Hands On With DJI’s Low-Noise Propellers

Back in August, DJI introduced a brand new iteration of the favored Mavic Pro, the Mavic Pro Platinum. As nicely as sporting a brighter paint job, the Platinum comes with a barely longer flight time and the promise of noise discount in contrast with the usual mannequin.

At the time the launch was a bit of underwhelming. But solely as a result of we have been anticipating one thing a lot greater. New paint jobs one way or the other grew to become press-release-worthy in 2017, so it took some time for the small enhancements that got here with them to be appreciated.

The Mavic Pro Platinum’s presents upgrades to flight time and noise. Some inner and exterior tweaks have given the Mavic Pro Platinum an 11 p.c acquire in flight time (taking it up 30 minutes) and a 60% noise energy discount. These are offered by the mixture of latest low-noise propellers and redesigned FOC ESC drivers, which provide sinusoidal present and elevated stability.

Testing the Mavic Pro’s Low-Noise Props

The excellent news for normal Mavic Pro pilots is that the brand new low-noise props are suitable with the previous Mavic. Over the previous week, we’ve been testing them out to see if we are able to hear the distinction. So are they price the additional $20?

The resounding reply is: Yes.

According to DJI, “When used with the Mavic Pro Platinum, up to 4dB (60%) of aircraft noise is lowered during takeoff and landing, and flight time is extended to 30 minutes. Noise reduction and flight time are also enhanced when used with the Mavic Pro, but not as much”.

Although we didn’t discover a huge effect on flight time, there’s little doubt that the Mavic Pro’s quantity and pitch was altered. It’s maybe 5% quieter, which isn’t a lot however is sufficient to be noticeable. More essential to us was the change of pitch. The commonplace Mavic can sound a bit of whiny, like an annoying and really massive mosquito. With the brand new Mavic Pro Platinum props, that pitch is toned down and the drone doesn’t generate the identical annoying whine.

For $20, you’ll be able to’t actually go mistaken. Sure, the enhancements are minor, however in the event you’re searching for a approach to fly your Mavic a bit of extra conspicuously, look no additional.

Prioritizing Public Perception

It says loads that DJI has taken steps to deal with the difficulty of noise in 2017. Just like the brand new paint jobs given to the Mavic Pro and the Phantom four Pro, the difficulty of noise is actually a beauty one. Although low-noise props enhance the pilot’s expertise, they’re designed to enhance the notion of most people, too.

We doubt this would be the final step that drone producers take to make their plane extra public-friendly from a beauty perspective.