Does the Air 3 have a fan?

[WildcatDave]

Recently purchased an Air 3 (A3) that is still in the box. I was just about to open it a day or so ago when I heard about the announcement of the Mini 4 Pro (M4P). Currently using a Mini 3 Pro (M3P) but really wanted to get something with full 360 obstacle avoidance. I fly in Arizona and there are a lot of bushes, cactus and other things that definitely have been getting in the way when I'm trying to do (side flight) panning shots of homes as I do real estate and commercial building photography. Because of this I decided to pick up an A3 mostly for the obstacle avoidance. The extra camera might be nice but it's not really something I need or was looking for. So that's the reason for holding off opening the A3, with the M4P could save a few bucks and stay with the smaller form factor since I don't really need the 70mm camera.

However from looking at some leaked prices it looks like the M4P fly more kit difference will only be about $300-$350, and I may just stick with the Air 3 for the extra camera that may find some uses. Otherwise battery life and other things will probably be fairly similar and I expect the new M4P to get the stacked sensor of the A3 so the image quality should be identical. I also occasionally use the vertical shooting mode of the M3P and I would lose this with the A3, but I can crop as I don't need all the pixels when I deliver to clients.

Anyway, since I do fly in Arizona, heat is definitely an issue. I always fly in the slowest mode as I'm not in a big hurry and I'm trying to keep the little bugger from overheating, especially if I'm shooting in the middle of summer where it can reach 110°F. I was wondering if the A3 has a fan that might help it run cooler so that I could use one of the faster flight modes or just worry less about the heat issue. When I land my current A3P, if I've been on 15 plus minute flight where I'm doing quite a bit of movement, the drone and the battery are quite warm. As well as the motors especially if it's been a bit windy. Opinions, thoughts?

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Look at

around 15:19, it would appear there is a fan and heat sink. Watching this on my Mac it is riddled with adverts so I am not ploughing through the previous 15minutes of them to find where the fan unit is removed.
You can see the probable fan in the above screen capture, 2nd from lower right.

 

[MA2 317]

 

[old man mavic]

@WildcatDave simple answer is yes it does have a fan
if it were me, then I would keep the Air 3, for when its really Hot and or windy ,for its better capabilities ,in those sort of conditions
and also get the Mini 4 for the cooler times of the year ,for its small form factor ,that way you have the best of both worlds

 

[WildcatDave]

@WildcatDave simple answer is yes it does have a fan
if it were me, then I would keep the Air 3, for when its really Hot and or windy ,for its better capabilities ,in those sort of conditions
and also get the Mini 4 for the cooler times of the year ,for its small form factor ,that way you have the best of both worlds

That would be the best solution. Also I really should have two drones as I'm shooting professionally and can't expect to show up to a client and have mechanical failure. I always have two cameras for ground shots so probably should be two drones as well. I will probably gift my Mini 3 Pro to my father-in-law. He's getting ready to retire and is a hobbyist photographer and would love to have it I'm sure.

Also since the controller is shareable between the two (Air 3 & Mini 4 Pro) I could buy the cheaper Mini 4 Pro kit with the basic controller and only one battery since it will only be used as a backup. Although I'm unlikely to do that as I tend to prefer to spend a little extra money so that I am fully stocked and prepared for whatever I need to do. In the long run a few dollars doesn't seem to matter but not having the desired equipment on a shoot definitely would. Also resale value is better when you have better accessories (controller) or more of them (extra batteries).

At this point I'm covered for a little while as I have until the 1st of October to return the Air 3, so I will see what the next few days shows on release of the Mini 4 Pro...