eBee X Battery Info & Flight Tips ?

Get the Most Out of Your eBee X With This Guide to Smart Batteries and Flight Times

The eBee X is an advanced fixed-wing mapping drone that relies on “smart” batteries to operate efficiently and safely in the air. Below, you will find answers to frequently asked questions regarding proper storage and care of the eBee X’s batteries, maximum flight time and other operational tips to get the most out of your drone.

What is the battery technology and why is it “smart”?
The senseFly eBee X is powered by a LiHV (High Voltage Lithium Polymer) battery composed of four cells connected in series and an integrated system that monitors the health and remaining capacity of each individual battery cell.

This system provides several advantages:

• The estimation of the remaining battery capacity is reliable during flight
• The system can detect and block the usage of a damaged battery in order to block failures from occurring during a flight
• The health of the individual cell is monitored

The eBee X battery has proven to be reliable and durable and is available in two versions:

• The standard battery with a capacity of 3700 mAh
• The endurance battery with a capacity of 4900 mAh

What is a safe level of battery to trigger a return to home?
When using the "Low Endurance" feature, the return-to-home threshold in eMotion is automatically set to make the drone land around 10% battery charge. Rather than trigger the drone to return to home manually or at a fixed battery capacity value, the system monitors its remaining battery capacity and returns the drone to its home point automatically when necessary. For example, if the drone's missions area is far from its designated home point, the system might trigger at 50% to ensure the drone returns to its landing point safely. Alternatively, if the drone remains close to its home point for its flight, the return to home will trigger when the battery gets below 15%.

Please note that it is recommended to use the “Low Endurance” feature in eMotion to get greater reliability and flexibility and to keep your eBee X in the air longer. However, operators should consider taking the drone to its landing spot before the low endurance warning is raised—especially in the event of changing weather conditions, such as strong winds.

What is the maximum flight time?
The eBee X has undergone rigorous testing to calculate its maximum flight time, however, maximum flight time depends on several factors and weather conditions. Please note that it is not always possible to reach the maximum flight time because the drone performance is dependent on many factors.

These include:

• Wind speed and direction
• Battery temperature
• Air temperature, pressure and humidity
• Altitude
• Condition of the battery
• Condition of the drone
• Condition of the pitot tube

 The trajectory of the drone

Battery care tips and how to avoid deep discharge states

The eBee X batteries’ four cells must remain balanced and stay above a minimum voltage. Following a deep discharge—one or more of the cells are pushed below 2.5 V—they can become damaged, which reduces the effectiveness of the battery. If this occurs, it will no longer be possible to charge that battery.

Even when not in use, the eBee X battery will discharge over time. This occurs at a rate of roughly two and six percent per month. If ignored, the battery could enter a state of deep discharge.

To avoid this:

• Never let the battery reach 0% charge
• After landing, do not leave the drone powered on with a low battery
• After flying, do not leave the battery in a low-charge state for a long time, and recharge the battery as soon as possible.
• When batteries are in storage, check the battery level every three months and recharge to storage level.
• Store batteries in a safe environment, preferably in LiPo safe bags with a reasonable ambient temperature and humidity, i.e. household-like environment, for the full duration of storage.

 For more information, please consult your eBee X user manual or contact our support team.