DJI Air 3S waypoint missions in DJI Fly: 200 waypoints, GSD, flight time and planners

Waypoints on the Air 3S

DJI lists Waypoint Flight for the Air 3S, and DJI Fly stores each mission as a KMZ in DJI's WPML format. A mission takes at most 200 waypoints and runs on one battery: land to swap and it is over, so a bigger job is several missions from the same takeoff.

Every height is metres above the takeoff point. DJI Fly has no terrain follow, so on a slope the heights in the file have to climb with the ground, and Max Altitude has to be set above the highest waypoint; EU builds stop at 120 m. The limits guide covers all four limits.

DJI's Mobile SDK v5 doesn't list the Air 3S, so no other app can fly it live. Every planner, Litchi and Dronelink included, writes a KMZ that DJI Fly flies.

GSD at 60, 80 and 100 m

The Air 3S's main camera is 1-inch 50 MP: a 13.10 × 9.80 mm sensor behind a 9.10 mm lens. Plan mapping in the 12 MP mode: the full-resolution photo halves the number on paper, but the 12 MP mode is the one that keeps up with a photo every few seconds.

For 2 cm/px, the usual choice for an orthophoto of a plot, fly the Air 3S at about 57 m above the ground.

GSD in cm/px with the camera straight down, from the sensor and focal length in DJI's specifications (derived from DJI's field of view, can be a few per cent off). The footprint is width × length on the ground; the spacing is for 80/70% overlap.

Flight time: rated against planned

DJI's 45 minutes is measured in a wind tunnel at a steady forward speed until the battery forces a landing. A mission has stops, climbs, wind and a reserve to land with, so plan it within 70% of the rating: 31 minutes for the Air 3S.

DJI lists the Air 3S at 724 g with the standard battery, class C1 in the EU.

DJI's rated maximum flight time against the time a mission is planned within: 70% of it, rounded down.

Fly a waypoint mission on the Air 3S

1. 01

   Plan within the limits

   At most 200 waypoints, 31 minutes of flight and 120 m above the ground, with every height counted from the spot you will take off from.

2. 02

   Make a placeholder mission

   In DJI Fly, connected to the Air 3S, make a waypoint mission with two points and save it. Your file will take its place.

3. 03

   Swap in your KMZ

   On an iPhone, replace the placeholder's file in Files › On My iPhone › DJI Fly › wayline_mission. On a DJI RC 2, connect the controller to a computer and replace it in Android/data/dji.go.v5/files/waypoint/. Keep the placeholder's file name; the KMZ guide has every step.

4. 04

   Set Max Altitude

   In DJI Fly's safety settings, set Max Altitude at least as high as the highest waypoint and the return-to-home height.

5. 05

   Take off from the planned spot

   Open the mission, check every waypoint on the map, and start it from the takeoff point the heights were planned from.

Mapping grids with the Air 3S

At 2 cm/px and 80/70% overlap, the Air 3S's photos are about 12 m apart along a line and the lines about 25 m apart. DJI Fly doesn't reliably honour the interval triggers a file can carry, so a grid needs one waypoint per photo, and the 200-waypoint cap holds a flight to about 200 photos.

A bigger area is several flights from the same takeoff, each within 31 minutes. The mapping guide covers overlap, light and accuracy without RTK, and compares the Air 3S with the other DJI Fly drones.

Planners that support the Air 3S

Litchi, Waypoint Map, Dronelink, Pixpro and Skyplanr name the Air 3S on their own pages. The comparison of waypoint planners has their prices, the iPhone path and what each does with the ground.

• Litchi: as a KMZ from Litchi Hub, swapped into DJI Fly; Litchi Pilot doesn't list it.
• Waypoint Map: as a KMZ you swap into DJI Fly, free for recreational use.
• Dronelink: as a KMZ from the web planner, swapped into DJI Fly.
• Pixpro: as a KMZ you swap into DJI Fly, with any Pixpro plan.
• Skyplanr: as a DJI Fly KMZ per flight, with the heights from the terrain and the job split at 200 waypoints and 70% of the battery.

Questions

Related guides

• Waypoint planners for DJI Fly compared: Litchi, Waypoint Map, Dronelink, Pixpro, Skyplanr

  Litchi, Waypoint Map, Dronelink, Pixpro and Skyplanr for DJI Fly waypoints: price, drones, the iPhone path, terrain heights and exports, from their docs.

• Drone mapping with the DJI Mini 4 Pro and Air 3S in DJI Fly: GSD, overlap, flights

  Why a mapping grid for the Mini 4 Pro or Air 3S is a DJI Fly KMZ mission, GSD per height for each drone, 80/70% overlap, flights, and accuracy without RTK.

• Real estate drone shot list: front reveal, orbit, top-down and approach as one DJI Fly KMZ

  A real estate drone shot list flown as one DJI Fly KMZ: front reveal, orbit, top-down lot and approach, with heights, gimbal angles and the rules.

Sources

Skyplanr is not affiliated with the third-party guides linked here.

1. DJI Developer: DJI WPML overview (the KMZ format DJI Fly reads) (developer.dji.com)
2. DJI: Air 3S (Waypoint Flight in DJI Fly) (dji.com)
3. DJI: Air 3S specifications (camera, flight time, weight) (dji.com)
4. DJI Developer: Mobile SDK v5 for Android, supported products (github.com)
5. Litchi: supported drone and remote controller models (Litchi Hub, Litchi Pilot BETA, Litchi for DJI Drones) (forum.flylitchi.com)
6. Litchi: how to use Litchi Hub with DJI Fly (KMZ export, Hub Bridge for Mac and Windows) (forum.flylitchi.com)
7. WaypointMap: Premium and the free recreational tier (waypointmap.com)
8. WaypointMap: supported drones (waypointmap.com)
9. Dronelink: onboard DJI waypoint missions, convert and export to KMZ (support.dronelink.com)
10. Dronelink: plans and pricing (app.dronelink.com)
11. Pixpro: Pixpro Waypoints (pix-pro.com)
12. Pixpro: how to use Pixpro Waypoints, step by step (pix-pro.com)