Flight Time Calculator
Estimate quad flight time from battery capacity and average current draw.
How this calculator works
The estimate is simple energy accounting:
Flight time (min) = capacity (Ah) × usable % ÷ average current (A) × 60
A 1300 mAh pack flown to 80% depth at a 15 A average draw gives 1.3 × 0.8 ÷ 15 × 60 ≈ 4.2 minutes. The formula is exact; every bit of uncertainty lives in the average-current number you feed it.
Picking a realistic average current
Average draw, not peak draw, decides flight time. Rough cruising figures:
| Setup | Average draw |
|---|---|
| 1S 65 mm whoop | 3-5 A |
| 4S 3" toothpick | 5-8 A |
| 6S 5" freestyle, mixed flying | 15-25 A |
| 6S 5" racing pace | 30-40 A |
| 6S 7" long-range cruise | 8-14 A |
Every BNF page in the quads database carries our editorial cruise-current estimate derived from the manufacturer's own flight-time figure, and its embedded copy of this calculator is pre-filled with it.
Why 80% usable, not 100%
Flying a LiPo to empty wrecks it. Landing at 3.5 V/cell resting - roughly the 80% mark - keeps packs healthy; see LiPo care. Li-ion packs tolerate deeper discharge, one of the reasons they win at long range (Li-ion vs LiPo).
Reading the result honestly
The number is a cruising estimate. Freestyle with punch-outs can halve it; gentle cinematic orbits can beat it. If your real flights come up far short, check all-up weight first (AUW explained, AUW builder) - overweight builds demand more current at hover and lose minutes everywhere. Then verify the pack can actually deliver the current without sagging (current draw checker).