Benefits of Sub 250g DJI Mini Series For Commercial Drone Operations

• Find out how the DJI Mini Series is benefiting commercial drone operations: Businesses share their success stories;
• The sub-250g weight of the DJI Mini Series enables drone programmes to fly with greater operational freedoms compared to larger platforms, especially useful for deploying in busier areas;
• The lightweight nature of the DJI Mini Series places these drones in the safest weight category, particularly valuable for training new pilots;
• Intelligent flight features and high-performing camera specifications are good enough for certain commercial drone operations, such as visual inspection;
• The DJI Mini Series can be a great entry level drone, or is a welcome addition to complement an existing drone programme. Rent or purchase yours from heliguy™ today.

The innovative DJI Mini Series has proved a firm favourite since its launch. While these are popular consumer drones, the Mini Series has also emerged as an excellent option for businesses.

These Mini Drones boast being in the safest weight category due to their sub 250g weight, unlocking key benefits such as operational flexibility, reduced training requirements, and being an effective training tool.

A cost-effective solution, the DJI Mini Series - which can be purchased or rented from heliguy™ - packs plenty of features into its small frame, helping commercial operators collect data for visual inspections and marketing, and providing aerial situational awareness.

Carsten Birkebaek, Flying Pix, said: “The technological advancements with the Mini Drones are marvellous. The camera quality keeps improving, and the combination of this and its small size has allowed me to get some truly incredible shots.”

We spoke with Cotswold Archaeology, Drone Biz, and Flying Pix - who all use heliguy™ as their drone partner - to find out how the DJI Mini Series is benefiting their commercial operations.

The Top Benefits Were:

• Lightweight Design. Carsten Birkebaek, Flying Pix, said:

  “The Mini 4 Pro is great for flying in busy city centres. I do a lot of work in London, and enterprise drones are too big to fly over people or require too much paperwork. I take my Mini 4 Pro with me even on jobs requiring a larger drone. It’s a great complementary solution when in a bind.” 

• More Efficient. Vasilis Tsamis, Cotswold Archaeology, said:

  “The automated flight controls make training much more straightforward, making missions a quick and no-fuss affair when out in the field. Thanks to this and their size, they aren’t intimidating to fly and are an excellent place to start a drone programme.” 

• High-quality data capture. Barry Brown, Drone Biz, said:

  “The Mini 4 Pro’s camera has been of great use to my business. Thanks to its camera quality and small size, I can shoot great footage at previously inaccessible points.” 

A Snapshot Of The Mini Series

The table below provides an overview of the key features of three of the most popular drones in the DJI Mini Series: The DJI Mini 4 Pro, DJI Mini 3 Pro, and the DJI Mini 3.

These specifications shows why they are a popular choice for commercial operators.

DJI Mini Series: Free To Fly In Busy City Centres

Due to the weight of the DJI Mini Series, operators can enjoy greater operational privileges.

For instance, drones under 250g - such as the DJI Mini Series - can be flown in the A1 subcategory of the Open Category. This allows flights over uninvolved people but not over crowds.  

Compare this to larger drones, and the freedoms are greater. 

Carsten Birkebaek, Flying Pix, said:

Thanks to the fewer restrictions my Mini 4 Pro is subject to, I have a much simpler time organising flights, especially when I’m shooting content for high-profile clients. In addition to being able to fly over people, carrying out a mission with a Mini Drone requires fewer permissions than with larger aircraft, making organising a mission far more straightforward and less hassle.

It's also crucial to note that even with this flexibility, safety considerations and responsible piloting practices remain paramount to ensure the safe integration of Mini drones into the airspace.

Vasilis Tsamis, Cotswold Archaeology, said: “Mini Drones benefit our operations by allowing us to fly with more operational freedom in the A2 categories such as public parks."

"When we used bigger drones for these jobs, the time it took to get the correct permissions was quite burdensome. But now, using a Mini drone, we are saving so much time, and it’s much less hassle to organise. We are even getting some great indoor shots thanks to its size.”

Even though drones under 250g are exempt from registration, it is still important that you comply with the CAA's regulations: 

• Operators must register for both a flyer ID.*
• All flyers must still adhere to safety guidelines outlined in the Drone and Model Aircraft Code.
• Politely answer public enquiries about what you are filming if you are approached when shooting content in populated areas. 

*Obtained by passing a theory test and an operator ID to be labelled on the drone. Failure to register can lead to fines or imprisonment.

heliguy™ encourages all flyers to always have a respectful and cheerful demeanour when interacting with members of the public. We also advise that you stay as close to your aircraft as possible when conducting missions in urban environments, as cities have much higher transmission rates due to signals from Wi-Fi, mobiles being blocked by buildings, etc- meaning the further away your aircraft is, the higher you are at risk of losing your drone's signal.

Training Tool

In addition to being sub 250g, the Mini Series drones are equipped with intuitive flight controls, making them the easiest to operate and perfect for first-time pilots to learn with. 

heliguy™ recommends prospective drone pilots learn to operate a Mini drone before the larger enterprise aircraft as they are easy to pilot, less intimidating, and easier to manoeuvre.

The Mini 4 Pro's sensors reduce your risks of an incident, with its omnidirectional binocular vision system capable of alerting you as to when objects are near the aircraft.  

Vasilis shared that Cotswold Archaeology utilises the Mini drones for training new pilots.

Vasilis Tsamis, Cotswold Archaeology, said:

The automated flight controls simplify training, new pilots are less intimidated by the smaller model, and jobs are quick with no fuss when we’re out in the field. When employees require training to operate an enterprise drone for a one-off occasion, they progress much quicker in training as they’re already familiar with many drone practices.

