Are there better APPS?

[Meta4]

Thanks for the reply, interested to find out about the special features.

The most common ones are for waypoint flights and for mapping missions.
For general flying the DJI app is all that most flyers ever need.

 

[hychewright]

Well i just lost my Air 2 with Apple Airtag and Master AirScrew Stealth props in Lake Ontario yesterday. I am furious because i was using Dronelink app on follow me mode and it decided to take a dive into the water for no reason at all I was at -11 feet when i noticed....Sank like the Titanic so buyer beware of apps. Apparently it turned off all my sensors on Cine mode ...I'm livid. Still have my Mini 2 and DJI FPV drones. But what a lost. Going to wait for a newer version of Air drone from DjI ..hope this helps

Man.........that stinks!! Very sorry you lost your Air 2. Looks like apps would be more reliable. Drones of any kind are not cheep!

 

[Smooth Rhythm]

Well i just lost my Air 2 with Apple Airtag and Master AirScrew Stealth props in Lake Ontario yesterday. I am furious because i was using Dronelink app on follow me mode and it decided to take a dive into the water for no reason at all I was at -11 feet when i noticed....Sank like the Titanic so buyer beware of apps. Apparently it turned off all my sensors on Cine mode ...I'm livid. Still have my Mini 2 and DJI FPV drones. But what a lost. Going to wait for a newer version of Air drone from DjI ..hope this helps

In my mind the most important thing you said was “buyer beware of apps” (I assume you mean third party apps). Agree! The DJI Fly app has performed very well for me with both the Air2 & Air2s. No doubt some flyers may occasionally find themselves in special situations where a third-party app is better. I get it! But here, the Apple air tag and Master airscrew stealth props are not apps—are you claiming they played some part in your crash? Are you excepting any responsibility for pilot error, if any, in the crash? Not saying that you committed any error, but It would be quite helpful if you posted your flight records in the forum so that the experts here could help you understand the real reason for the crash. My first impression, like N321GO thought, was that you were venting, but I saw that you later rejected that notion. Thanks. Happy flying!

 

[tlswift58]

Not sure if I understand completely, I was enquiring about DJI APPs in particular.
are the APPs you are referring to third party?

Litchi is one some use, but I have not used it myself. FlyApp has worked for me with no real issues.

 

[tlswift58]

Water is never your friend....never automation over water less than 30 ft....

100% WRONG. I fly over water almost all the time. Not had any real issues other than when in ATTI Mode and that is ATTI - not the drone and it's sensors.

I have flown 2-3 feet above moving water (waterfalls, creeks, rivers) and my Air2 did fine. It has NEVER EVER taken a dive for water.

I "DO" prefer to fly higher than 2-3 feet and will when circumstances allow that; just to preclude any weird behavior, esp in ATTI Mode. When the drone had full GPS lock, it's rock steady in all my conditions I fly in. I'm much less steady due to age and neurological issues that cause some shaking of the hands at times.

 

[hiflyer201]

There is risk involved in all flight. This forum is a great way to learn to limit your exposure to it and for gosh sakes pay attention to Meta, Slurp, Sar and the others who patiently and generously try to keep us all in the air.

 

[tlswift58]

Not venting my friend just advising on taking precationary measures on what apps he might want to use.
Hello it's about all of us pilots

Me personally - would never fly with a "new" app, new props, new anything that is not DJI based anywhere except in my backyard or wide open park space to "see" exactly how the drone reacts to said "new" stuff.

I bought the "new" MAS Props for my Air2, popped them on, and then did a flight checkout with them. On take-off, I hovered right where the drone went (2-3 ft above ground) and watched it closely. Saw no issues like movement, so then went higher. Drone / props worked flawlessly. Flew it around close by watching the drone in all 3 modes, rising / lowering altitude, and left / right yaw movements. Everything worked like my DJI props.

I would be esp cautious using a different app and doing several flights to check out what the drone does with said app before doing any kind of serious flying. But, THAT'S JUST ME and having been a jet aircraft mech for 20 years in the USAF and seeing Functional Check Flights very often.

