Solo efficient flight speed

[Tomsu]

Has anyone tested the Solo for it's most efficient flight speed during a mission? (travels the most distance on a battery)

I would say wind should not be considered, but it seems that I get better performance in wind at about 7-8 m/s. Over 10 m/s drains the battery pretty fast and 5 m/s or less seems to have a hard time staying on course. I am assuming that the Solo is using more battery at slow speeds to stay on line.

Does anyone have any ideas on how this can be tested? I have been setting up survey missions based on time, but the goal is how much ground I cover and not how fast.

Tommy

 

[PdxSteve]

Here's a good thread to read: 21min Flight; 617 pics; Landed at 0%; Farm Scan...

It seems about 15mph / 6.7m/s is the sweet spot

 

[Tomsu]

Except for the arguing, great thread! Thank you Steve

I wonder if the "sweet spot" changes because of load, wind, altitude, maybe temperature? Probable overthinking it, just want to push the distance as far as I can.

 

[PdxSteve]

Yes it would change due to all of those factors as it would need to draw higher amps (or lower depending on the temperature) to compensate. His was drawing 13-15A at that speed under his conditions. That's what you're aiming for...the amperage draw to be lowest - not necessarily speed. If winds were 10mph higher anywhere but coming from the tail, he might have needed to go slightly slower than 15mph to get down to 13-15A because Solo would be working harder to fight the wind to stay on course.