Using the Larger Air 3S Battery in an Air 3 for Greater Range

[Conservative Nihilist]

Amid the fanfare that greeted DJI's release of the long-anticipated Air 3S evolutionary design step above the year-old Air 3, I noted immediately that the 4241 mAH battery of the Air 3 is directly interchangeable with the slightly larger capacity 4276 mAh battery of the newly released Air 3S. The 35mAh difference in the charge capacity of these two batteries could conceivably translate into five additional minutes of flight time if the older Air 3 is retrofitted with the newly released Air 3S battery that is slightly larger than stock.

As I await the delivery of my new-to-me eBay-bought DJI Air 3 drone sold with a single stock 4241 mAh battery, I got to pondering my options for a second and third battery purchase. Donning my conical thinking cap, I ruminated over the existential question of whether the additional $60 I would need to shell out for the larger capacity Air S3 battery would translate into a few more precious minutes of flight time than the tested 40 minutes of flight time found by users to be possible with the stock battery of the Air 3.

If any of the DJI Air 3 owners who frequent this forum are going to be in the market for a new battery soon, I would like to thank them in advance for volunteering their drones as guinea pig experimental subjects, by conducting range tests after replacing the stock battery with the slightly larger capacity plug-and-play Air 3 S battery.

If no one in this forum is expecting to buy a new battery for their Air 3 any time soon, the delivery of my Air 3 in a couple of weeks will increase the odds that I might become the brave soul who first takes the plunge by procuring a new Air 3S battery and then running range tests while the drone circles my abode at 30mph following preset waypoints until the 40-minute mark is reached and hopefully exceeded.

As a footnote, the Air 3S is rated for a 45-minute battery life as opposed to the 46-minute battery life of the older Air 3. This is likely because the newer Air 3S is heavier than the Air 3, thanks to a beefier payload of power-hungry sensor electronics, which explains why the battery life of the Air 3S is shorter than that of the Air3 despite the Air 3S using a larger capacity battery in its stock configuration.

So, to summarize my rambling dissertation today, I look forward to hearing from any Air 3 owners who are willing to boldly go where no armchair pilot has gone before, by installing a newer Air 3S battery to power their Air 3 as a prelude to conducting range and battery duration tests whose results they would be willing to share in this forum for the enlightenment of drone lore historians like yours truly.

 

[old man mavic]

@Conservative Nihilist to be perfectly honest with you the difference in capacity between the two batteries ,would hardly be noticeable in real world usage, in terms of increased flight time, with regards to your comment about the additional cost ,the batteries for the Air 3 and Air 3s are both listed at £129 each on the DJI web site

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

This reply is appreciated old Man Mavic. This news that at least in the UK the Air 3 and Air 3S batteries sell for the same amount is a pleasant surprise. Ali Express charges USD 130 for the Air 3 batteries, and a whopping $200 for the Air 3 S batteries, which means that buying from China is not always the more affordable option.

You're probably right that the charge capacity difference between the two batteries is too small to significantly boost the range of an Air 3 that has been fitted with an Air 3S battery, but if the prices do stabilize at the same amount over the coming months, I will buy the Air3S batteries for my Air3 to hopefully squeeze out another hundred yards of travel on the end of my longer waypoint missions when that extra time aloft makes the most difference.

 

[GFields]

Moved thread to the new section for Air 3s

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Moved thread to the new section for Air 3s

Great minds think alike. My initial intention was to post this topic to the Air 3S forum since my inquiry was about a battery specific to the Air 3S, but then I considered the perspective that my questions pertained to range increases that might be attainable for the Air 3 once fitted with the newer battery intended for the Air 3S. When I found myself wondering whether my topic might be relevant to the hardware modification sub-forum, I realized that my grey matter had begun to overheat, so I lay down until all my thoughts evaporated.

On a less serious note, I hope to hear from other drone owners whether this battery swap that I envision could make a measurable difference in flight duration for the older of these two superb DJI Air 3 variants.

