95% of my flights don't benefit from the M2P's obstacle avoidance tech. If I turn off these features in the app, does it extend the flight time?

Hi. We apologize for the inconvenience. We do not advise customer to turn off the obstacle avoidance while in the air for safety purposes.

DJI Wanda Posted at 2018-8-30 05:10
Hi. We apologize for the inconvenience. We do not advise customer to turn off the obstacle avoidance while in the air for safety purposes.

You are not answering his question!!!  Yes it is not recommanded but it is a feature that we can disable
So it is a choice!!  He is asking if that improve the battery charge is lasting longer!!  That's it!

I think only way to find out is fly two batteries on same way. I with sensor on and one off then compare the power remain. My guess is no big different. I will be surprise if the different is over a minutes.

Cirius Posted at 2018-8-30 05:26
You are not answering his question!!!  Yes it is not recommanded but it is a feature that we can disable
So it is a choice!!  He is asking if that improve the battery charge is lasting longer!!  That's it!

I understand your point, sir. The motor consumes more power than obstacle avoidance. You can obviously turn it off whenever you want since it can also improve battery life. But again, we do not advise to turn it off.

I would say if you turn off obstacle avoidance and you gain a couple pf minutes of flight time, it would not justify the risk. Also if I  you crash because you hit an object when obstacle avoidance is off,  it could be considered gross negligence and would not be covered under warranty or DJI refresh.  

dbparti024 Posted at 2018-8-30 06:15
I would say if you turn off obstacle avoidance and you gain a couple pf minutes of flight time, it would not justify the risk. Also if I  you crash because you hit an object when obstacle avoidance is off,  it could be considered gross negligence and would not be covered under warranty or DJI refresh.

DJI would not honor djicare if I flew in sport mode? Or does it only cover tripod mode?

I have flown at times when obstacle avoidance was not convenient. I realize that I am taking a risk when I do this. I have noticed that at least some models fly a little faster with obstacle avoidance off. You get a little more speed and you can fly through tighter spaces. I do not recommend this for beginners. More battery time is not a good reason to turn it off. I don’t think it makes a noticeable difference. It might even decrease flight time if you are able to fly faster than is optimal for best battery time, but I’m not sure about this.

DJI Wanda Posted at 2018-8-30 06:08
I understand your point, sir. The motor consumes more power than obstacle avoidance. You can obviously turn it off whenever you want since it can also improve battery life. But again, we do not advise to turn it off.

Thanks Wanda, you've answered this guy question!  For my MP I never fly without obstacles avoidance and like a fellow said above, for 5 minutes more.....same as why I'm not taking Viagra

The biggest issue I face with obstacle avoidance is flying in winter. The sun is lower in the sky, which usually means you can not fly in its general direction due to the obstacle avoidance stopping it.

Clearly the sun is the bigger obstacle on sky.

Well, if you want to save battery power, just fly at 400 feet, cut the motors and glide in... (Joking)

Apart from trying to fit through a tight space (and the risk is all yours there) the only benefit might be very slightly longer flight time if you are flying well away from obstacles anyway (so avoidance isn't doing anything anyway).
I have tried sports mode to see if you can fly further by going faster, but found the extra load of flying faster actually uses the battery faster than the extra speed gets you around - ie total flight distance and time is shorter.
Flying slowly might get you a little more time in the air, but I doubt it's enough to measure unless you need every last second - and then you're running into safety issues running the battery so close to empty.

Conclusion: sports mode has had a valid use for me already - I got some distance into a flight and turned the drone to see rain approaching. It got me home before the rain got too serious (just a few drops on the Mavic) but I wouldn't use it for much else.

How come Wanda is so polite.. What happened to dji larry or what was the guys name from Califorinia?