Hello AP Community,
I’m using Arducopter (firmware version V4.4.4) on a quadcopter with a total weight of 1250g. The setup includes Brotherhobby F2008 motors (1000KV) paired with 9.4-inch folding propellers. The battery is a 4-cell Li-ion pack, with 3.2V per cell as the critical voltage (for safety), and fully charged at 16.6V. The drone has been autotuned and is stable. Unfortunately, my setup does not include a battery monitoring system.
I conducted three flights, two for 18 minutes & one for 21.5 minutes in position hold mode at a static position. I set the EK3_SRC1_POSZ to GPS mode with Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) for precise positioning. In all three flights, the drone held its position accurately for atleast 18min.
Flight 1:
Flight Time: 18 minutes
Flight Height: Approximately 8 meters in open ground
Battery Voltage: Dropped from 16.6V to 13.38V, including landing
Upon analyzing the data flash log, I noticed that two of the motors required more throttle input but did not reach the maximum within the 18-minute flight. The log for Flight 1 is attached below:
Flight 2:
Flight Time: 18.5 minutes
Flight Height: Approximately 10 meters in open ground
Battery Voltage: Dropped from 16.6V to 13.35V, including landing
The log for Flight 2 is attached below:
Flight 3:
When I extended the flight time to 21.5 minutes, the battery voltage suddenly dropped to 11.6V, and there was a potential thrust loss on motors 1 and 2, causing the drone to hard land.
Flight Time: 21.5 minutes
Flight Height: Approximately 15 meters in open ground
Battery Voltage: Dropped from 16.6V to 11.6V
The log for Flight 3 is attached below:
Flight 4:
Additionally, I performed a flight where I provided inputs (pitch, roll, and yaw) from the RC transmitter while in position hold mode at a height of approximately 6 meters. The log for this flight is attached below:
Request for Feedback:
Based on these flight analyses, I would appreciate your input on whether my drone is ready for autonomous flight (in guided mode). If it is, what would be the safe flight time for autonomous operation? Do I need to conduct additional flight tests?
Thank you for your insights!