Free tool
Drone flight time calculator
Estimate how long a drone can fly from its battery capacity, cell count and weight. Works for camera drones, FPV, long-range and enterprise drones.
Efficiency is how many grams of thrust the motors and propellers make per watt at hover. Typical values: 4-5 g/W for small or race quads, 7-9 g/W for camera and long-range drones. Change it to match your motor and propeller data.
Estimated flight time
25.1 min
normal flying for this drone type
- Still hover, calm air
- 29.6 min
- Battery energy
- 19.2 Wh
- Power needed to hover
- 31 W
- Battery used
- 80% (keeps the cells healthy)
An estimate, not a guarantee: wind, heat or cold, battery age, payload and flying style all change real flight time. Always land with battery to spare.
How the estimate works
Battery energy (Wh) = capacity in Ah x number of cells x 3.7 V. Hover power (W) = take-off weight in grams / efficiency in g/W. Hover time = 80% of the energy / hover power. Normal flying uses more power than hovering, so the main figure applies a typical factor for each drone type.
Questions
How do you calculate drone flight time?
Flight time is roughly the usable battery energy divided by the power the drone needs to stay in the air. Battery energy in watt-hours is capacity (Ah) times voltage. Hover power is take-off weight divided by motor efficiency in grams per watt. Use about 80% of the battery to protect the cells.
Why is my real flight time shorter than the estimate?
Climbing, fast flying, wind, cold weather, heavy payloads and older batteries all use more power than a still hover. Aggressive FPV flying can cut flight time to half of the hover estimate.
Does a bigger battery always give longer flight time?
Not always. A bigger battery adds weight, so the drone needs more power to hover. Past a point, extra capacity adds very little time. The calculator shows this when you increase mAh and weight together.
What efficiency (g/W) should I use?
Small race and whoop drones are often 4-5 g/W, camera drones and long-range FPV builds about 7-9 g/W. Motor makers publish thrust tables in grams and watts; divide the grams at hover throttle by the watts.