Whether you are just starting out flying your own drone or you're a seasoned expert, in this article we will share our recommendations for what drone you could fly with and what app you can use to create missions for that drone.
We are unable to support hardware related questions about drones. For DJI drone hardware support, contact DJI UNITED STATES & CANADA
(818) 235-0789, Mon-Fri 7:00AM - 5:00PM (PST)
Use A Supported Drone
DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise, Thermal, or Multispectral (No Cine, Classic, or Pro models)
IMPORTANT: For these models ENSURE DEWARPING IS TOGGLED OFF IN SETTINGS. If we receive images that have been dewarped, the measurements will not work and the flight will fail.
DJI Air 2S
DJI Phantom 3 Pro or Phantom 4 series (No RTK or smart controllers)
DJI Inspire 1 or 2 with X3, X4S, X5, or X5S cameras (with default DJI lenses)
DJI Mavic 2 Pro
DJI Mini 2
*DJI Mini 4 Pro
*DJI Air 3
Additional Info About Supported Drones
If you DO NOT see a drone on this list that you want to use, it's not because we don't want to support it. It's because we can't for two primary reasons:
We do not get consistent reconstruction results from certain drone manufacturers. This could be due to hardware/production issues between each device built or inconsistencies in the sensors. Regardless of the cause, we do not get the results to not meet our quality standards that we would like to have for our measurement reconstructions.
Specifically for DJI: they continue to release new drones (e.g. Air 3 and Mini 4 PRO) that would be more than capable of collecting quality imagery for mapping. However, they seem to have stopped releasing the SDKs for newer devices. This SDK is what allows third-party apps (Map Pilot Pro for example) to control drone flights. They are continuing to force pilots toward their "Enterprise"-level drones for what they consider "Enterprise" services. We know... we don't like it either.
*04-04-2025 Update:
Map Pilot Pro has released a “workaround” to allow waypoint mission flights for Mini 4 Pro and the Air 3. While these are technically supported drones with Stockpile Reports, they require some extra steps in order to fly waypoint missions. Stockpile Reports cannot vouch for the effectiveness of this workaround nor can we assist in training on this workaround. For more information, please visit this Map Pilot Pro page.
At this current point in time (Q2 2025), we strongly recommend the Mavic 3 Enterprise lineup if it fits within your budget. Otherwise, the used market has lots of great options for the other drones in our list of supported drones.
Use A Supported App
Stockpile Reports recommends Map Pilot Pro for creating flight missions. There are other options as well, but you should do research and find the app that works best for you. Just be sure the app lets you meet the minimum specs listed on this page.
Note: Mavic 3 Enterprise series drones must use Pilot 2 app for creating flights.
*04-04-2025 Update: Map Pilot Pro has released a “workaround” to allow waypoint mission flights for Mini 4 Pro and the Air 3. While these are technically supported drones with Stockpile Reports, they require some extra steps in order to fly waypoint missions. Stockpile Reports cannot vouch for the effectiveness of this workaround nor can we assist in training on this workaround. For more information, please visit this Map Pilot Pro page.