 

[GadgetGuy]

On a less serious note, I hope to hear from other drone owners whether this battery swap that I envision could make a measurable difference in flight duration for the older of these two superb DJI Air 3 variants.

There should be no issue whatsoever, and you will gain increased flight time, just like the higher capacity P4P batteries that are interchangeable with the original lower capacity P4 batteries and vice versa.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Gadget guy this is music to my ears. Rather than buy the two extra Air 3 batteries that I'll need for my newly acquired Air 3, I'll delay my battery purchase until Air 3S batteries are commonplace on eBay and hopefully selling for a comparable price to the older Air 3 battery.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Could you show your math please?

35mAh is a 3500/4241 = 0.83% increase in capacity. Using 44m flight time, this would result in 1.0083×44 = 44.36m, or an extra 20 seconds. In practice because of so many other variables, you'd never be able to measure a difference.

I very well may have missed something, or don't understand this. I'd like to know where you get 5 minutes from.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Could you show your math please?

35mAh is a 3500/4241 = 0.83% increase in capacity. Using 44m flight time, this would result in 1.0083×44 = 44.36m, or an extra 20 seconds. In practice because of so many other variables, you'd never be able to measure a difference.

I very well may have missed something, or don't understand this. I'd like to know where you get 5 minutes from.

This is the empirical derivation I was hoping someone here might be able to quantify. My estimate mentioning 5 extra minutes of battery life was a wild guess that I now see was overly optimistic, to put it mildly, haha.

Looking again at the theoretical 20 seconds of additional flying time that your calculations predict for an Air 3 fitted with a larger-capacity Air 3S battery, and bearing in mind that both of these batteries might wind up selling at the same price online, I would still see a benefit to buying Air 3S batteries exclusively for my Air 3.

A couple of years ago my Phantom 3 Standard, inbound and no more than 5 seconds flying time away from home after a fully autonomous 6-mile round-trip Litchi waypoint mission, was already within earshot when it defaulted into a low-battery autoland that left it gently suspended amid the foliage of a tropical rainforest clearing, to my amazement. Similar cliff-hanger reports from other drone pilots in online forums highlighted how crucial a few precious seconds of additional flight time can be on the home stretch of a drone's flight.

Without question, it won't be long before Ali Express advertises extra-range batteries to fit the Air 3 and 3S to nudge their flight times closer than ever to that landmark one-hour battery duration. When that time comes I am confident that the Air 3/3S motors will prove up to the task of operating continuously without overheating for one hour during which up to 30 miles could be traversed by these mid-range hobby-grade drones, be that linearly in waypoint missions, or following localized grid patterns as is required for photogrammetry drone mapping operations.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Gadget guy this is music to my ears. Rather than buy the two extra Air 3 batteries that I'll need for my newly acquired Air 3, I'll delay my battery purchase until Air 3S batteries are commonplace on eBay and hopefully selling for a comparable price to the older Air 3 battery.

While what I wrote above is still true, I misread the difference in specs elsewhere online and assumed your numbers contained a digit transposition, thinking it was 4241 and 4726, much like the P4 and P4P difference, of roughly 10%, which was close to your 5 minute guesstimate.

However, in this case, the actual 25 mAH difference is completely insignificant, and still doesn't even offset the difference in flight times, as the Air 3S is still one minute less than the Air 3, much like the Mavic 3 Pro is less than the Mavic 3.

As to your concern about squeezing extra flight times out of the battery in an emergency, learn to manually fight the low battery Autoland function with full up left stick, which will allow you to squeeze an extra 2 minutes of flight time past 0% remaining battery on all current DJI batteries.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

While what I wrote above is still true, I misread the difference in specs elsewhere online and assumed your numbers contained a digit transposition, thinking it was 4241 and 4726, much like the P4 and P4P difference, of roughly 10%, which was close to your 5 minute guesstimate.

