From things to avoid, things you DO NOT want happening to you, and best practices with your drone battery, below are 10 things most new drone pilots don’t know.
10. Drones might THINK it has low battery when it doesn’t
Your drone will compensate for how fast you are flying to be able to alert you when it has low battery.
In other words, if you are flying FAST AND FURIOUS in sport mode, your drone will think you will be having your entire flight in this way. Instead of thinking “ah, you have 25 minutes of battery life”, it will think “ah, you will be flying this fast the entire time and NOW you actually only have 10 minutes of battery life”.
So what?
What happens is your drone might kick into low battery early and begin to auto return to home sooner than it should.
Keep an eye on the TIME you have left on your battery as you’re flying and don’t forget, cinematic shots tend to be flown VERY slowly.
9. Critical battery and auto landing
When your drone has low battery it’ll start beeping (which is annoying). Most pilots have experienced this.
However, when your drone has CRITICAL BATTERY, it will start to auto land (and you cannot cancel this, but you CAN control it).
Understanding that you still have control over your drone (you can move it around so it lands in a safe spot) and you can SLOW the process of it landing (by pressing the left stick up to gain height), can help you in this situation. But remember, you can’t stop it from landing on critical battery.
Yowza…
Knowing how to deal with those “oh sh**” moments is what helps new pilots gain the confidence to fly their drones every time. This is one of MANY things you can learn to troubleshoot in the HOW TO FLY A DRONE LIKE A PRO advanced course.
8. Heat and cold
Drone batteries are affected by temperature and flying your drone in extreme heat (at the beach) or cold (in the snow) can reduce your battery time significantly.
7. Swollen batteries
When your drone batteries have been exposed to too much heat they will swell and get fat. When they get “too fat” this can become dangerous (and they need to be properly disposed of).
However, it’s important to NOT fly with swollen batteries because you can risk them FALLING out of your drone while flying.
To see the video version of this blog post, checkout the video below!
6. Listen for the click
Related to the swollen batteries, make sure your drone battery is COMPLETELY in before taking off. There are many horror stories out there of people who forgot to do this…
I was flying my drone and the battery fell out WHILE I was in the air. My drone fell from the sky somewhere I couldn’t retrieve it.
– Drone pilot slipping into my DMs on instagram
Don’t be that guy.
5. Flying on a plane with your drone
The rule of thumb if you are:
- Flying with your drone in a carry-on: your drone with a battery inside it, the rest of your spare batteries along with it (or optional in a lipo bag)
- Flying with your drone in a checked bag: your drone with a battery inside it in your checked luggage, the rest of your spare batteries go carry-on with you (optional in a lipo bag)
Don’t forget about the general best practices:
- Gimbal cover on
- Drone inside a protective case
- Some people like to remove the sticks from the controller
4. Don’t travel with fully charged drone batteries
This is a best practice to consider. Think about it this way: a fully charged drone battery is more likely to have an issue (or explode) on a plane than one that doesn’t have as much charge.
Or just use those lipo bags.
For more tips on how to travel with your drone, see the video below!
3. Buying spare batteries can get expensive
One of the key advantages of buying the “Fly More Combo” is the additional batteries it comes with. Buying individual spare batteries (depending on drone type) can run you about $100 a pop.
2. Drone batteries take a LONG TIME to charge
60-90 minutes PER battery is an average time you can expect for a new drone battery to charge.
Don’t forget: getting the drone batteries charged FIRST is my top recommendation when setting up a new drone. They don’t come pre-charged or with ANY juice. So if you want to fly your drone any time soon, you’ll need to get these charging FIRST.
See the full video below and let’s setup our drones together!
1. Hot drone batteries won’t charge
If you recently flew your drone, your battery is likely HOT. Your drone battery won’t start charging until it’s cooled down a bit (so that 60-90 minutes might be even longer).
Become a PRO at flying your drone
MASTER your drone and gain the confidence to EASILY fly!
Whether you’re just getting started, or trying to become an advanced pilot selling your drone photography and videography, consider checking out the drone courses!
Bottom Line
Understanding your drone batteries can help you to be a better drone pilot. Don’t forget that prior to each flight to perform a visual inspection of your drone (and batteries!) to ensure their health before taking off.
Want to MASTER your drone and gain confidence EVERY time you fly? Checkout the advanced HOW TO DRONE LIKE A PRO class!