Skip to content
RC Calculator
All calculators

RC Plane Flight Time Calculator

Estimate flight time from battery capacity and your logged average current.

Battery & Load

Calibrate from actual flight logs.

Result

Estimated flight time
9.6min
at 0.80 usable capacity
Ideal flight time
12.0min

Estimate only — never your sole low-battery management reference.

Formula

  1. 1.Ideal (min) = Capacity (mAh) / (1000 × Average Current (A)) × 60
  2. 2.Estimated = Ideal × Usable Fraction

Worked example

  1. 1.Inputs: 4000 mAh, 20 A average, 0.8 usable.
  2. 2.Ideal = 12 min; estimated = 9.6 min.

Assumptions and limits

  • Aerobatic flying spikes current far above the average.
  • Always keep a conservative landing reserve.

Related tools

Guides and concepts

FAQ

Why did my flight end early?

Averaging a light-flight log underestimates hard-flight draw — log your real style.

Assumptions

  • Same ideal-runtime model as the battery tools.
  • Average current must come from real flight records.