Should I be getting audio alerts from the RC Pro when nearby manned ADS-B equipped aircraft are nearby?


I take it that means the aircraft was 1.8km from my Mavic 3, and at 193m?

I was initially at 69m, but dropped to 20m as the small biplane approached.


Here are my sensitivity settings in the app for the flight:

I get them on the DJI RC but not the RC Pro. So strange.

I also use an app on my iPhone called Fligh Radar 24.  The altitude especially of helicopters can be deceiving and that app has always kept me straight. It’s free also.  The flight paths and altitude are within seconds of real time for nearly all aircraft.

The RC controllers only say there’s an aircraft nearby.  This app creates the best situational awareness.

My preflight consists of checking B4UFLY, weather radar (RadarScope) then launching FlightRadar24

Not all manned craft have ADSB out. Small craft with no flight plan filed don't need them.

dronethemoment Posted at 5-1 08:39
I get them on the DJI RC but not the RC Pro. So strange.

Strange you say you're not getting on RC Pro, as I'm sure I used to get them, but it might have been when I was using the RC-N1/iPhone.

Can't see much benefit in checking before flying, beyond the obvious, but with the 30+ minute flight time of the Mavic 3, aircraft could come and go....

Mobilehomer Posted at 5-1 08:52
Not all manned craft have ADSB out. Small craft with no flight plan filed don't need them.

Of course, but this ole biplane clearly did have one, and the Mavic 3 had picked it up, hence showed on map.  I was expecting an audio alert, like it used to.

TheBoy Posted at 5-1 08:54
Of course, but this ole biplane clearly did have one, and the Mavic 3 had picked it up, hence showed on map.  I was expecting an audio alert, like it used to.

No audio alert unless collision is possible.

Mobilehomer Posted at 5-1 10:08
No audio alert unless collision is possible.

I would class that as a potential collision risk, and certainly my settings were set to even low risk of collision.  I was well within the blue circle around the aircraft, and only about 100m difference in height.

Works for all of my units.

gulfpre Posted at 5-1 11:03
Works for all of my units.

Including the RC Pro?

TheBoy Posted at 5-2 10:13
Including the RC Pro?

pretty sure. will test it again, as i'm not far from the airport and in the flight path, although at several k feet.

gulfpre Posted at 5-2 11:33
pretty sure. will test it again, as i'm not far from the airport and in the flight path, although at several k feet.

Thanks .  There seem to be a few reports of people with the DJI RC Pro who are not getting the alert, so wonder if that could be my issue.

Hi, TheBoy. Thanks for reaching out, and apologies for any inconvenience. As confirmed by our engineers, there will be no sound alerts, but rather App prompts only. Thanks for your understanding.

DJI Tony Posted at 5-3 04:50
Hi, TheBoy. Thanks for reaching out, and apologies for any inconvenience. As confirmed by our engineers, there will be no sound alerts, but rather App prompts only. Thanks for your understanding.

There were no prompts whatsoever, I only looked at the map to see how close it was because I could see the Mavic 3 and the plane were a little close for comfort.

Surely an (optional, if that's preferred) audible alert is a necessity, as often we fly without spotters, which means in Europe, we will not be looking much at the screen.

Not all close craft will set a warning. Until a collision is possible, according to heading and coordinates, there will be no warning. If you are flying straight south and a manned craft is flying straight north a mile to the east, there will be no warning. If the manned is at 20,000' and straight over head, there will be no warning. In your screenshot, the plane and your drone were not on a collision course. So no warning.

Mobilehomer Posted at 5-3 07:12
Not all close craft will set a warning. Until a collision is possible, according to heading and coordinates, there will be no warning. If you are flying straight south and a manned craft is flying straight north a mile to the east, there will be no warning. If the manned is at 20,000' and straight over head, there will be no warning. In your screenshot, the plane and your drone were not on a collision course. So no warning.

My settings were set yo low, medium and high risk collision.  I was flying NW at 70m, the plane was flying SE at 185m, and we were about a mile apart. We were definitely in each other's airspace.

The system is only worthwhile if it can be configured to give an early warning, not when the drone is already embedded in the plane's windscreen.

DJI have already confirmed the RC Pro gives no audible alerts for airsense (why on earth not?), and in my flight logs, no mention of the aircraft, despite us heading towards each other at broadly similar heights.  The drone obviously picked up the other aircraft, and showed on map *ONCE* I'd put the map in full screen mode, and I was well inside the blue circle around the manned aircraft.

So, Airsense does not work as described.  DJI either need to fix it, or stop installing the feature if it does nothing.


I know it used to work on the RC-N1, so maybe its just an RC Pro thing.  Maybe the RC Pro is going the same way as the original SC - unloved, buggy and unmaintained.

TheBoy Posted at 5-3 08:44
My settings were set yo low, medium and high risk collision.  I was flying NW at 70m, the plane was flying SE at 185m, and we were about a mile apart. We were definitely in each other's airspace.

The system is only worthwhile if it can be configured to give an early warning, not when the drone is already embedded in the plane's windscreen.

Here in the U.S., the FAA originally planned to make the max altitude for drones at 500 feet AGL.  But at the last minute, they changed it to 400 feet AGL because they wanted to add a 100 foot buffer.  Where I live, the minimum altitude for a plane is 500 feet AGL.  Drones don’t have the right-of-way, of course, and must yield in the unlikely event a plane or helicopter drops below 500 feet.

I don’t use the airsense feature. It’s a cool feature though.  I use my ears.  If I hear a helicopter or plane, I need to quickly react because you don’t really have time to be messing with or looking at airsense.  In my area, we have low flying Apache and Blackhawk helicopters on a fairly regular basis and occasionally a chinook or c130 transport plane.  The apaches and blackhawks usually fly between 500-800 feet AGL. But guess what?  They turn off their ADS-B below 1000 feet.  Once in a blue moon you’ll have a hotdog c130 at 500 feet, but fhey stayer higher..usually above 1000 feet.

As you know, you don’t have a lot of time when you hear a low flying aircraft. I always do a little pre-flight homework and look on a map at surrounding elevations (differences) and figure out a minimum safe altitude that I can immediately and rapidly descend to…because I live in a fairly steep hilly area with lots of trees.   So I have to do a little math because the maps are MSL and obviously my home point is 0 AGL….and factor in the tree height plus breathing room for any errors…so you don’t get too low and hit a tree.

So my advice is to do some pre-flight planning and figure out your minimum safe altitude depending on where you’re flying, and when you hear a plane or helicopter, you can confidently, calmy and quickly descend to your safe minimum altitude and hoover while you’re assessing the situation.

I won’t bore you with the whole story of the time (two months ago)  an Apache flew over my head at 300 feet AGL right after I landed the drone.  I saw two Apache hovering on ADS-B exchange (on my phone) about 50 miles away at 2800 feet before I launched.  I think one of them decided to come check me out.  A little too coincidental. He didn’t have ADS-B on either when he flew over.

I agree it can't be relied upon until the CAA mandate all manned aircraft have it fitted and enabled.  But if DJI choose to fit the receivers, and market it that it's fitted, surely it should actually work?

Because of the nature of the landscape in my area, gliders are often around, gaining lift from the slopes.  You can't hear them until they are about 200 yards away, which given their speeds, do not allow for any reaction time.  So it would sure be useful to get early warning.

When Airsense did used to work, possibly back when I was using an RC-N1, the sensitivity of alerts was manageable through the 3 settings or High, High & Medium, and High & Medium & Low risk.  And an audible voice warning was given, meaning you could check the map if you hadn't managed to locate the aircraft in the sky.