Just wondering , if I am out at my max flight distance and under clear weather, light wind, absolutly no obstruction (like water) between me and the mavic and at a height of 150 ft, I decide to return, but feeling a bit uneasy about my battery strength (but lets consider that just a normal human response lol) would it be better to switch my Mavic to Sport mode to maximize use of the remaining battery strenght or is it better to stay out of Sport ???

I only hit sports mode when I'm returning home and notice the Mavic is going at like 4 mph since it's fighting the wind. Hit to sport mode and it flew back at 20 mph but it drained the battery quick. I guess it would depend on your distance, how much battery is left, and if there is wind going against your AC.

AEM74 Posted at 2017-11-3 09:39
I only hit sports mode when I'm returning home and notice the Mavic is going at like 4 mph since it's fighting the wind. Hit to sport mode and it flew back at 20 mph but it drained the battery quick. I guess it would depend on your distance, how much battery is left, and if there is wind going against your AC.

I always fly back to HP when battery hits 30%, usually this is enough battery to get me back if I encounter a head wind. Many variables here, this would be a problem if someone was doing a S&R mission and was flying a grid pattern with extended distance involved. For the most part I am usually within 1500 meters of my HP or very close to my subject. I have seen a battery head South very quickly in strong wind at altitude.
I only use sport mode when this situation arises and have > 30% left on the pack.  Best rule of thumb is "its cheaper to keep her" close enough to get back from any controllable situation.

You should be able to judge what speed you need by looking at all the necessary telemetry.

Let's see...  I'm running low on battery.  Maybe I should go to Sport mode and use even more power to try to outrun the battery drainage.  Doesn't make sense to me.  Batteries typically go down faster when used harder, and I don't mean just because you're using more power.  Just like your gas gauge goes down faster when you drive faster.  It will normally not go the same distance when used hard as it would if being used conservatively.  Of course, if you're fighting a head wind, you've got to compromise and choose  a speed that will get you further, without depleting the battery faster than necessary.  Your flights should always be arranged so that you are heading home with a tailwind when possible.  I try to always get home with 20% or so remaining.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-11-3 10:51
Let's see...  I'm running low on battery.  Maybe I should go to Sport mode and use even more power to try to outrun the battery drainage.  Doesn't make sense to me.  Batteries typically go down faster when used harder, and I don't mean just because you're using more power.  Just like your gas gauge goes down faster when you drive faster.  It will normally not go the same distance when used hard as it would if being used conservative.  Of course, if you're fighting a head wind, you've got to compromise and choose  a speed that will get you further, without depleting the battery faster than necessary.  Your flights should always be arranged so that you are heading home with a tailwind when possible.  I try to always get home with 20% or so remaining.

Agon gave you very good advise & you know the Mavic warns you depending on conditions, battery levels,  when you should head for home!

What I learned so far - if You want Max distance - fly with 45-50km/h, Max Time in the air - fly with 25 km/h, if You want it short in time - fly Sport mode
There 3 cases I Fly in sport mode - fighting a strong headwind, coming home from higher altitude - then sport + descending - leads to fast and Economical return to home   and finally when I need rapid descending.

If no headwinds, I'd use S-mode full blast.

QuadKid Posted at 2017-11-3 09:56
I always fly back to HP when battery hits 30%, usually this is enough battery to get me back if I encounter a head wind. Many variables here, this would be a problem if someone was doing a S&R mission and was flying a grid pattern with extended distance involved. For the most part I am usually within 1500 meters of my HP or very close to my subject. I have seen a battery head South very quickly in strong wind at altitude.
I only use sport mode when this situation arises and have > 30% left on the pack.  Best rule of thumb is "its cheaper to keep her" close enough to get back from any controllable situation.

I was flying back at 30% too but the winds were strong enough and I was far enough that it seemed like it would just push the motors too much in P-mode and I wouldn't make it back. I ended up coming back within 1 minute and landed with around 21% left, so it worked out for me.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-11-3 10:51
Let's see...  I'm running low on battery.  Maybe I should go to Sport mode and use even more power to try to outrun the battery drainage.  Doesn't make sense to me.  Batteries typically go down faster when used harder, and I don't mean just because you're using more power.  Just like your gas gauge goes down faster when you drive faster.  It will normally not go the same distance when used hard as it would if being used conservative.  Of course, if you're fighting a head wind, you've got to compromise and choose  a speed that will get you further, without depleting the battery faster than necessary.  Your flights should always be arranged so that you are heading home with a tailwind when possible.  I try to always get home with 20% or so remaining.

Well in the end, the drone came back in a minute and I had 21% of my battery left. If I would have ran below that, I had plenty of area to safely land my drone and retrieve it later on. It's obvious that when I hit the 30% warning level that maybe using sport mode might not be ideal for returning home, but I was maxing out at 4 mph and the winds were picking up. This was the only time I actually used sport mode for more than 10 seconds too.

AEM74 Posted at 2017-11-3 17:50
Well in the end, the drone came back in a minute and I had 21% of my battery left. If I would have ran below that, I had plenty of area to safely land my drone and retrieve it later on. It's obvious that when I hit the 30% warning level that maybe using sport mode might not be ideal for returning home, but I was maxing out at 4 mph and the winds were picking up. This was the only time I actually used sport mode for more than 10 seconds too.

Remember, winds are "normally" lower speed at lower altitudes.  If you're headed home, try descending some while lowering altitude.  Hopefully, wind will decrease on the way down and you'll do better.  Also don't forget that you can set that 30% warning to 35 or 40% and have a little more margin for error.

If you're not over water, you can usually set it down early if you are getting too low for safe return and landing.  Better to take a hike to go get it than to lose it completely.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-11-3 18:13
Remember, winds are "normally" lower speed at lower altitudes.  If you're headed home, try descending some while lowering altitude.  Hopefully, wind will decrease on the way down and you'll do better.  Also don't forget that you can set that 30% warning to 35 or 40% and have a little more margin for error.

If you're not over water, you can usually set it down early if you are getting too low for safe return and landing.  Better to take a hike to go get it than to lose it completely.

"winds are "normally" lower speed at lower altitudes."


typically follow this guideline.

AG0N-Gary Posted at 2017-11-3 18:13
Remember, winds are "normally" lower speed at lower altitudes.  If you're headed home, try descending some while lowering altitude.  Hopefully, wind will decrease on the way down and you'll do better.  Also don't forget that you can set that 30% warning to 35 or 40% and have a little more margin for error.

If you're not over water, you can usually set it down early if you are getting too low for safe return and landing.  Better to take a hike to go get it than to lose it completely.

Thanks, I'll keep those tips in mind next flight!

I go sport mode all time. I got a need for speed baby.

Change to sport mode...Because the fastest you can get it back, the better.

Sometimes it doesn't work to get back fast as the juice starts to deplete which can spell trouble.