I've been flying models for about 2 years on and off, and studying full scale aviation for about 9 years. Today, I recieved a lightly used Phantom 2. I've flown two batteries through it, and let get this out of the way: I am extremely impressed with this quadcopter.

I've barely touched the GPS mode because I personally don't like the way it feels, too mushy for my taste. I can hold position better than the GPS can anyway, so there's no real advantage for me. I spent most of the flights in attitude mode (favorite so far) and also spent a considerable amount of time in manual mode. This is where the thread title becomes relevant.

In manual mode, my copter requires a small amount of forward pressure on the throttle to hover. (remember, in manual mode you have direct control over the total thust output). I noticed that there was a sweet spot where I could utilize translational lift and fly level (I estimate about 20 mph) with no pressure on the throttle. If I was really precise on the pitch control, I could reach a point where the quad would actually climb in forward flight while using less power than it takes to hover. This is called "Effective translational lift" and it's why full scale helicopters spend so little time hovering. It's much more efficient to fly forward and use the rotor disk as a wing.

For example: Let's say it takes 60% thrust to hover. At 20 and 30 mph forward speed, it takes 50% to mantain altitude. But at 25 mph forward speed, it takes 50% power to climb. These are estimated values obviously, but you get the idea. Flying at a certain airspeed you could easily increase the flight time of your quad considerably. Good for casual FPV flying?

I've never seen this mentioned in the multirotor community, which is kind of surprising to me. Also, this is my first post on the DJI forums

Hmmm .... food for thought.
Makes sense.
Welcome!!

I could reach a point where the quad would actually climb in forward flight while using less power than it takes to hover.

I am intrigued as to how you measure the power useage in order to support this?

Geebax Posted at 2017-4-2 20:05
I could reach a point where the quad would actually climb in forward flight while using less power than it takes to hover.

I am intrigued as to how you measure the power useage in order to support this?

In manual mode, throttle position directly controls thrust output.

That, and I could actually hear the motors running at a very slightly lower RPM than when the craft is hovering. I also noticed that I could pitch up and use the forward speed to climb significantly, whether or not ETL can be used to increase flight times it up for debate, but it's definitely there.