Now lets Focus on 3 Cheap way to Improve the Mavic everyone can Say Better Camer but that is More Expensive lets look for 3 Cheap ways.


#1. Lighter Materials Skeltonized Body and Frame. would also aide in cooling, lighter weight would also make it faster.
#2. Remove the Fan, this would reduce costs and also save battery without that fan we would probably bet at a rated 30 min flight time. Having a more open body design as in option #1 above would allow this.
#3. Since there no need for a fan now. They can Include a quality Clear Gimbal Cover that can be left on During Flight, This would improve the Mavics Stability, Aerodynamics and speed because most of the Mavics issues are because gusts of air wind etc get stuck under the Gimbal.


I will say it is Highly Likely that Mavic 2 will defintely NOT have a internal fan.

I know at least 4 mavic owners that leave the gimbal cover on now with no problems. I would go more high tech with Mavic 2,  3 dimensional (as in on all sides) collision avoidance, better camera and better quality hinge points for the 4 arms. My vote anyway

Remove the Fan, this would reduce costs and also save battery without that fan we would probably bet at a rated 30 min flight time.

That might work out fine for Mavic owners who only fly their aircraft within the Arctic Circle but it would be a disaster for the rest of us unless we wanted to use our Mavics to fry eggs. The fan is there for a very good reason, and I'm sure DJI's engineers would have preferred to avoid the weight and power consumption associated with it. You can be sure, though, that they didn't include the fan just for funsies.

I will say it is Highly Likely that Mavic 2 will defintely NOT have a internal fan.

Even more likely is that a certain recent addition to this forum will continue to post bizarre conjecture about the Mavic without any supporting evidence.

I would add an automatic gimbal lock that retracts into the airframe when you power on, and extends out to lock the gimbal when you power down.

This would make it unnecessary to keep removing and installing sun shades or gimbal covers and having to keep track of the removable gimbal lock.

Three *cheap* ways for you is to redesign the whole thing?

Remove protections from the Mavic so it can melt in mid flight?
What about when sitting for half an hour waiting for FW upgrade with obviously no air flow?

We already have cheap clear plastic gimbal covers, not sure exactly what design could possibly eliminate the glare when pivoting. Seems pointless to me to buy a 4K camera and cover it so it doesnt get damaged when in use.

Cheap upgrades would include app/FW improvements to bring the flight tech from the spark over to the mavic.
Mavic Two will be released soon, hopefully DJI have had their thinking caps on for that. The Mavic is done and dusted, move onto the next thing instead of trying to reinvent the wheel.

One really good idea if I may,
Configure/Setup MP by just hooking up via USB to PC/Mac w/ out a use of a battery.
This way you can configure your MP to your heart content.

To make it lighter would make it more susceptible to wind , so less flying days, to open it up and make it more skeletal would only open up the electronics to the elements and I agree with others loosing the fan would not be a great idea.

I think most of the work going into Mavic 2 should concentrate on a better gimbal and camera.

Ron in Utah Posted at 2017-6-3 18:47
I would add an automatic gimbal lock that retracts into the airframe when you power on, and extends out to lock the gimbal when you power down.

This would make it unnecessary to keep removing and installing sun shades or gimbal covers and having to keep track of the removable gimbal lock.

There is a gimbal cover with built in gimbal lock out there (from China); ordered one last week, so still awaiting delivery, but it means a protective cover and lock in one piece.

better way to attach nd filters or just protective lens. its clear people want to use these with the mavic, make it so its done in a standardized way. instead of just cramming it on the cam

That internal video transmitter that sends HD video 4.3 miles is the main thing that puts out so much heat  then you have all the processors running . I don't see them doing away with a cooling fan any time soon .  Realisticly they could keep the camera/gimbal the same size and just upgrade the sensor when tech allows . The camera and gimbal work extremely well for their small size right now .

My #1 would be a slightly bigger humpback battery for more flight time . People doing battery mods have already proven there is more to be gained in that area before diminishing returns sets in . A solid 30 minutes of flight time is very achievable .

#2 would be a Atti mode setting in the app and on the remote .

#1 - Lighter materials -  Looks already pretty cut down as it is.  This thing is very light minus the battery and to make it lighter, would be to make it weaker and people here have shown Mavics with visible frame stress already.

#2 - No Fan - Try and run your PC without a fan and go play your latest game.  Won't be long until you got a problem.  Flying the Mavic without a fan and again, it won't be long until you have a problem.  The fan is required as this thing is producing a lot of heat.  Feel the bottom.  Got to move that heat out, not to mention hot electronics don't last long.

