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Power is everything

A drone is only as good as its charge. Your Echo Drone flies on a small lithium battery that needs proper care to stay safe and last. Learning to charge and read it now means more flying time all week.

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Charging your drone battery

Charging steps: remove battery from drone, connect USB cable to a laptop or wall block, and watch the LED go from blinking to solid

Three steps to a full charge - remove, connect, and watch the light

Remove the battery

Slide the lithium battery out of the drone’s body.

Connect the charging cable

Plug one end of the USB cable into the battery, and the USB end into a computer or a 5 V wall block.

Watch the light

The battery’s light flashes while charging and turns solid when full. A full charge takes about 60 minutes.
For best results, use the cable that came with your Echo Drone (or one with a USB “trident” mark). Poor-quality cables can charge slowly or unreliably.

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Battery and charging specs

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Reading the power signals

Your gear tells you when power is running low - learn the signals so you never lose a drone mid-flight.
Chart of power signals: battery light blinking means charging, solid means full; controller beeping means drone battery low; controller lights flickering means AAA batteries low

Know the difference between charging lights and in-flight low-power warnings

Controller beeping

During flight, beeping means the drone’s battery is dying. Land it and recharge.

Controller lights flickering

Flickering indicator lights mean the controller’s AAA batteries are dying and need replacing.

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Lithium battery safety

Lithium batteries are powerful and safe when treated correctly - but they demand respect. When in doubt, follow this simple do / don’t guide.
Lithium battery safety infographic showing do's like charging on a hard surface and don'ts like never puncturing or charging unattended

The do's and don'ts of lithium battery safety

  • Never puncture, crush, bend, or take apart the battery.
  • Never charge it unattended or overnight.
  • Stop using any battery that is swollen, hot, or damaged and tell your instructor.
  • Charge on a hard, non-flammable surface - not on a bed or carpet.
  • If storing the drone for a long time, remove the battery to protect its charge and prevent leakage.

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Make your battery last

A little care means many more flights over the life of your drone.

Don't drain to empty

Land and swap at low power instead of flying until it dies.

Keep it cool

Let a warm battery cool before charging or flying again.

Store half-charged

For long storage, leave it around half full - not empty, not stuffed.
Fly, land, and swap to a charged battery rather than draining every battery to empty. Keeping lithium batteries between roughly 20% and 90% charge helps them last far longer.

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Do the math

Charge-to-fly ratio

A charge takes ~60 minutes and gives ~10 minutes of flight. How many chargers or spare batteries would keep one student flying non-stop for an hour?

Plan your session

If your class has 90 minutes of flying time, how will you schedule charging so no one is stuck waiting?
Your battery is fully charged (solid light), you know the two low-power warning signals, and you can state three lithium battery safety rules.