Should you have an incident, heliguy™ offers Repair Refresh drone crash cover, providing a free repair or replacement over a 12-month period available from the only in-house DJI-approved UK drone repair centre.

Safety Features: 

High-Quality Data Capture

The Mini 4 Pro’s camera has 4K/60fps, Night Shots, Active Shots 360° and HDR True Vertical Shooting, meaning the footage captured is crisp and clear.

Active Shots 360° is a feature that comes with the Mini 3, Mini 3 Pro, and Mini 4 Pro, making the content you shoot a cinematic quality, and whether the subject of your video is a person or an object, the camera will track them and focus of the shots.

The Mini Series’ camera features have made it a popular option for photographers and a standard tool in cinematography. However, it is also well-suited for operations such as visual inspections, marketing, and real estate.

Barry Brown, Drone Biz, said:

I have a Mini 2 and Mini 3, and each has been great value for money. Both allow me to fly over people to get much better footage.

By recording inspections with the Mini drone’s sophisticated camera, you are providing your business with an accurate log of the mission that can aid you in tracking a site’s progress or deterioration over time in detail instead of relying on paperwork, poor quality cameras or recollection from memory. 

Drones such as the Mini 4 Pro, Mini 3 Pro, and Mini 3 feature Quickshots, which streamlines and automates data capture.

Filming Features, Quickshots, include: 

Intuitive Flight Controls

Mini drones were made to be compatible with first-time operators and are the easiest to learn how to use with their intuitive controls. One of the most useful is setting Waypoints, an automatic route function for precise route repeatability.

Waypoints make missions more straightforward and streamlined and enable you to capture more accurate, consistent and repeatable data, which is ideal for condition monitoring - helping you collect comparable data over time.

Vasilis Tsamis, Cotswold Archaeology:

Thanks to the Mini 4 Pro’s waypoint feature, we can better see the progress from each flight we have launched and know its exact route- making it easier to track improvements or deterioration.

Training Regulations

The Mini Series’ sub 250g weight doesn’t just grant them fewer restrictions when flying; it also means that you that don't need to conduct training such as the A2 CofC or GVC.

However, if you are operating a Mini drone for commercial purposes, heliguy™ recommends you complete the A2 CofC as a baseline, to demonstrate a level of competency which will resonate with your clients and industry stakeholders.

Completing this course can also be a springboard for scaling operations to the GVC level.

Vasilis Tsamis, Cotswold Archaeology, said:

Cotswold Archaeology's fleet consists of three Mini 3 Pros and one Mini 4 Pro, and we rent enterprise aircraft when needed. This saves us a great deal of money in terms of the drone’s upfront costs and around £8,000 in training fees.

Complete your A2 CofC or GVC with heliguy™ through online training, which enables you to learn at your own pace and convenience. Access our in-house training team through the live chat feature.

Cost-effective And Low-Risk Investment

A Mini drone is a cost-effective solution for businesses looking to save money and are interested in implementing a drone programme but are cautious of budget limitations.

Vasilis Tsamis, Cotswold Archaeology, said:

“Mini Drones are a cost-effective way to implement a drone programme.

"The Mini 4 Pro cost me £800, a much cheaper option than the enterprise aircraft beginning at £3,000, so it was a cost-friendly way to test the waters of drones in my business. They are my cheapest aircraft, regarding their upfront costs, training my staff and insurance.”

For example, if you are a business that carries out inspections that would typically require hiring a cherry-picker and are looking for cheaper options, renting a Mini Drone would have lower up-front costs, less hassle to set up and organise, quicker to carry out, and more detailed data can be gathered.

heliguy™ offers a Mini drone rental service, enabling businesses to try the drone before their purchase it outright, and to access the technology on demand.

Carsten Birkebaek, Flying Pix, said:

I have been using drones for mor than 10 years and I was sceptical about using Mini drones to begin with, but decided they were worth a try, especially since it’s a low-risk investment. I’m thrilled I took the leap, as they have massively improved day-to-day operations. Its small size grants me more freedom when flying- especially in restricted zones, and I haven’t sacrificed the quality of my content. I have been delighted with the quality of the footage I shoot with my Mini 3 Pro’s camera.

Extreme Portability

The benefits of the Mini Series’ small size are not limited to the sky. Each drone is equipped with foldable arms, and all combo packages come with sturdy carrying cases, making them easy to take with you on the go.

Carsten Birkebaek, Flying Pix, said:

When I go out on in the field for jobs that require an enterprise drone, I always bring along a Mini as a backup, just so if something were to go wrong such as legislation issues, a technical issue etc I have a plan B. Though the Mini drones lack the sophistication of my enterprise aircraft, they're a great substitute when in a bind. It's a plus that they’re easy to carry, so bringing them along is not a physical burden.

Summary

The success shared by Flying Pix, Cotswold Archaeology and Drone Biz excellently demonstrates the benefits of implementing a Mini Drone programme.

DJI Mini Drones have proven to be a transformative asset for businesses with its freedom to navigate busy city centres, making it ideal for surveillance and shooting content. Its compact size and intuitive controls make it an excellent training tool across various industries.

Ultimately, Mini Drones are a low-risk / high-benefit opportunity for businesses, their most significant benefit being the savings they provide in time, money, and resources whilst requiring a minor investment of time and money from you.

Click the links to learn more about purchasing or renting a Mini Drone for your enterprise.