DJI Air 3S
The sensible one. Dual cameras, LiDAR, 45 minutes, and DJI sells it in the US.
The Air 3S sits in the gap most pilots actually want: a 1-inch wide sensor and a 70mm telephoto, front-facing LiDAR for low-light obstacle sensing, and around 45 minutes of flight time — at roughly half the price of a flagship. It is also, unlike most of DJI’s current line-up, officially sold in the United States.
| Released | October 2024 |
| Controllers | RC-N3, RC 2, RC Pro 2 |
| Sold officially in the US | Yes |
- Dual camera — 1-inch wide plus 70mm medium telephoto
- Forward LiDAR for obstacle sensing in low light
- Around 45 minutes of flight time
- Works with three controllers: RC-N3, RC 2 and RC Pro 2
Officially sold by DJI in the US, which makes it the easiest model to actually buy accessories for without importing — and the only aircraft we cover whose DJI product page resolves normally from a US connection.
RotorCards for the Air 3S
Every figure sourced to DJI’s official manual, spec table or release notes. Every page carries the exact firmware and app build it was checked against, and there is a card listing what DJI has not published rather than guessing.
Included in every edition: US Letter · Kneeboard 5.5 × 8.5 in · Phone — same content, three renderings, one price. The phone edition uses tappable links rather than QR codes, because you cannot scan a QR with the phone displaying it.
Gear for the Air 3S
Model-specific where it matters — filters and cases have to fit — and shared where it does not. A memory card does not care which drone it is in.
ND filters
Freewell Split ND 4-Pack for Air 3S
Split densities in a single element, so a bright sky and darker ground land closer together. The sensible first filter purchase for an Air 3S doing landscape work.
Check current price on Amazon →Freewell Bright Day Split ND/PL for Air 3S
Polarised throughout. Worth it over water, glass and wet roads — but the polarisation shifts as you yaw, so check your sky mid-orbit before committing to a take.
Check current price on Amazon →K&F Concept ND/PL 4-Pack for Air 3S
The budget option. Optically fine for most work; coatings are less consistent than Freewell or PolarPro, which shows up as a colour cast you correct in the grade rather than as softness.
Check current price on Amazon →Batteries & power
Tenergy Fire-Retardant LiPo Bags (2-pack)
Cheap insurance. Drone batteries are lithium polymer and they do occasionally vent; storing and charging them inside a fire-retardant bag costs about as much as a couple of coffees.
Check current price on Amazon →DJI Air 3S Intelligent Flight Battery
The genuine cell. Third-party packs will not report health and cycle data to the aircraft correctly, which on a battery that is also a structural part of a flying object is the wrong place to economise.
Check current price on Amazon →Memory cards
SanDisk Extreme 256GB microSDXC (V30)
V30 is the speed class you actually need — anything slower will drop frames on high-bitrate recording. 256GB is the sweet spot for a day of shooting.
Check current price on Amazon →SanDisk Extreme PRO 512GB microSDXC (V30)
For anyone recording in D-Log M or at the highest bitrates, where 256GB disappears faster than you expect. Buy this instead of two smaller cards you have to swap in the field.
Check current price on Amazon →Cases & carry
Lykus Titan MA310 Hard Case for Air 3S
Moulded for the Air 3S and the RC 2 or RC-N3, with room for a Fly More Combo and up to four batteries. The choice if the drone travels in a car boot or gets checked as luggage.
Check current price on Amazon →Lekufee Waterproof Hard Case for Air 3S
The lighter, cheaper alternative to the Lykus. Takes the RC 2, RC-N3 or RC-N2 — check which controller you own before ordering, because the foam layouts differ.
Check current price on Amazon →In the field
Hoodman Weighted Trifold Landing Pad
Weighted, so it does not need stakes and will not fold itself up in prop wash — the failure mode that makes cheap landing pads useless. Keeps grit out of the gimbal and dust off the lens.
Check current price on Amazon →DJI RC 2 Tempered Glass Screen Protector
The RC 2 has a built-in screen and no replacement path if you scratch it. Comes with an alignment frame, which matters more than it sounds when you are applying glass to a controller.
Check current price on Amazon →VIFLY Drone Strobe Light
If you fly at night under Part 107, FAA rules require an anti-collision light visible for three statute miles. This is the one most US pilots end up with.
Check current price on Amazon →JKSafety Licenced Drone Pilot Reflective Safety Vest (JK100FAA)
ANSI Class 2 with nine pockets. The point is not the reflectivity so much as the wording on the back — it ends most of the conversations that otherwise interrupt a job on public ground.
Check current price on Amazon →Athlon Optics 8x42 Midas UHD Binoculars
Part 107 forbids ADS-B Out in transmit mode, so spotting manned traffic early is the mitigation you actually have. 8x42 is the standard compromise between magnification and a field of view wide enough to find something moving.
Check current price on Amazon →BT-100 Handheld Anemometer
107.49(a) makes local weather a mandatory preflight element. A forecast is regional; the wind at your take-off point is not, and the gap between them is usually the whole decision.
Check current price on Amazon →TopTes TS-301 Digital Anemometer
Bigger backlit screen than the BT-100, which matters if you are reading it at dusk with gloves on. Same job otherwise.