 

[Marcass Carcass]

100% WRONG. I fly over water almost all the time. Not had any real issues other than when in ATTI Mode and that is ATTI - not the drone and it's sensors.

I have flown 2-3 feet above moving water (waterfalls, creeks, rivers) and my Air2 did fine. It has NEVER EVER taken a dive for water.

I "DO" prefer to fly higher than 2-3 feet and will when circumstances allow that; just to preclude any weird behavior, esp in ATTI Mode. When the drone had full GPS lock, it's rock steady in all my conditions I fly in. I'm much less steady due to age and neurological issues that cause some shaking of the hands at times.

100% never happened to you.....already had one replaced by drowning, luckily it was in only six feet of water...ah, refresh........

 

[ImpoliteLing]

Forsaken?
So far there's no indication of that.
DJI just run DJI Fly on their newer, smaller, cheaper drones.

The Air 2 is not supported by Litchi.

Litchi's beta version has had support for the Air 2 for half a year now, including waypoints. The program is free to join if you already have a Litchi license Beta - Litchi

 

[Emanáku]

I bought a Mavic Mini last year. Quickly I learned, that "interesting functions" (like waypoints, point of interest etc.) are not available in the DJI Fly app.
So I tried Litchi, dronelink and Maven (for iOS only).
I liked dronelink, because it allows me to easily create a flight path for obtaining all photos for creating an orthophoto and other interesting models of a landscape.
I did not try Litchi very much, because it took them until a month or two ago to get the waypoint functionality going.
I like Maven the best because it is easy to use and though it does not have a website for planning missions, you can still transfer your missions from one device (I plan on iPad) to another (e.g. flying with an iPhone).
In the meantime I bought a used Mavic 2 Pro - and many of the functions in the 3rd party apps are built-in in the DJI Go 4 app (I still have to try them all ). So the necessity of using a 3rd party app is not so urgent.
And if you have a DJI Mini 2 or Air 2s, then you are out of luck anyway, because DJI has not published the programming interface (SDK) for these, so there is no 3rd party app for them, yet (rumours say, the SDK for these might be published this September, so from October on I think there will be 3rd party apps supporting them).
Good luck! <3

 

[howard.allum]

The original poster asked about 3rd party apps and this thread wandered off into a rather confrontational debate about flying over water - irelevant!
It took til the bottom of page two before anyone even mentioned Maven. I fly my MA2 with Maven almost all the time and it's never given me any trouble. You can plan missions at home (I use an iPad) and then fly them and tweak and edit them on the spot. Even better though - particularly if you're flying in a tricky spot, through a narrow gap or a window or wherever you're liable to hit something - is that you can try your flight very slowly and carefully, stopping to carefully check your location and how close you are to potential obstacles, trees etc. When you're sure you are safe, create a waypoint and then move carefully on to your next change of direction and drop another waypoint. And so on until you've completed the mission you want to fly. Then you can edit your mission, on the spot or later at home, changing altitudes, speed, curving the turns and adding POIs etc. Then when you actually fly the mission again, for real, you can do so while creating beautiful smooth, cinematic footage with no hesitations or choppy turns and gimbal moves.
I think Maven is marvellously versatile as well as being easy and intuitive to learn… ???

 

[vindibona1]

I purchased Dronlink and couldn't get past the learning curve and do a single mission with it. Too bad as it is comprehensive in what it can do, but so much terminology, steps, sequences that you have to get right. It's a shame. I never did try Maven.

One thing I like about Litchi was the extra ability to fly VR with inexpensive goggles. Another app for that is Drone VR. But until the SDK for the Mini 2 is released I have to use both exclusively with my Mavic 2 Pro.

 

[howard.allum]

I purchased Dronlink and couldn't get past the learning curve and do a single mission with it. Too bad as it is comprehensive in what it can do, but so much terminology, steps, sequences that you have to get right. It's a shame. I never did try Maven.

