NDD!

[miemo]

New Drone Day, that is! Local IT superstore here in Finland had the Air 3 in stock already a day after the official launch, so I'm now charging the batteries and eagerly awaiting for the maiden flight tomorrow… can't wait to open up new perspectives with the 70mm camera (finally with the C1 classification for here in EU).

The bag in the Fly More kit is top-notch, and the drone itself feels incredibly solid (esp. compared to the almost-scarily-flimsy Mini 3 Pro). That's pretty much all I can tell atm

 

[miemo]

One battery charged, so activating the drone & controller now. Looks like there's already a firmware update to both devices available, so that'll eat up some time here as well.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Don't rush things and make sure you have thoroughly digested the manual/s. Better to lose a day or two doing that than it is to rush things and lose/crash the drone.

 

[miemo]

Don't rush things and make sure you have thoroughly digested the manual/s. Better to lose a day or two doing that than it is to rush things and lose/crash the drone.

Going through the manual here of course meanwhile… But in general this seems very familiar after having used the original Mavic, Mavic 2 Pro and the Mini 3 Pro earlier. The flight app is the same as with Mini 3 Pro so the nuances are more in the configuration details, how the drone handles in different situations etc – all which require the drone in the air to figure those out.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Going through the manual here of course meanwhile… But in general this seems very familiar after having used the original Mavic, Mavic 2 Pro and the Mini 3 Pro earlier. The flight app is the same as with Mini 3 Pro so the nuances are more in the configuration details, how the drone handles in different situations etc – all which require the drone in the air to figure those out.

I'm not going to preach but the danger lies in the similarities, they mask slight but crucial differences.
Either way, safe flying.

 

[3rdof5]

Congrats on your new bird!

 

[Kiwicbrthou]

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, and enjoy that thing!

 

[Wreckhunter]

Going through the manual here of course meanwhile… But in general this seems very familiar after having used the original Mavic, Mavic 2 Pro and the Mini 3 Pro earlier. The flight app is the same as with Mini 3 Pro so the nuances are more in the configuration details, how the drone handles in different situations etc – all which require the drone in the air to figure those out.

Please keep us posted on your new bird,especially interested in how the cameras perform.
Enjoy your day.

 

[miemo]

Well ****, life gets in the way of flying… now that the batteries are charged and firmwares updated, simply have not had a chance to go fly – and the weekend is going to be equally busy with other things. Will get back to Air 3 testing early next week!

 

[Torque]

Well ****, life gets in the way of flying… now that the batteries are charged and firmwares updated, simply have not had a chance to go fly – and the weekend is going to be equally busy with other things. Will get back to Air 3 testing early next week!

I hear you. I'm working a stretch of 12 hour shifts, next day off is Monday. My Air 3 will arrive tomorrow while I'm at work. I figure tomorrow night I'll have time to charge the batteries before bed. Then Saturday night after work I can bind and install FW. Maybe make a night flight. If not, first flight will be at night on Sunday. Monday morning I have an appointment that will keep me tied up until noon. Probably will end up raining the rest of the day or something....lol.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Well ****, life gets in the way of flying… now that the batteries are charged and firmwares updated, simply have not had a chance to go fly – and the weekend is going to be equally busy with other things. Will get back to Air 3 testing early next week!

I wouldn't leave the batteriers fully charged for the entire weekend.
I have no idea if those batteries can self discharge but if not then I'd set the drone on a table etc. start the motors and let them idle for a while to burn off some battery charge. It might also be an idea to direct the blast from a fan over the drone whist doing this.

OF COURSE remove the gimbal cover if you are going to power the drone up.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Don't rush things and make sure you have thoroughly digested the manual/s. Better to lose a day or two doing that than it is to rush things and lose/crash the drone.

Pfffft!!!

Months from now, after they add Mini3P support to thr DJI RC2, I'll be selling off the A2S withe it's FMC paired with the DJI RC I got with the Mini3P, and picking up an A3 FMC DJI RC 2 bundle, and the moment that first battery's charged, I'll be in the air.

