on when I landed them and how long a rest they got after flying until they hit the charger.

Throttle % timers area little more time consuming to dial in but once you get them they are near perfect every flight.
 

Headbang

Master member
It’s much easier to just fly for 5 mins, land, check the battery voltage and capacity, then fly another 2 mins, rinse and repeat until you get to about 3.6v per cell and around 30% capacity remaining. That’s your total flight time, it allows a margin of error so you don’t land with no power to spare or puff your pack. Set the timer on your TX to do the right time to give you the above voltages when you finish, then it beeps when time is up, so you can land.
Most FT planes fly for 5-10 mins depending on how hard you fly and the air temp.
I use telemetry on most of my stuff. Having my tx give me voice alerts every 30secs or so. Gives a huge peace of mind!
 

Merv

Site Moderator
Staff member
Telemetry is great, if you have it, you should use it. I use the old school timer method. As @FDS said, fly for a few minutes, land & check the voltage, repeat until voltage reaches about 3.6 per cell. Then set your timer for the total time on that battery. You can refine your timer from there. Get yourself a cheep cell checker

You will eventually be able to your tell when your battery is low by how your plane flys.
 

FDS

Elite member
Also many fixed wing ESC’s have built in battery protection. You usually want to land before that cuts in as the throttle either pulses or cuts to 50%, both of which can make landing safely more difficult, especially if it’s windy.
 

cranialrectosis

Faster than a speeding face plant!
Mentor
Taranis...

Amber says...

"Warning, low voltage." every 30 seconds when I hit 3.65 on any cell. If I get to 3.4 she starts saying "Danger". Amber reminds me of Elizabeth Hurley with that British accent. Telemetry real time updates via voice and/or OSD is the shiznit if you have it.

Thank you OpenTX. :)

@kareez, do you have the telemetry module for that receiver?
 

PsyBorg

Wake up! Time to fly!
Taranis...

Amber says...

"Warning, low voltage." every 30 seconds when I hit 3.65 on any cell. If I get to 3.4 she starts saying "Danger". Amber reminds me of Elizabeth Hurley with that British accent. Telemetry real time updates via voice and/or OSD is the shiznit if you have it.

Thank you OpenTX. :)

@kareez, do you have the telemetry module for that receiver?

I gave up on having a woman hen peckin me all the time. No need to drag that back into my hobby time with a digital one. I will agree though Amber does sound kinda sexy. Nice thing about open TX is you can make it say anything you want. Even sing opera to you hehe. I like to have mine play Iron Maidens Aces High when I rip some times.