Use exact pack instructions, compare flight charge and ESC limits, then retain discharge telemetry, condition observations and supported care settings.
Record manufacturer, model, chemistry, cell count, connector, intended aircraft and charger compatibility. Check physical condition and the manufacturer’s care instructions before use. Keep charge current, balance method, storage settings and retirement criteria specific to this equipment.
Use measured or justified usable charge to the chosen landing policy at the intended aircraft, payload and conditions. Keep any additional reserve explicit. Estimate flight time from measured battery-terminal current or a prior flight’s discharged charge and elapsed time.
Check maximum pack voltage, per-channel ESC ratings, event duration, current basis and cooling conditions for the actual motor/propeller combination. Sum simultaneous channels and other loads on the shared pack and connector path. Check BEC or regulated avionics rails separately.
Use the aircraft and pack preflight procedures, confirm pack retention and connector condition, and configure supported telemetry alerts and failsafe behavior. Plan a landing reserve appropriate to the operation and conditions. Treat calculated time as a planning estimate to be checked against telemetry.
Retain flight duration, discharged charge, available voltage/temperature telemetry and any warnings or abnormal behavior. Inspect the pack after the flight under the manufacturer’s instructions and allow the specified conditions before charging. Stop using damaged or suspect equipment under the actual response procedure.
Export pack-specific flight cases, telemetry and condition observations with dates and aircraft configuration. Use the supported storage and charging procedure for this pack and charger. Compare later flights under equivalent conditions and review retirement criteria when performance or condition changes.
Maintain a pack inventory with manual links, identifiers and condition observations. · Record preflight condition, telemetry configuration and the intended flight case.
Compare measured-current and discharge-telemetry flight-time estimates. · Save the intended aircraft, payload, current estimate and explicit landing reserve. · Calculate measured consumption per minute from discharge telemetry. · Save the revised measured-flight case for the next comparison.
Record the actual charge window on a consistent capacity basis. · Add the measured discharge to a fixed-reference throughput log. · Retain cumulative discharged Ah and the unchanged reference capacity.
Compare documented ESC and common battery-path current and voltage limits.
Check actual avionics/BEC output rails and pulse loads.
Compare documented wire/connector limits and complete DC loop drop.
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Find the exact pack/charger manual and safety documentation before changing charge or storage settings.
Continuous current, event current, duration and cooling conditions are separate ratings; use the actual model.
A different aircraft, propeller, payload or wind condition changes the consumption basis.
A good calculated runtime does not override swelling, damage, overheating or manufacturer retirement criteria.