However, in this case, the actual 25 mAH difference is completely insignificant, and still doesn't even offset the difference in flight times, as the Air 3S is still one minute less than the Air 3, much like the Mavic 3 Pro is less than the Mavic 3.

Drat and double drat. Oh well, the widely reported 40 minutes of flight time that I can realistically expect with the stock Air 3 batteries already represents a quantum leap above the battery longevity of DJI's older offerings. Ali Express extra-range batteries do offer a new lease of life for DJI Go and DJI Go4 museum piece drones, but nothing beats a higher resolution camera that can fly for longer than ever before.

It is only a matter of time before DJI releases a hobby-grade drone capable of staying aloft for one hour on standard batteries. Progressively increasing battery charge capacity with each new design makes good business sense because those same hobby-grade drones are increasingly deployed on mapping missions for which more battery power is a holy grail among other key performance specs.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Drat and double drat. Oh well, the widely reported 40 minutes of flight time that I can realistically expect with the stock Air 3 batteries already represents a quantum leap above the battery longevity of DJI's older offerings. Ali Express extra-range batteries do offer a new lease of life for DJI Go and DJI Go4 museum piece drones, but nothing beats a higher resolution camera that can fly for longer than ever before.

It is only a matter of time before DJI releases a hobby-grade drone capable of staying aloft for one hour on standard batteries. Progressively increasing battery charge capacity with each new design makes good business sense because those same hobby-grade drones are increasingly deployed on mapping missions for which more battery power is a holy grail among other key performance specs.

I'd still focus on your primary reason, cited initially, for needing a few extra minutes: Your concern about squeezing extra flight time out of the battery in an emergency. Learn to manually fight the low battery Autoland function with full up left stick, which will allow you to squeeze an extra 2 minutes of flight time past 0% remaining battery on all current DJI batteries.

 

[Sjkieffer]

This is the empirical derivation I was hoping someone here might be able to quantify. My estimate mentioning 5 extra minutes of battery life was a wild guess that I now see was overly optimistic, to put it mildly, haha.

Looking again at the theoretical 20 seconds of additional flying time that your calculations predict for an Air 3 fitted with a larger-capacity Air 3S battery, and bearing in mind that both of these batteries might wind up selling at the same price online, I would still see a benefit to buying Air 3S batteries exclusively for my Air 3.

A couple of years ago my Phantom 3 Standard, inbound and no more than 5 seconds flying time away from home after a fully autonomous 6-mile round-trip Litchi waypoint mission, was already within earshot when it defaulted into a low-battery autoland that left it gently suspended amid the foliage of a tropical rainforest clearing, to my amazement. Similar cliff-hanger reports from other drone pilots in online forums highlighted how crucial a few precious seconds of additional flight time can be on the home stretch of a drone's flight.

Without question, it won't be long before Ali Express advertises extra-range batteries to fit the Air 3 and 3S to nudge their flight times closer than ever to that landmark one-hour battery duration. When that time comes I am confident that the Air 3/3S motors will prove up to the task of operating continuously without overheating for one hour during which up to 30 miles could be traversed by these mid-range hobby-grade drones, be that linearly in waypoint missions, or following localized grid patterns as is required for photogrammetry drone mapping operations.

I have just bought three 3s batteries for my Air 3. Attached was my best range while still making it back with standard Air 3 batteries.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I have just bought three 3s batteries for my Air 3. Attached was my best range while still making it back with standard Air 3 batteries.

Were there any suicide missions where you didn't fully make it back?
LOL!
Main benefit to three new 3s batteries today is their being brand new with a current manufacturing date, while most so called "new" Air 3 batteries sold today were likely actually manufactured over a year ago. Batteries start dying from date of manufacture, not the date first placed in service. Plus, your existing Air 3 batteries likely already have a bunch of cycles on them, and the maximum mAh charge declines with each cycle. So, expect modest improvement, but not because of the mere 35 mAh difference between an Air 3S and an Air 3 battery.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

I have just bought three 3s batteries for my Air 3. Attached was my best range while still making it back with standard Air 3 batteries.

