The standard answer would be the max control distance is 10 km.
With the excellent new Ocusync Control System that is what is stated in the official DJI specs sheet as the maximum range of the control system.
But can you really fly 10 km out and expect to come back to the homepoint ?
10 Km is 10,000 meters or about six miles. This far out from Homepoint is a long way for a small drone of only 249 grams. To go out to the max control distance and back would be 20,000meters or little over 12 miles there and back is a long long way for any normal recreational drone. Most would not even come close to this range.
Let’s do a little math.
DJI specs say Mavic Mini 2 can fly at a steady rate of 14m/second for 30 minutes in calm or no wind conditions . So 14m/s x 60 seconds / minute x 30 minutes equals 25200 meters or 25km in calm conditions or over 15 miles. So in theory yes you could go to the maximum distance of the controller and come back.
For a distance comparison
The much larger DJI Mavic Pro can go 15.5 miles hr for 27 min or just 7miles total distance! Mavic Mini 2 can go about same Mavic Pro on paper. I wouldn’t try it but others have. The farthest out I have watched so far on YouTube is just over 11,100 meters out one way or 6.9 miles. Another Max farthest out with a return was 13,600 ft out far out and back. The return trip was nail biting. The Mavic Mini 2 tried to force land at 8% battery but he kept pushing the stick forward. He ended with the Mavic Mini 2 coming down at his feet with a zero battery . WOW over 27000 ft total in flight distance or about 5 miles with strong wind warnings. So yes in reality in extreme condition the Mavic Mini 2 can go over 5 miles! That seems mind-boggling to me for such a small 249 G drone. I can remember attaching special extended antennas to my Phantom 4 controller. I never got it past 6000 meters or about 3.5 miles out without disconnection.
We have proven that yes the Mavic Mini 2 is capable and can go out 10km(FCC)
Mavic Air 2 has 10km controller range and has a 34 min flight time make Mavic Air 2 is DJI ‘s longest range drone. Regular Mavic Pro has a 7km (FCC) max range so Mavic Mini 2 has a farther range than it’s big brother the Mavic Pro. That said, that is in all in perfect conditions. If there are interference buildings or other obstructions transmission range can be significantly much less.
What is max distance of other top drones?
The Holy Stone HS720E one of Holy Stones top models can go maximum 3277 ft Transmitter Range or about 1000 meters. Max FPV range is about half at 1640 ft or less than 500 meters.The battery of the Holy Stone 720E is 23 minutes. The Husban X4 a top 500 buck drone has a 20 to 25 min battery and 500-1000 meter video range as maximum specs.The Skydio X2D a expensive almost fully autonomous drone It has maximum range in the specs of 6.2 km with a 35 minute flight battery . The Skydio X2D is also about $2000 bucks . Most drones have a max range of well under 500 meters. Most cheap toy drones have maximum distance of about a 100 ft . The Tello the best $100 buck drone in my opinion has a maximum distance of 100m. I have found this more like 100ft not 100 meters.
Drones won’t go half of their stated maximum distance most of the time.
The Mavic Mini 2’s superior range of 10 km and 31 minute flight time make the Mavic Mini 2 one of the top drones for maximum flight controller distance at any price. The DJI Mavic Mini 2’s Ocusync controller system has the best maximum controller distance of any recreational drone at 10 km or 6.2 miles.
I have had disconnections at less than 500 meters with my original Mavic Mini .
I have never had this happen at even a 1000 ft away with my Mavic Mini 2. The Ocusync control system is a great improvement over the original Mavic Mini’s Controller. DJI specs say strong interference from Urban Landscapes with limited line of sight and many competing signals distance is cut to approximately 3 km. With the original Mavic Mini this was Medium interference areas like a suburban landscape open line of sight and some competing signals is 6 km. Low interference open landscape abundant line of sight you no or very limited competing signals is approximately 10 km. I usually fly in an area with a high density of other signals. As soon as I take off I will get a warning usually.With my original Mavic Mini I would have some problems as soon as I got past about 1000m. Farthest out without complete disconnection was 3300 m. I have had my new Mavic Mini 2 out that far with no problem. Just a little jumping on the screen. I Have not taken my Mavic Mini 2 out till it disconnects nor will I hope. Not for a little while. I’m not that brave yet or have that much money to lose my new Mavic Mini 2 this quickly just testing the distance limits.