One thing I like about Litchi was the extra ability to fly VR with inexpensive goggles. Another app for that is Drone VR. But until the SDK for the Mini 2 is released I have to use both exclusively with my Mavic 2 Pro.

I'm definitely not a technically minded person, particularly with regard to digital technology. But I found Maven really easy and intuitive to learn. You can plan and fly a simple mission 'straight out of the box' and then plan more ambitious missions as your confidence grows. You can also fly VR with inexpensive goggles too.
Only one snag - it's iOS only. But I've always been a Mac user since day one so that's not a problem.

 

[Drones.n.Pixels]

How can you be sure the sensors were turned off?
How can you be sure that the app you used is to blame?
Post your flight data if you want to see what actually happened.

Exactly - when flying automatic modes, the drone will do precisely what it is programmed to do. This is why DJI disabled some of the options (like Waypoints) in the Fly app. When flying semi automatic modes (orbit, helix and some others) with DJI Fly, obstacle avoidance sensors are disabled. They will still be disabled in 3RD party apps, unless the app is specifically told to enable them (I'm not even sure if this is possible, may depend on a drone).
I nearly water landed my drone yesterday, because I was in tripod mode in DJI Fly app and ignored the "low battery" prompt. But this was entirely my fault, not the apps fault. People are often too eager to blame app when they make mistake.

 

[umanbean]

But I found Maven really easy and intuitive to learn [....] [....] Only one snag - it's iOS only.

I've read other positive comments about Maven also. Sounds like something I'd like to play with, but I have no iOS devices.

Does anyone know it they plan to do an Android version?

 

[Drones.n.Pixels]

I've read other positive comments about Maven also. Sounds like something I'd like to play with, but I have no iOS devices.

Does anyone know it they plan to do an Android version?

I asked the developer about it, but he told me that he had no plans to develop Android version. I'm also waiting for this move, because Maven supports VR and works with MA2, Litchi does not support MA2 and Dronelink does not have VR, haha - so no ideal app for me either...

 

[vindibona1]

I'm definitely not a technically minded person, particularly with regard to digital technology. But I found Maven really easy and intuitive to learn. You can plan and fly a simple mission 'straight out of the box' and then plan more ambitious missions as your confidence grows. You can also fly VR with inexpensive goggles too.
Only one snag - it's iOS only. But I've always been a Mac user since day one so that's not a problem.

I could probably try it for giggles as I fly with an iPhone.

Considering in terms for mobile devices, while Apple is one company- vs the world, what do you think is the market share of iPhones vs Androids? Personally, while I use iPhones it is almost solely because I typically get my phones through family hand-me-downs (currently with XR), but when I lived in Mexico I had a Samsung and there were many things I liked better about it. It's just that for some reason in the DJI eco-system iPhones seem more friendly with DJI drones and related apps.

 

[Meta4]

It's just that for some reason in the DJI eco-system iPhones seem more friendly with DJI drones and related apps.

Despite the number of times that gets repeated in here, it's just a myth with nothing factual to support it.

 

[vindibona1]

Despite the number of times that gets repeated in here, it's just a myth with nothing factual to support it.

Might be a myth. I don't know. I think the idea is present because even when buying a NEW android you have to be careful to make sure you have the right processor, the right Android OS version and hardware that is a high enough level to make sure all plays well together. For the most part you don't have to worry about that with iPhones. It that you see issues with Androids that you just don't see with iPhones. Personally I don't think there are enough folks talking up how to successfully select an Android phone for hiccup free use with DJI drones. I really liked my Android phone and if I had to buy a new one outright... or a mini tablet I'd like to know now to make a successful purchase and avoid the obstacles that then become "myths".

 

[umanbean]

Despite the number of times that gets repeated in here, it's just a myth with nothing factual to support it.

Amen Brother, I think that's a myth that will never die... kinda like putting a wet device into a sealed plastic bag with rice. My common sense tells me it would dry faster in the open air, with maybe a fan, direct sunlight, or a blow dryer to help it along... and no risk of getting rice dust all over or into the device.