What a drone's flight time really means

Every drone lists a flight time, and every drone flies for less than it says. This is not quite dishonesty. It is a measurement taken under conditions that have very little to do with a real afternoon outdoors.

How the number is produced

Manufacturers typically measure in still air, at a constant forward speed, at sea level, flying until the battery is flat. Some state this openly in the footnotes of their specification pages.

Your flight will involve wind, hovering while you frame a shot, climbing, accelerating, and landing with a sensible reserve rather than a dead battery. Each of those costs more energy than the test.

A rough rule

Plan for meaningfully less than the published figure, and treat anything above that as a bonus. The exact fraction depends on wind and how much you hover, so we are not going to invent a precise multiplier for you.

Two figures are worth checking alongside it:

• Battery capacity, which only compares meaningfully between drones of similar size and voltage.
• Charge time, which decides whether a second battery gets you a second flight the same afternoon.

The spec that matters more

If you are choosing between two drones a few minutes apart, the difference is mostly noise — you will spend it hovering while you decide on a shot. Buy a second battery instead and stop optimising the number.