Greetings, fellow Mavic pilots. Longtime reader, first time commenter. I'm on day 4 of testing my Mavic Air in and around my neighborhood. FYI, I live in Los Angeles, CA, in an area plagued with some of the worst WiFi interference you're likely to find ANYWHERE. I am also the owner of a DJI Spark, Mavic Pro and (now) Mavic Air. I've owned my Mavic Pro for about 8 months and my Spark for 3 months. I am quite happy with both drones, though they have very different uses. The Spark is a blast to fly, but the Mavic Pro has been my aerial photography workhorse.
To give you an idea of my tested ranges, when launching from Huntington Beach, I've managed to fly the Spark 4,980 feet out over the ocean before losing signal connection and triggering the RTH. I've never lost signal connection on the Mavic Pro over the ocean, not because I've tested the limits of its range, but because I chicken out at about 10,500 feet and turn it around. At that range from Huntington Beach, I'm able to fly the Mavic Pro AROUND an oil platform two miles offshore and return to the beach with battery to spare...
Now, flying those same two drones from my front patio or backyard around my neighborhood over the past few months (at heights of 150-250 feet), the furthest I've been able to get the Spark before signal loss is 1,540 feet. The furthest I've been able to push the Mavic Pro before getting signal loss is 2,510 feet. Like I said, terrible interference in my neighborhood.
I'll be taking the Air out to the beach to compare its low-interference flight range to the other two tomorrow morning. But I've been taking it on daily test flights from my front patio and backyard the past several days, and the furthest I've been able to push it before suffering signal loss so far is 1,520 feet (about the same as the Spark).
Please, there's not need to flame me. I'm a fan of all three drones and actually am loving the features and functionality on the air. I just wanted to make certain that other users in urban or high-interference areas expecting to get Mavic Pro-like range prepare themselves for more Spark-like range and connectivity and don't go putting their Mavic Pros on eBay until they've had some time to do some proper testing of their own.
Happy flying, everyone!
To give you an idea of my tested ranges, when launching from Huntington Beach, I've managed to fly the Spark 4,980 feet out over the ocean before losing signal connection and triggering the RTH. I've never lost signal connection on the Mavic Pro over the ocean, not because I've tested the limits of its range, but because I chicken out at about 10,500 feet and turn it around. At that range from Huntington Beach, I'm able to fly the Mavic Pro AROUND an oil platform two miles offshore and return to the beach with battery to spare...
Now, flying those same two drones from my front patio or backyard around my neighborhood over the past few months (at heights of 150-250 feet), the furthest I've been able to get the Spark before signal loss is 1,540 feet. The furthest I've been able to push the Mavic Pro before getting signal loss is 2,510 feet. Like I said, terrible interference in my neighborhood.
I'll be taking the Air out to the beach to compare its low-interference flight range to the other two tomorrow morning. But I've been taking it on daily test flights from my front patio and backyard the past several days, and the furthest I've been able to push it before suffering signal loss so far is 1,520 feet (about the same as the Spark).
Please, there's not need to flame me. I'm a fan of all three drones and actually am loving the features and functionality on the air. I just wanted to make certain that other users in urban or high-interference areas expecting to get Mavic Pro-like range prepare themselves for more Spark-like range and connectivity and don't go putting their Mavic Pros on eBay until they've had some time to do some proper testing of their own.
Happy flying, everyone!
