After watching many reviews, test, tutorials etc I 'thought' that the normal flight time of the Spark would be around 10 - 12 minutes and a bit less in (high) wind.
But then I saw this video from a Spark user that shows 15 minutes of straigt footage.


He was hovering for most of the time and as far as I heard / read that would reduce the battery life compared to when moving.

He claims not having slowed down the footage so it made me wonder: what is your normal flight time?

(still wondering weather I am going to buy the Spark, so far I'm only waiting for the 25 fps option)

Peter

Depends if I have the guards on.  With them 10-12 minutes, without them 13 or more.

More or less around 13 minutes.

11 minutes.

Around 12 minutes. Max I've achieved was around 14 without recording and in a  fairly calm day. However, when you're flying, 10 minutes to me feel like 30.

+- 10 to 13 minutes...

Note that flight time also depends on the battery level at which you stop flying. One has more flight time if stopping flying at 5% battery then someone else at 25%, assuming all other things equal of course.
Let's mention the final battery level when responding to this thread.

I am getting consistently 9+ minutes flight time with prop guards attached, flying down to 20%.  I'm also flying over a mile high (around 6K ft altitude), which means spark has to work a bit harder than at sea level.  This is not unexpected for me, and I am not displeased.  What I try to do is determine the purpose of the flight (pic, video, etc), and mentally prepare a flight plan in support of that purpose.

I ve not exceeded 12 minutes landing with 20-25% battery left

I found that if i hover more then flying, its 12-13min, if flying all the  time, it can easy reach 14-15min. I fly untill battery remains 10%.

Thanks all!

10 - 12 minutes

I have a couple of 14 and 15 minutes flights.
But that's mostly flown to "critical batterie, aircraft is landing"
I try to be close to the Spark again after 10-12 minutes

10-12 Minutes on average to ~30%

Around 10 mins, heading home and generally landing not much lower than 20-25%

12 ish.
Good to have spare batteries on hand!

10-12 min.  ~ 10-15% batt left at shutdown

I can't work out why hovering would be a reduced flying time to flying around. Hover is just overcoming gravity; moving around is forward propulsion AND overcoming gravity. It is not an aerodynamic shape - i.e. there is no lift to speak of. Take it to a logical conclusion and if moving around slowly is more efficient than hovering then moving around fast (sport mode) would be more efficient than moving slowly which it clearly isn't.

Charles Adams Posted at 2017-8-18 15:57
I am getting consistently 9+ minutes flight time with prop guards attached, flying down to 20%.  I'm also flying over a mile high (around 6K ft altitude), which means spark has to work a bit harder than at sea level.  This is not unexpected for me, and I am not displeased.  What I try to do is determine the purpose of the flight (pic, video, etc), and mentally prepare a flight plan in support of that purpose.

How do you fly over a mile high? I thought spark is limited to 500m altitude? thanks

Convert Posted at 2017-8-20 10:27
I can't work out why hovering would be a reduced flying time to flying around. Hover is just overcoming gravity; moving around is forward propulsion AND overcoming gravity. It is not an aerodynamic shape - i.e. there is no lift to speak of. Take it to a logical conclusion and if moving around slowly is more efficient than hovering then moving around fast (sport mode) would be more efficient than moving slowly which it clearly isn't.

Well, I am no scientist, but there is such a thing as 'helicopter translational lift'
As far as I can see, it does apply to drones as well. This is when the forward motion reduces the energy needed to maintain altitude.
But not based on any science or experience. I only heard and read about it.

MAvicMinh Posted at 2017-8-20 10:48
How do you fly over a mile high? I thought spark is limited to 500m altitude? thanks

I think he means he lives at high altitude i.e. the spark is taking off from a location where ground is 6000ft above sea level.

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-8-20 11:12
Well, I am no scientist, but there is such a thing as 'helicopter translational lift'
As far as I can see, it does apply to drones as well. This is when the forward motion reduces the energy needed to maintain altitude.
But not based on any science or experience. I only heard and read about it.

Ahh - yes, that makes sense. A good explanation here

Always good to know science is backing a thought.
Not sure if it will apply 100% to drones / quadcopters but this is at least true for helicopters.

Longest I flew was 12 minutes but I like to stay safe I bit now I'm still a beginner with the Spark.

Seems sensible to do that!

MAvicMinh Posted at 2017-8-20 10:48
How do you fly over a mile high? I thought spark is limited to 500m altitude? thanks

Where I live ground level altitude is about 6k.

Here is what i had found from 45 flights, with all my flight record still in my phone (already synced):
Battery always around 20~22% when landing.
Normal operation: 11~12mins (slightly windy)
Full Sport Mode (tried 2 times): 10-11mins (no wind)
One time battery critically low 7% when off, 13mins.
At a different location: More open, less interference, 14mins. (2 times)

Also, i noticed if you have 12 mins and 01 sec, it shows as 13mins in the app flight time column.

So i can safely say you can get a solid 9mins ,as Charles as said, of actual work (minus fly off and return fly).

Thanks for your reply.
Seems a bit on the short side, but then again, you can get two for the price of a Mavic battery.

I get about 11min with guards on with 10-20% battery life left.  When I fly without guards, I get up to 14min with 10-20% battery life.  Now I do agree that hovering does deplete flight time by a few minutes.

10 to 12 generally.

its 13 minuts on normal wind conditions. but on high winds it would be around 10 or seven minuts.

That is a consistent flight time of about 10 minutes.
So I can take that into account when buying batteries.

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-8-21 05:05
That is a consistent flight time of about 10 minutes.
So I can take that into account when buying batteries.

I think it would be useful to note the ambient air temperature along with flight time.
My flights have been averaging 12 minutes (32ºC), but it's hot and humid as hell here right now and I'm sure that affects battery life (and my life) negatively.

I look forward to slightly longer (and more enjoyable) flight times when temperatures drop to between 10º and 20ºC.

Over this past weekend I flew at my property in the mountains (around 9500' elevation), and my spark flight times were a bit over 8 minutes.  This is expected behavior to me, as the thinner air means more power used to fly.

I get around 10-11 minutes

Charles Adams Posted at 2017-8-21 06:45
Over this past weekend I flew at my property in the mountains (around 9500' elevation), and my spark flight times were a bit over 8 minutes.  This is expected behavior to me, as the thinner air means more power used to fly.

Do you have footage from 'over there?'

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-8-21 10:53
Do you have footage from 'over there?'

Yep, a lot.  It's on the market for sale (no, not trying to sell it here), and I decided that I would try and make my realtor a video that might help to sell the property.  I've not edited anything yet.  I'd be happy to share what I do have, but I must stress (to DJI moderators) that I'm not trying to sell anything here.

Don't worry, I am not in the market for anything 'over there'.
Do you have a yt link or anything?

Montfrooij Posted at 2017-8-21 11:08
Don't worry, I am not in the market for anything 'over there'.
Do you have a yt link or anything?

No, nothing yet.  My recorded material only exists on hard drive.  I won't get a chance to review and pick some samples until later tonight.

Here's a short clip of one section that I uploaded to skypixel.  I didn't choose the music.

https://www.skypixel.com/videos/ ... ;utm_campaign=share