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The XLR V3 drone sets a new drone speed record of 224mph in the Arizona desert

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For most of us, if our drones can break 50mph, we’re pretty impressed. Even the popular DJI Mavic 3 only manages up to about 47mph in ideal conditions. For <250g drones like the Autel Evo Nano (review here) and DJI Mini 3, even hitting 30-35mph is a bit of a struggle. Imagine, though, if you had a drone capable of shooting 224mph. For one man, Ryan Lademann, there’s no need to imagine. He built one.

He created the XLR V3, which he took out into the Arizona desert to put it to the test and made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for “fastest ground speed by a battery-powered remote-controlled (RC) quadcopter”. He hit an average speed of 224mph with a maximum speed of 257.25mph. The attempt was made in November of last year but was finally just confirmed by Guinness.

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The new DJI Mini 3 drone sacrifices obstacle avoidance for a $260 price drop vs the Mini 3 Pro

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DJI has announced the new DJI Mini 3 drone. You might be feeling a little deja vu, like DJI already announced this, but no. This is a cut-down version of the DJI Mini 3 Pro, released back in May 2022. What makes the new DJI Mini 3 non-Pro different? Well, essentially, it’s the lack of obstacle avoidance.

It might seem silly to remove the feature that beginners arguably need the most in a drone specifically targeted towards beginners. But this loss of obstacle avoidance does come with a very significant drop in cost, too, with the basic RC-N1 controller package starting at $559 instead of the $759 for the same package with the Mini 3 Pro.

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First images leak of upcoming non-Pro DJI Mini 3 drone show no obstacle avoidance sensors

Just over a week ago, word came that DJI had registered an upcoming cut-down DJI Mini 3 non-Pro version with the FCC. Now, we’re getting our first proper look at the drone according to reliable DJI leaker, DealsDrone, on Twitter.

From looking at the images, the design looks like a bit of a cross between the DJI Mini 2 and the more recent DJI Mini 3 Pro. But it’s pretty clear that the obstacle avoidance sensors are gone, bringing it more in line with the Mini 2, but with the Mini 2 and Mini 3 Pro having similar capabilities already, aside from the obstacle avoidance, how is this not just a slightly redesigned Mini 2?

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A non-pro version of the DJI Mini 3 has shown up in the FCC database

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It looks like there might be a lower-level DJI Mini 3 coming as a new listing for a non-pro model has shown up in the FCC database. Exactly what compromises might be made compared to the DJI Mini 3 Pro announced in May are unknown. But it’s not outside the realm of possibility, especially with the recent release of the cut-down DJI Mavic 3 Classic just three weeks ago.

According to DroneDJ, there isn’t a lot of information in the filing. It does mention that the DJI Mini 3 will be powered by a 2S 7.38v battery, although the capacity is not mentioned. We don’t know what the camera will be like, either. Will the non-Pro mini even carry the obstacle avoidance that brought DJI back in line with the likes of the Autel Evo Nano (review here)? Only time will really tell.

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Lots of photos and specs leak ahead of DJI Mavic 3 Classic announcement

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It’s getting close to an official announcement now, just a couple of days left to go. As expected, though, pretty much all of the important details of DJI’s upcoming Mavic 3 Classic drone have leaked. We’re also seeing a whole bunch more leaked photos, too. The leaks come via Roland Quandt of Winfuture, and there’s a lot!

As expected, it’s pretty much the same as the regular DJI Mavic 3, except with a single camera on the gimbal rather than two. Like the main camera on the Mavic 3, the Mavic 3 Classic’s camera contains a 20-megapixel 4/3 CMOS sensor and shoots video at up to 5.1K resolution. It has a 24mm equivalent focal length lens for an 84° field of view with a variable aperture of f/2.8 to f/11 and a minimum focus distance of 1 metre.

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DJI teases November 2nd date for possible Mavic 3 Classic drone announcement

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DJI has posted a new teaser to Twitter and put up a trailer page on the DJI website for a new product announcement event on November 2nd. Along with the date and a 9am Eastern start time for the event, we also see the slogan “Explore Vivid” and a picture of what looks like the Mavic 3 camera but with a single lens.

A filing with the FCC was recently published for a Mavic 3 Classic drone and the image in the new teaser looks pretty much identical in form to the images leaked a couple of weeks ago. So, I think expecting it to be the Mavic 3 Classic announcement isn’t unreasonable. It’s expected to be a cut-down version of the existing Mavic 3 line, with the same design and mostly the same electronics but with a single camera for a lower price.

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DJI files with the FCC for a cut-down “Mavic 3 Classic” drone with just a single camera

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It looks like being added to yet another blacklist isn’t deterring DJI from working in the USA. As DroneDJ reports, a new paper filed with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) presents a new drone that will be joining their Mavic 3 product line. It’s called the Mavic 3 Classic and as the name suggests, seems to be reminiscent of, well, the older Mavic models. They’ve filed for a Class II permissive change with the FCC which essentially means it will have modifications to the Mavic 3 to dumb it down a little from its original filing.

The new Mavic 3 Classic, DJI says in the filing, will essentially sport the same construction as the original Mavic 3 drone announced in November 2021. It will have all of the same mechanics and electronics with the exception that it will feature just one camera instead of two, dropping the telephoto camera.

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The US Department of Defense has formally blacklisted DJI as a “Chinese military company”

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It seems that DJI is facing even more struggles in the US as the Department of Defense (DoD) adds the companies to the list of Chinese companies on its official blacklist classifying them as a “Chinese military company”. DJI’s been facing problems with the US government since at least 2017 when the US Army banned the use of DJI drones over perceived cyber vulnerabilities. DJI was then added to the US Economic Blacklist in 2020.

Being added to various blacklists doesn’t seem to have stopped the sale of DJI products in the USA but this latest addition to the DoD alleges that DJI is a Chinese military company, something which DJI has disputed many times now. The DoD announcement adds DJI along with a dozen other Chinese companies to the list, joining the 28 others previously included.

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No more crash landings: Now your drone can land on a steep slope

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Researchers have developed a new landing system that allows drones to land in rough conditions, even on surfaces sloped as steep as 60 degrees. That’s great news for any drone operators out there who don’t fly in 100% ideal situations. Although most drones are able to land themselves, their automated landing systems require a flat landing site, minimal winds, and low speeds to safely touch down.

Researchers at the Createk Design Lab in the Université de Sherbrooke in Quebec, Canada noticed that most drone makers assume that landings will be performed in ideal conditions at optimal locations. Due to this, they rely on rigid landing gear that doesn’t provide enough friction to steady a drone on inclined surfaces.

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DJI has officially announced the Avata – Their new “cinewhoop” style FPV drone for filmmakers

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DJI has announced the new DJI Avata drone, their attempt at a teeny tiny “cinewhoop” style FPV drone. On paper, it makes DJI’s previous FPV drone pretty much obsolete overnight, with a slightly wider field of view, a stop better ISO performance, larger max image size, higher video bitrate and more in a much smaller package. Bad news for those of you who were hoping it would fall under the 250g weight limit, though. It doesn’t.

What it does have, though, are built-in prop guards – making it safer while reducing the chances that it hitting something is going to cause it to crash – and a compactness that makes it much easier to travel with and use. The DJI Goggles V2 have shrunk a pretty significant amount over past DJI headsets. The Avata also features downward-facing obstacle avoidance to help prevent you from crashing into the ground.

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