DJI Mavic Air sets new distance record at 1.9 miles

Last week we tried to fly the new DJI Mavic Air as far as we could over the Hudson River. We maxed out the Wi-Fi connection of the Mavic Air drone at around 6,500 feet or 1.24 miles. Some of our readers had pointed out that flying at a low altitude (we flew at 110 feet) would have reduced our range. So this past weekend, we tried again.

Higher altitude boosts the maximum range of the DJI Mavic Air

This time we flew the DJI Mavic Air at around 370 feet altitude (below the 400 feet limit set by the FAA) and we did get a much greater Wi-Fi range out of the Mavic Air. This time we lost the connection at 10,069 feet or 1.9 miles. For what seemed to be an eternity, we barely had any control over the drone as the connection kept dropping out. Meanwhile, the drone itself is perfectly fine. It is just hovering waiting for instructions.

As it was around freezing and we had flown into a pretty strong headwind, we were quickly running out of battery power. We initiated the Return Home feature on the controller and the drone started to fly back to us. Then we entered sports mode to get the drone back quickly as we feared to be running out of juice. At a maximum speed of 43.8 mph, the drone flew across the Hudson River quickly.

A range of 1.9 miles under these conditions (freezing cold and strong winds), make it seem reasonable that DJI would be able to achieve 2.4 miles of range under ideal circumstances. Furthermore, we believe that the range of the DJI Mavic Air is more than sufficient for most people, most of the time.

Hope you enjoyed this video. Please like and subscribe to our channel. The next video will show the DJI Mavic Air’s performance in really strong winds.

DJI Mavic Air Wi-Fi range video

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Note II: If you are in the market for the new DJI Mavic Air, check out this article with tips on where you can buy it.