Check current price on Amazon →RoadHero 28in Collapsible Traffic Safety Cones (4-pack)
The 107.49 surface survey works out where people should not be. Cones are how you tell them. Collapsible, so they live in a case rather than filling the boot.
Check current price on Amazon →Mini First Aid Kit, 150-piece waterproof hard shell
Nothing in Part 107 requires one. 107.17 covers fitness to fly and stops there — the rest of crew welfare on a remote site is entirely yours.
Check current price on Amazon →EGUKU Rechargeable LED Headlamp (2-pack)
Two, because your visual observer is inside 107.17 as well and fumbling in the dark is a fitness problem in everything but name.
Check current price on Amazon →Mapping & survey
Ground Control Point Markers, 24in (6-pack)
High-contrast aerial targets with a center eyelet, for mapping and survey work. Placing and surveying GCPs is what turns a photogrammetry model from a nice picture into something with real-world accuracy you can defend to a client.
Check current price on Amazon →Ground Control Point Markers, numbered (10-pack)
The numbered version, which matters more than it sounds — identifying which target is which across a few hundred images is tedious enough without having to work it out from position alone.
Check current price on Amazon →Print & keep
Scotch Thermal Laminator (TL901X)
The default for a reason: two rollers rather than one, so pages come out flat instead of rippled, and it takes both 3 and 5 mil pouches. A 9-inch entry, which is exactly a letter pouch — fine for Scotch pouches at 8.9 in, tight for brands that run a full 9.0.
Check current price on Amazon →Scotch Laminating Pouches, letter, 3 mil (100)
Flexible enough to bend into a binder or a pocket without cracking, and about a third the price of 5 mil. This is the one for pages that live in a binder.
Check current price on Amazon →Scotch Laminating Pouches, letter, 5 mil (100)
Stiff enough to stand on its own and very hard to crease permanently. For a card that lives loose in the case and gets handled at the field with cold hands, this is the right weight.
Check current price on Amazon →Oregon Lamination Pouches, 6 x 9 in, 5 mil (100)
Half-page pouches for the kneeboard edition. Rated to a 5.75 x 8.75 in insert, which swallows a 5.5 x 8.5 page with sealing margin all round.
Check current price on Amazon →Scotch Self-Seal Laminating Pouches, letter (25)
No machine needed — peel and press. Costs more per sheet, but it removes the only real objection to laminating, which is not owning a laminator.
Check current price on Amazon →Avery Mini 3-Ring Binder, holds 5.5 x 8.5 in
Takes the kneeboard edition directly, with a split-resistant cover and two pockets. Cheap, always in stock, and it needs no adjustable punch or ring-size guesswork.
Check current price on Amazon →Half-size Sheet Protectors, 5.5 x 8.5 in (200)
Punched in a 7-hole pattern that spans both mini 3-ring and 6-ring binders, so they fit whichever binder you already own. Cheaper than laminating and reversible.
Check current price on Amazon →Avery Heavyweight Sheet Protectors, letter (200)
Heavyweight gauge for the full-size edition. Side-loading and non-stick, so the pages come out again without tearing.
Check current price on Amazon →ASA VFR Kneeboard (KB-1)
A real aviation kneeboard, in production for decades. The crossover most drone pilots never think of: strap it to your thigh and the reference card is readable with both hands on the sticks. Takes a 5.5 x 8.5 page with room to spare.
Check current price on Amazon →ASA Tri-Fold VFR Kneeboard (KB-3-A)
The tri-fold version, with a clear map pocket that happens to be the perfect home for a laminated card. Buy this one if you want the guide protected and attached in the same object.
Check current price on Amazon →Kadomaru Pro Corner Rounder
Three corner radii in one small body. Rounding the corners of a laminated card stops them catching and peeling in a bag, and it is the difference between something that looks printed and something that looks made.
Check current price on Amazon →Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Copier Paper, letter (200)
The honest alternative to laminating: print straight onto synthetic stock and skip the machine entirely. Survives rain, sweat and being sat on. Laser and copier stock — inkjet users need the inkjet-rated version.
Check current price on Amazon →The Standard UAS Operator Logbook (ASA-SP-UAS1)
Part 107 does not require a logbook. It does give you a 24-month recency clock under 107.65, and a written record of your last recurrent training is the cheapest way to never be caught short.
Check current price on Amazon →Amazon Basics Aluminium Storage Clipboard, two-tier
No rule requires a written preflight. Keeping one is how you still have it a month later when somebody asks what you assessed before the flight.
Check current price on Amazon →FROM THE SAME TEAM
Planning to make money with the drone? You need Part 107.
The moment a flight furthers a business purpose — a paid shoot, a listing photo, footage on a company account — the FAA requires a Remote Pilot certificate. Roughly one in six people fail the exam on their first attempt, usually because it tests judgement rather than memorisation.
Flycensed is our Part 107 prep app — 485 flashcards, 201 practice questions, METAR decoding tools and scenario training. Pro is free right now under their early-access offer.
Get Flycensed Pro free →flycensed.com — also from StormHaven Enterprises. Not an affiliate link; we make it, so we would obviously say it is good. Free either way.