So

I've been babying my P3P and try to land at 50% life left in my battery.  I've begun to get bold with the drond and venturing out further everyday.  At what level battery do I want to be back on the ground?

I also need to do a drain them to 8% for battery life too

thanks

I usually fly to the 30% warning mark and then prepare to land, usually landing at 25% or more. This gives me a bit to play with should there be any last minute change of plan, perhaps unforeseen wind etc. In saying that I'm usually within direct eye contact, so at most about 500-600 metres away.
The guide is to drain them too about 8% every 20 flights or so, this helps calibrate the 'intelligent' battery. To drain the battery you could let it hover just above ground until it auto lands at 10%, and lose the last couple of percent by powering it up and sitting idle. Let the battery cool, and then recharge.

Aardvark Posted at 2016-11-15 07:35
I usually fly to the 30% warning mark and then prepare to land, usually landing at 25% or more. This ...

I can offer this. I also try to be back within site of my drone by 30%. I have went down to 20% by not my choice. I have purposely tried to see what will happen if you push the envelope. I have seen more than once it will continue to hover and at 10% it will tell you it is going to land and it will try to land...if you override that warning the motors will shut off right after that, not sure just how much time you have. Regardless of where you are at and you would get caught in the air and it gets in that  15%-20%, you have only a very short window to get it on the ground, otherwise it will for sure fall out of the sky when it gets to around 10% or just below that.

"I also need to do a drain them to 8% for battery life too"

No you don't.
That's just a forum myth.

Aloha lablover,

     If you are past 10 flights each using only 50% of the batteries, there is no justification for continuing.  The 10 flights each was posted on the Forum at one time by a member of the DJI Team and apparently lost since then.  If you have done 10 flights per battery, you have done a soft break in of your batteries which according to research is supposed to lengthen the life of the battery.  The issue is debated now here on the Forum.

     From here, follow Aardvark's advice and you cannot go wrong, but it can be argued.  Hope this helps!

Aloha and Drone On!

ive landed at 2-3% once and i think my heart was on the floor while it was happening. Didn't account for wind, full speed battery drain, and the distance (1 mile) i was at. i usually get ready to land when the battery firsts alerts me and then ill have some fun around me just flying different maneuvers.