Now if you listen to the FAA new strict guidelines
Then you need to keep any drone you are flying recreationally in direct line of sight always. Under new FHA line of sight guidelines . This is the new FAA rule 107.31 that limits how far a drone can fly from the remote pilot in control. This distance is not an exact distance. This new visual line-of-sight rule 107.31 for unmanned aircraft operation started beginning of 2020. Basically you must unaided of any other corrective lenses like binoculars to be able to always be able to see your drone from where you’re standing with the controller.
The law does allow a visual observer
You must be in direct communication with the spotter at all time. From the spotter must know the unmanned drone’s aircraft location at all times. You must be able to determine altitude and direction of the flight. The spotter must be able to observe the air space for other air traffic or hazards and must be able to determine if the unmanned aircraft is endangering the life or property of others throughout this whole flight. The remote control pilot must be able to see and manipulate the unmanned aircraft with guidance of the visual spotter observer being in constant contact .
So how do you calculate line of sight distance?
Basically the line of sight distance is determined obviously by how well you can see and how big your drone is. A larger drone you can see farther away a smaller drone has to be closer.The smallest area seen like the back side of drone straight ahead is used for initial measurement used.
FAA may use what is called a visual line-of-sight calculator to determine violations
It uses several assumptions. First assumption is you have 20/20 vision. Second you are looking at an on center view of the drone or unmanned vehicle that you’re operating in regular daylight hours not low light. There is no fog , vapor , clouds or obstructions of the air. Last thing is a gray area. That is most drones color scheme is lacking contrast with the sky and surroundings. The Mavic Mini 2 gray drone color does not have optimal color contrasting with the sky. A red color shows up much more than just gray of the Mavic Mini 2.
I will not get into regulations for Night Flight.
Just say you must have some kind of night light strobe visually observable you can see from miles away .That is a whole another blog. I used 6 inches as the basic size back width you can see of the Mavic Mini 2 for the visual line of sight calculator.
The visual line of sight calculator program I used for the Mavic Mini 2 gave me a distance of 523 meters or 1718 ft.
I can tell you from experience I can’t see the drone that far away. Heck I can hardly see the Mavic Mini 2 at 100 meters. At 300 meters it is a very small dot on the horizon. I know from many flights that the end of the retention pond in front of my house is a little over a 300 meters or just under a 1000 ft. About the end of the retention pond I pretty much lose all vision of the Mavic Mini 2. I could easily see my big old Phantom 4 hovering at that distance. I use this distance of 523 meters or 1718ft as a benchmark not to go past. If you are farther out than this it can be argued you can not see your drone in visual line of sight. Obviously if you have flight records showing you are 6000 ft out you are far exceeding line of sight rules.This could be easily argued by the FAA and lead to fines being imposed .
As a general rule of thumb and keeping the FAA happy.
I like to keep my drone in line of sight. For most pictures I want to take and video my drone can easily be in line of sight. I need to be able to see the Drone to safely take the pictures without crashing. I have flown with video only out of line of sight . I don’t do it lightly. Anything can happen when you can’t see your drone. A strong gust of wind can come along and take your Mavic Mini 2 off course and into a tree. The Mavic Mini 2 has much better wind resistance than the original Mavic Mini. Mavic Mini 2 still has NO AVOIDANCE SENSORS ! So knowing where your drone is very Important. It’s all up to you to keep your drone safe. As always
Keep on Dronin’
Written by Greg Deso
