I was using the Smatree Mavic Air case for awhile and it suited me ok when I was using an iPad Mini as my display, but glare and an opportunity to buy a good used CrystalSky 7.85" High Brightness display posed a problem as there was no way to carry it all in this case. In addition, I ended up using the DJI Phantom CrystalSky mount on my own design 3D printed mounting plate and needed to accommodate that as well.
Custom foam for everything was going to cost me between $135-$160 (depending on the choice of foam) WITHOUT the case and so I figured I had nothing to lose trying to make my own. A friend has a small (12" x 18") CNC, and I found an appropriate Pelican knockoff at Harbor Freight (Apache 3800 - $29.99 with coupon) as well as a pack of four 25" square EVA foam floor pads.
CNC of the foam was a learning experience. They sell specific router bits for EVA but they were about the same price as the custom foam I had researched before so I bought a couple different generic bits from Amazon to try. Unfortunately the foam came as 1/2" thick pieces and I needed to cut two levels of foam, one 2-1/2" thick and one 1-1/2" thick and my bits only allowed for a usable cutting depth just over 1" so I was resolved to pre-glue sets of 2 layers and single layers and then cut them and glue the cut layers together after cutting.
It turned out pretty well for a first try and i'm happy given the resources I had at my disposal. If I could cut all the layers at once it would have been much cleaner, not to mention the learning curve of cutter type and speed, travel speed, glue type and technique, etc. But I'm satisfied with it.
Here's everything I can fit. The lid is 1-1/2" thick soft eggcrate so I took advantage of the fact that I can lay relatively flat items on top. In this gif I show my iPad Mini and a pouch of accessories (cables, adapters, spare props, etc) on top but I don't plan to always have the iPad in there and have since pared down the stuff in that pouch to fit in the generic "accessory cutout" in the lower right.
In order:
CrystalSky charging base
CrystalSky batteries (x2)
Mavic Air batteries (x3)
Mavic Air (with one battery installed)
Custom CrystalSky mount for Mavic Air controller and DJI CS bracket
Mavic Air controller
CrystalSky tablet
Mavic Air car charger
iPad Mini (in leather sleeve case)
Custom CrystalSky charger (old generic laptop charger I had with 3D printed enclosure to make more compact)
Mavic Air charging dock
Mavic Air charger
Random cables, adapters, etc.
Custom foam for everything was going to cost me between $135-$160 (depending on the choice of foam) WITHOUT the case and so I figured I had nothing to lose trying to make my own. A friend has a small (12" x 18") CNC, and I found an appropriate Pelican knockoff at Harbor Freight (Apache 3800 - $29.99 with coupon) as well as a pack of four 25" square EVA foam floor pads.
CNC of the foam was a learning experience. They sell specific router bits for EVA but they were about the same price as the custom foam I had researched before so I bought a couple different generic bits from Amazon to try. Unfortunately the foam came as 1/2" thick pieces and I needed to cut two levels of foam, one 2-1/2" thick and one 1-1/2" thick and my bits only allowed for a usable cutting depth just over 1" so I was resolved to pre-glue sets of 2 layers and single layers and then cut them and glue the cut layers together after cutting.
It turned out pretty well for a first try and i'm happy given the resources I had at my disposal. If I could cut all the layers at once it would have been much cleaner, not to mention the learning curve of cutter type and speed, travel speed, glue type and technique, etc. But I'm satisfied with it.
Here's everything I can fit. The lid is 1-1/2" thick soft eggcrate so I took advantage of the fact that I can lay relatively flat items on top. In this gif I show my iPad Mini and a pouch of accessories (cables, adapters, spare props, etc) on top but I don't plan to always have the iPad in there and have since pared down the stuff in that pouch to fit in the generic "accessory cutout" in the lower right.
In order:
CrystalSky charging base
CrystalSky batteries (x2)
Mavic Air batteries (x3)
Mavic Air (with one battery installed)
Custom CrystalSky mount for Mavic Air controller and DJI CS bracket
Mavic Air controller
CrystalSky tablet
Mavic Air car charger
iPad Mini (in leather sleeve case)
Custom CrystalSky charger (old generic laptop charger I had with 3D printed enclosure to make more compact)
Mavic Air charging dock
Mavic Air charger
Random cables, adapters, etc.
