Wow! I did not expect the drop to be that much. I was thinking around 10% maybe. I'm using a 20C 2200 mAh pack and a 40A speed controller, as that's what I had on hand, so if I stay well below 40A I'm not gonna smoke the battery or speed controller. Granted, a 35A speed controller would be more efficient, but I don't want to run out and buy one.
If the current drop is approximately 30%, then I can get right about 4 minutes and 45 seconds of run time with a 30% reserve. I was aiming at 3 1/2 to 4 minutes of flight time for now, as I only want to do the Beginner pattern. Even if it's not 30%, I should still have plenty of juice to practice the Beginner pattern.
Y'all have given me a lot to think about. I don't have enough props that I can go out and just lop off the tips for static testing. I guess I'll just run it and tweak it until I get comfortable lap times, and then see how much it takes to fill the batteries back up on charge after a 3 1/2 minute run.
Paul, It's been 30 years since I used the conversion factors (for some reason, the 3/4/5/12 rule escapes me), but 28.5 amps at 11.1 volts DC is closer to 2.7 amps at 120VAC. Now I'm going to have to sit down in quiet room and try to remember my old thumb rules...
Thanks, Mark