If I am reading that distance figure correctly, it looks like 10,000 meters downrange, which works out to about 6 miles one way before RTH kicked in. That seemingly misplaced comma in the distance reading threw me off a bit. This insight is appreciated SJKieffer. I now have a ballpark figure to think over as I await the delivery of my new-to-me Air 3.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

Were there any suicide missions where you didn't fully make it back?
LOL!
Main benefit to three new 3s batteries today is their being brand new with a current manufacturing date, while most so called "new" Air 3 batteries sold today were likely actually manufactured over a year ago. Batteries start dying from date of manufacture, not the date first placed in service. Plus, your existing Air 3 batteries likely already have a bunch of cycles on them, and the maximum mAh charge declines with each cycle. So, expect modest improvement, but not because of the mere 35 mAh difference between an Air 3S and an Air 3 battery.

One of my Mavic 1 Pros, a grizzled veteran of numerous record breaking distance flights, went AWOL some months back, and had to be presumed MIA or KIA, sadly. I suspect that its battery detached mid-flight but I'll never know for sure. The silver lining of that debacle is that older Mavic 1 Pros and Mavic Pro Platinum drones are plummeting in price, so that suicide mission outcome did not occasion too much wailing and gnashing of teeth on my part. I have since ordered a cuple of barely used M1P's to replace the departed soul.

 

[GadgetGuy]

One of my Mavic 1 Pros, a grizzled veteran of numerous record breaking distance flights, went AWOL some months back, and had to be presumed MIA or KIA, sadly. I suspect that its battery detached mid-flight but I'll never know for sure. The silver lining of that debacle is that older Mavic 1 Pros and Mavic Pro Platinum drones are plummeting in price, so that suicide mission outcome did not occasion too much wailing and gnashing of teeth on my part. I have since ordered a cuple of barely used M1P's to replace the departed soul.

Indeed. Older DJI drones are now as expendable and easily replaceable as the Ukranian units used for their one way missions! No RID either!

 

[GadgetGuy]

If I am reading that distance figure correctly, it looks like 10,000 meters downrange, which works out to about 6 miles one way before RTH kicked in. That seemingly misplaced comma in the distance reading threw me off a bit. This insight is appreciated SJKieffer. I now have a ballpark figure to think over as I await the delivery of my new-to-me Air 3.

RTH undoubtedly kicked in much earlier, and had to be manually overridden, as RTH wants to land with some 25% remaining battery, and will have you turning around at 65% remaining battery, which is definitely not optimized for long distance round trip flights. You need to push it to at least 55% remaining battery (50% with a returning tail wind) and be capable and willing to land at under 10% remaining battery for maximum round trip distances.

 

[Conservative Nihilist]

After overriding low battery RTH, I have experienced a couple of close shaves when I had to apply increasing throttle inputs on the home stretch to counter the drone's tendency to auto-land. Sometimes nerves would kick in and my shaky throttle inputs would induce a yo-yo like vertical oscillation as the drone fights the inexorable pull of gravity just prior to its landing.

 

[GadgetGuy]

After overriding low battery RTH, I have experienced a couple of close shaves when I had to apply increasing throttle inputs on the home stretch to counter the drone's tendency to auto-land. Sometimes nerves would kick in and my shaky throttle inputs would induce a yo-yo like vertical oscillation as the drone fights the inexorable pull of gravity just prior to its landing.

Yup. It's a dance between you and the ground, as you navigate to within reach to grab it! Unless it is a forced Autoland in an NFZ, you can usually still even add mild ascension with full forward left stick. Just don't let go, or it will land in place! As long as it is already in a safe spot, sometimes it's just better to let it land, than try and bring it all the way back to you. Just make sure it is not over water, people, or traffic!