Can anyone prove the following?

[Davphys]

Anyone getting close to 28 mins of flight time or above 25 mins with their P4?

Anyone getting a better range or the same range on their P4 versus the P3?

 

[cdt5058]

I had a flight of 21 minutes with 18% battery life remaining. Started off with 98% charge. Nothing fancy and definitely no sport mode. But, I bet the 28 min battery time came from a stationary flight, indoors with no wind.

I'd be willing to bet I could get 25 mins on a single battery.

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[Fast13]

Nope and range is much less... Until I switch in my original P3P controller then it seems to be back to normal.

 

[Phantom fool]

The 28 minutes has an asterisk - it says hovering in atti mode. I'm guessing maybe the sensors and associated processing for OA draw a bit of power

It's a pirates life for me

 

[Davphys]

If the specs of the RC are the same, I would imagine that there is a firmware problem with the P4 RC firmware. I would encourage as many of you as possible to write to DJI and demand that they fix this. I can tell you that I get about 1/2 the range on my P4 as I do on my P3. Same location, environment, etc. And I had a newer P3 with a new remote.

 

[John Locke]

If the specs of the RC are the same, I would imagine that there is a firmware problem with the P4 RC firmware. I would encourage as many of you as possible to write to DJI and demand that they fix this. I can tell you that I get about 1/2 the range on my P4 as I do on my P3. Same location, environment, etc. And I had a newer P3 with a new remote.

I don't think the specs are the same. And RF power output is usually dictated by hardware, along with the FCC filing for U.S. Operation. I'm doubtful firmware can help, but I hope I'm wrong.

 

[Davphys]

I think the specs are the same between the P4 controller and the most recent P3 controller.

I don't think the specs are the same. And RF power output is usually dictated by hardware, along with the FCC filing for U.S. Operation. I'm doubtful firmware can help, but I hope I'm wrong.

 

[John Locke]

I think the specs are the same between the P4 controller and the most recent P3 controller.

It's the power output from the craft to the ground that matters most, not the controller. In fact I think think output from the P4 controller was boosted, but that doesn't help the video and telemetry signal from the craft. I think the craft RF power output has been compromised in the P4.

 

[TheloniousMac]

Flight time is easily 25 minutes and I'm pretty sure I could get 28 minutes when I recondition the battery and let it go to 5%.
Haven't tested the range, here in Australia it's illegal to fly beyond sight but it easily goes further than 1km and the only other flyer I know around here who goes for distance is Meta who like to fly from the coast out to find ships several km out to sea with a P3A.
I just flew in gusty wind and I might actually say that it could be more stable than an Inspire. Crazy but it definitely holds position better than a Phantom 3 or Inspire in normal conditions so maybe it will do better in high wind despite its smaller size/weight. More testing required but since I've sold my Inspire I'll just have to test it based on wind speed unless someone wants to run that test with/for me.

 

[Mark The Droner]

One of the first reviewers stated that one of his flights was 31 mins. It might have been an ATTI hover.

 

[AdvRider]

I had a flight of 21 minutes with 18% battery life remaining. Started off with 98% charge. Nothing fancy and definitely no sport mode. But, I bet the 28 min battery time came from a stationary flight, indoors with no wind.

I'd be willing to bet I could get 25 mins on a single battery.

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I own a P3A and a P4. I flew identical missions using LITCHI under no ind conditions. Flew the first mission with the P4, 8:03 minutes, returned with 62%. Flew second mission with the P3A, 7:55, returned with 64%. P4 battery was new. P3 battery had 8 flights.

 

[Davphys]

I would say this gets close to fraud since DJI claims 25% better battery life on the P4 versus the P3.

The data are coming in and showing WORSE battery life (and worse distance).

The EPA analogy holds no weight because if a car company claims 25% better mileage on a new model and in usage it is actually worse- there would be a class action lawsuit.

I own a P3A and a P4. I flew identical missions using LITCHI under no ind conditions. Flew the first mission with the P4, 8:03 minutes, returned with 62%. Flew second mission with the P3A, 7:55, returned with 64%. P4 battery was new. P3 battery had 8 flights.

 

[BriRi]

First 2 flights w P4 were 21 minutes w/30% battery left and separate battery was 26 minutes with 2% left... More flights this evening


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[Davphys]

How do you take it to 2%. Doesn't it auto land at 10%?

 

[GregSW]

I am getting around 20-22 minutes when my hits the 30% warning line. And that is in pretty windy conditions.

 

[BriRi]

How do you take it to 2%. Doesn't it auto land at 10%?

I just kept flying it. It was trying to land but I kept positive stuck control until it hit 2%... Got nervous so manually landed it at that point.


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[bighi]

I would say this gets close to fraud since DJI claims 25% better battery life on the P4 versus the P3.

The data are coming in and showing WORSE battery life (and worse distance).

The EPA analogy holds no weight because if a car company claims 25% better mileage on a new model and in usage it is actually worse- there would be a class action lawsuit.

I second that. And while I love the phantom 4's quality, the range is, to put it mildly, **** compared to the 3 pro advanced.

 

[Bocephus-73]

Flight time is still up for debate but it's near unanimous that range is only about 50% of what a stock P3 is capable of.

DJI reduced the output power on the bird side and so the P4 is a real disappointment. I think we should band together and file a class action suit.