I know how to fly these things...

 

[Torque]

Pfffft!!!

Months from now, after they add Mini3P support to thr DJI RC2, I'll be selling off the A2S withe it's FMC paired with the DJI RC I got with the Mini3P, and picking up an A3 FMC DJI RC 2 bundle, and the moment that first battery's charged, I'll be in the air.

I know how to fly these things...

You are quite sure of future compatibility, aren't you?

LOL, I remember when the FPV drone was released in March of 2021, and just a few weeks later the Air 2s was released. Everyone was certain that in the near future the Air 2s would be made compatible with the goggles. So I bought the FPV drone, almost bought the Air 2s but waited for the link that everyone assured me would happen. DJI continued to tell me that there were no plans to ever make the Air 2s work with the goggles. Now 3 goggle iterations later we have compatibility with Mavic 3 and Mini 3 Pro - so glad I didn't listen to the assumptions and buy the Air 2s.
I have a fleet of useless Yuneec and 3DR drones based on assumptions....
I'll wait and see what DJI actually does.

 

[KLRSKIR]

I wouldn't leave the batteriers fully charged for the entire weekend.
I have no idea if thsoe batteries can self discharge but if not then I'd set the drone on a table etc. start the motors and let them idle for a while to burn off some battery charge. It might also be an idea to direct the blast from a fan over the drone whist doing this.

OF COURSE remove the gimabl cover if you are going to poeer the drone up.

As long as they're in the hub (plugged in or not) he'll be just fine (per the manual). The discharge rate is different with this new setup.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

As long as they're in the hub (plugged in or not) he'll be just fine (per the manual). The discharge rate is different with this new setup.

Please explain this? haven't read of any thing related to that.

 

[Torque]

Please explain this? haven't read of any thing related to that.

THe owner's manual (page 60?) recommends that the batteries be stored in the charging hub. The hub automatically checks the battery level every 7 days and adjusts accordingly.

 

[Droning on and on...]

From p.60 in the manual, under Battery Features, item 2:

​

"Auto-Discharging Function: to prevent swelling, the battery automatically discharges to 96% of the battery level when it is idle for three days, and automatically discharges to 60% of the battery level when it is idle for nine days. It is normal to feel moderate heat being emitted from the battery during the discharging process."​

The charging hub is an entirely new animal with some added functionality over previous DJI charging hubs, that looks really useful. This is detailed on pp. 63-66. Along with the usual serial charging behavior (dang!), and ability to use as a power bank with batteries inserted, there are two other new features that look very useful. From the manu:

• Accumulating Power
  1. Insert more than one battery into the charging hub, and press and hold the function button until the status LED turns green. The status LED of the charging hub pulses green, and the charge is transferred from the battery with the lowest power level to the battery with the highest power level.
  2. To stop accumulating power, press and hold the function button until the status LED turns yellow. After stopping power accumulation, press the function button to check the power level of the batteries.
• Over discharge protection
  The charging hub automatically checks the battery power every seven days. When a battery has 0% power level, the battery with a high power level will charge the low power level battery until its power reaches 5% to prevent over-discharging.

So, the hub plays no role in storage-discharge. Air 3 Intelligent batteries are the same as other DJI drones in this regard.

 

[Torque]

So, the hub plays no role in storage-discharge. Air 3 Intelligent batteries are the same as other DJI drones in this regard.

My other hubs check the batteries every 7 days and will charge the dying battery to prevent damage?

 

[Droning on and on...]

My other hubs check the batteries every 7 days and will charge the dying battery to prevent damage?

I'm not aware they do.

This is the first time I've seen this feature. That doesn't mean it wasn't in an earlier hub, but I didn't know about it.

This looks like a new (valuable) feature, and reason to store the batteries in the hub.

 

[pommy]

I'm not aware they do.

This is the first time I've seen this feature. That doesn't mean it wasn't in an earlier hub, but I didn't know about it.

This looks like a new (valuable) feature, and reason to store the batteries in the hub.

They can also “share” power between each other - to top-up just one of them quickly. That’s awesome!