Fortunately, there are a bunch of smartphone apps for drone that can help you out in doing anything ranging from photo and video editing to figuring out the safe flying zones and gauging the ideal lighting conditions. You can get apps for virtually anything you want to do with your drone but probably none exists for helping you out with your laundry (pun intended!).
The weekend is approaching and you are intent on planning the time and place to get your drone whizzing through the skies. But when you do make your drone fly, you need to ensure that it is done in the right way. There could be a cluster of questions ramming against the sides of your head. What is the best place to fly my drone? What is the appropriate time? Is it possible to find some stunning lighting from my aerial photography? How can I keep myself from intruding controlled airspace or other private or sensitive installations? How to prevent my captured aerial imagery from coming out all distorted? Can I get a helping hand from a noble person with my laundry without costing some money?
Here are the top 10 smartphone apps that will help you have a glorious weekend with your favorite gizmo.
Table of Contents
Drone Navigation and Weather
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Hover
There are plenty of applications out there that can assist you in getting ready to fly but more often than not, you need an app that contains just about everything. Hover is one such app that will keep you in good stead for flying legally and in a safe manner as it comes integrated with a series of simple functions. It includes an International No Fly Zone map furnished by AirMap which can help you figure out the areas where you can fly your drone unhinged. The Weather Data feature also helps you stay updated with the weather forecast in your area while the flight log feature lets you keep track of your flights along with the inbuilt news feature to assist you in staying updated with the latest drone-related news. On the whole, Hover is a brilliant concoction designed with the basic essentials required by novice and expert drone pilots alike.
Price: Free
Available on: Google Play and Apple App Store
Google Earth: Apps for Drone
Google Earth can be deemed as one of the most hassle free apps for planning one’s drone adventures. You can choose the location of your next drone excursion based on its scenic value as well as in line with your convenience. It may not be a drone specific app but it offers one of the easiest ways to track fantastic locations. You may by looking for an area that is void of buildings and other such infrastructure. You can get a sensational aerial view of the stunning shots that you are planning to capture in far better quality than the satellite imagery being furnished by Google Earth.
Price: Free
Available on: Google Play and Apple App Store
UAV Forecast
The days of gauging the wind direction and staying glued to precipitation predictions are long gone. You simply need to launch UAV Forecast and updated weather conditions in your area are presented to you with a detailed forecast of the weather in green or red backdrop portraying whether the conditions are conducive to flying or not. What is really good about this app is that it lets you modify the threshold value for what can be deemed as good weather and bad weather. For instance, the wind threshold can be adjusted in accordance with a DJI Spark or DJI Phantom 4 with remarkable comfort.
Price: Free
Available on: Google and Apple App Store
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Dronesafe
Developed by the National Air Traffic Service and the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) in the UK, the app portrays a detailed overview of the obstacles lined up on the ground and the controlled airspace. This is important information that you need to have in mind before flying your drone. The app offers great results when used along with other apps such as Hover and UAV Forecast as the pilot gets a vivid picture of where and when to fly. Initially, the mapping shown by DronSafe of London may seem a little intimidating but this guide of how to fly your drone in London will help you out in this regard.
Price: Free
Available on: Google and Apple App Store
Flightradar24
Touted as the world’s best flight tracker, the Flightradar24 is not an app meant only for drone flying. You can view a no-fly zone as well as get information about live flights. This is essentially important since you are familiar that you cannot fly your drone to the elevation of airplanes as it is prohibited to fly a drone beyond an altitude of 400 feet. This is a handy tool especially if you are not sure about undefined flying zones and keep a lookout for low flying helicopters.
Price: Free
Available on: Google Play and Apple App Store
Image editing
Sun Surveyor: Apps for Drone
Lighting has a massive role to play in photography and when it comes to drone photography, the same rule applies. Natural light is your biggest friend during drone flights in the absence of light enhancing gadgets. For aerial cinematography and photography in low light conditions such as sunset, sunrise and moon phases, this app assists you in spotting ideal locations and appropriate times of the day. Sun Surveyor will ensure that you know the exact time to take that elusive shot of the sunrise early on in the morning.
Price: £7.49
Available on: Google Play and Apple App Store
SKRWT
If you are reading this post, then you are most certainly irretrievably in love with aerial photography. SKRWT (pronounced as Screw it) will help you tweak those images to bring out something that will blow your audience’s minds away. So, even if you have ended up capturing some convoluted photographs, SKRWT! Fine tune them to get your desired result.
Price: Free
Available on: Google Play and Apple App Store
LumaFX
Aerial cinematographers will love this application that lets you carry out color correction, styling, distortion correction, Visual Effects layering, audio effects and editing, slow and fast motion and tons of incredible stuff using presets. This app is amazingly powerful and is only available for iOS. This is one of the best apps for drone.
Price: $2.99
Available on: Apple App Store
Controlling your drone
Litchi
Litchi will let you carry out some scintillating stuff with your DJI drone using its autonomous flight features. This amazing app takes your flight experience to a whole new level while ensuring that you are able to capture stunning aerial imagery. For instance, by using the VR mode, the aircraft can be maneuvered with the movement of the pilot’s head while he is wearing the DJI Goggles. The Focus Feature function makes the drone focus on a certain object without varying the elevation which lets the pilot bank on the machine’s stability and move it in a horizontal direction for seamless images. Touted as the best autonomous drone app, the Litchi is priced at £19.99 and supports the latest DJI drones such as Mavic Pro, DJI Inspire 2 and Phantom 4.
Price: £19.99
Available on: Google Play and Apple App Store
Drone brand-specific apps for drone
There are numerous apps that are produced by drone manufacturers incompatibility with their machines to enhance a pilot’s flight experience. For instance, the DJI Go app supports drones such as the DJI Phantom 3 series and Inspire 1. DJI Go 4 offers support for the newer models such as the DJI Phantom 4 and Inspire 2. ParrotFreeFlight Pro is compatible with Parrot Bebop 2 while Yuneec Breeze Cam is an app designed for Yuneec Breeze 4K drone. So, whatever apps for drone you go for, there will be an along with it.
Price: Free (more often than not)
Available on: Almost invariably on Google Play Store and Apple App Store
