When flying a drone the goal is to keep it in the air for as long as possible. The main component that is going to influence the longevity of your drone’s flight is the battery. If you have found that your drone struggles to stay in the air for as long as expected, you may be looking for ways to make the battery last longer.
First, you must make sure that your drone and the battery are compatible. The battery should have the capacity to support the power of the drone. Now, this is where things become slightly more challenging. Whilst a battery with a larger capacity is recommended, it is going to be bigger, adding more weight to the drone. A drone that is carrying more weight is going to consume more power.
It is also important to plan your drone’s flight before launching it. Thorough preparation will ensure that unnecessary mistakes are avoided. Pay close attention to the weather conditions. During harsh and windy weather, your drone is going to have to work much harder than it would on clear or dry days. As such, you will find that the battery drains pretty fast as a result. For this reason, you should plan to fly your drone on days when adverse weather is not expected.
If you have a drone that is equipped with a camera, we would advise you to take more shots than you may think necessary during the flight. This is because you do not want to land your drone only to discover that the photos are of poor quality. Having to take a second flight to capture better footage is only going to consume more battery power.
Flight checks and maintenance are also paramount. Attempting to fly your drone when the battery is almost drained means that it isn’t going to have the power to complete a lengthy flight. Conducting pre-flight checks will allow you to evaluate whether the battery has enough charge to fly for as long as needed. In the majority of cases, the battery will need to be drained for at least six hours ahead of flight. Ideally, you should charge them just before you intend to use them. You may not know this, but the second the battery is removed from its charging source, it will begin losing some of its charge.