Isn't slower better?

[RaWine]

I've watched a few videos where someone has gotten way out somewhere or just not judged their battery power left and they race home in sport mode.

Shouldn't they do the opposite to save power? If I notice I'm low on fuel before the next gas station, and still have good ways to go, I slow down to conserve gas. Is it different with electric?

Also, if true, wouldn't it better if DJI didn't send us back in sport mode on RTH as sometimes this is due to being really far away. Or at least made it adjustable for us.

 

[Koala Tails]

I saw a video comparing manually flying back to auto RTH. The drone that was driven home was way faster & used less battery.
Electric motors don’t have an ideal economic speed like a petrol engine. So flying a spark slow only means the camera, sensors, GPS, and other tech bits are on, sucking up battery power longer. Also sport mode turns off a few things giving extra power to the rotors. I hope this makes sense.

 

[RaWine]

Thanks! Does make sense.

 

[suprPHREAK]

Generally, slower uses less power, but the drone is already using plenty of power to stay in in the air it wont matter much. What really benefits is when you are moving forward, you are avoiding aerodynamic turbulence from the props. When the blade spins, it creates a wake (just like a boat in water). If the following blade passes through that wake, it has to work harder to create the same lift. When the drone is moving forward quickly, each blade is biting into fresh new air, never hitting the wake.

This is why DJI advertises 1 min greater flight time when you are moving, vs hovering.

 

[Bryan Murphy]

Anecdotally it feels like I get more flight time when I turn off all the nanny-software gimmicks and fly in sport mode. I should start collecting data to see if this is true.

 

[suprPHREAK]

The nannies off won't make any difference on its own. The drone is always collecting and calculating that data, it just won't interfere with you. You can see this in the logs. Point is, you aren't saving battery by reducing processing power.

 

[Bryan Murphy]

You think turning off the collision avoidance doesn't save any battery? I'm not convinced. It may not be much, but it has to cost something otherwise it's poorly implemented.