#3 - Why do you want to use the Gimbal cover?  That is like training wheels for a kids bike.  As for aerodynamics, the cross section of this Mavic is very minimal, so unless top speed is a concern, this buys you nothing.  With top speed limited to 40 MPH, the cover is pointless.  When you approach triple digits, maybe you will get some sort of benefit then.

Anyway, can't find a positive reason to do any other mentioned requests for improvement.

You've got it all figured out!

Maybe you should work for DJI or better yet start your own drone manufacturing and design company. IceCold Drones sounds good. I believe that you believe your ideas are worthy.

I'm just giving you a hard time. At least you are thinking about something.

the fan seems to be needing to cool the heat producing components inside

DroneFlying Posted at 2017-6-3 18:32
Remove the Fan, this would reduce costs and also save battery without that fan we would probably bet at a rated 30 min flight time.

That might work out fine for Mavic owners who only fly their aircraft within the Arctic Circle but it would be a disaster for the rest of us unless we wanted to use our Mavics to fry eggs. The fan is there for a very good reason, and I'm sure DJI's engineers would have preferred to avoid the weight and power consumption associated with it. You can be sure, though, that they didn't include the fan just for funsies.

The internal fan´s battery consumption is very small compared to the motors...and it only runs when on the ground.  DJI please leave it in, just for me

uh yeah, I just had a problem with my fan, it wouldn't come on. According to my IR temp gun, the bottom of the mavic got to 158f before I shut it off, it would literally burn your fingers if you left them on the bottom...  now that the fan is working it stays around 106f..

I don't fly with the gimbal cover on, but I definitely travel with it on, and the gimbal clamp as well... that stuff is like $350 to replace, I ain't taking any chances.

Xman1 Posted at 2017-6-4 08:19
#1 - Lighter materials -  Looks already pretty cut down as it is.  This thing is very light minus the battery and to make it lighter, would be to make it weaker and people here have shown Mavics with visible frame stress already.

#2 - No Fan - Try and run your PC without a fan and go play your latest game.  Won't be long until you got a problem.  Flying the Mavic without a fan and again, it won't be long until you have a problem.  The fan is required as this thing is producing a lot of heat.  Feel the bottom.  Got to move that heat out, not to mention hot electronics don't last long.

I mentioned a sun shade as well as the gimbal cover. Though after trying the sun shade, I get vignetting when pitched forward more than a few degrees.

What I really want is an automatic gimbal lock so that you don't have to fiddle with a manual, removable gimbal lock every time you want to transport the drone.

As for the gimbal cover, there are times when I just want to fly around for fun, and I want to be able to see what the drone sees, but I'm not planning to take any pictures or video. No reason not to protect the gimbal with a cover in these instances. And with the bugs the way they have been lately (I shredded a bug on my second flight and got guts all over one of the props, an arm, and the airframe) I'd prefer not to risk bug guts in the gimbal's moving parts if I'm not using it to take serious pictures.

jimmybbq Posted at 2017-6-4 12:29
uh yeah, I just had a problem with my fan, it wouldn't come on. According to my IR temp gun, the bottom of the mavic got to 158f before I shut it off, it would literally burn your fingers if you left them on the bottom...  now that the fan is working it stays around 106f..

I don't fly with the gimbal cover on, but I definitely travel with it on, and the gimbal clamp as well... that stuff is like $350 to replace, I ain't taking any chances.

Did it fly faster? lol

jimmybbq Posted at 2017-6-4 12:29
uh yeah, I just had a problem with my fan, it wouldn't come on. According to my IR temp gun, the bottom of the mavic got to 158f before I shut it off, it would literally burn your fingers if you left them on the bottom...  now that the fan is working it stays around 106f..

I don't fly with the gimbal cover on, but I definitely travel with it on, and the gimbal clamp as well... that stuff is like $350 to replace, I ain't taking any chances.

Did it fly faster? lol

no.. other folks on here report that the mavic will shut down at a certain temp.. I didn't want to find out.. It got that hot after flying and then again sitting in my floor, I'm glad it didn't fall out of the sky.

... and you say "better", but it looks like you mean "faster"?  If you're wanting to race your mavic, I'm sure you can come up with the some clever modifications to make it faster. You should be asking DJI to make a racer, if that's what you're into.

Personally, I just want a product that gives me one thing: confidence that it's going to work as designed.

Having said that, I hope that the battery industry continues to improve on the longevity of their cells because I'm sure DJI does not "design" batteries, so their hands are probably tied on that front.

I see the Mavic for taking video, not flat out speed.  Not everyone sees a Mavic that way though: