The DJI Flight Simulator – The Best Gets Even Better with New Version 1.4.0.0 Release

For those of you that have ready my DJI Flight Simulator – Professional Pilot Training post, you know that I find it to be one of the best options out there. Who better to create a flight simulator for DJI drones than DJI? Still, there were some things missing from the initial release, most notably the DJI Mavic 2 Pro aircraft.

Well, DJI has released an update, version 1.4.0.0, with a few additions. Let’s see what the DJI Flight Simulator has to offer in this new version.
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Are There Any New Aircraft in the DJI Flight Simulator Update?

Of course! DJI added the Mavic 2 Pro model to the lineup, in both the Free Trial and Enterprise versions of the simulator.

Now you can practice all your maneuvers, camera manipulations and what not without having to sacrifice detail. No more having to select the wrong aircraft and pretending you’ve set option X, not available on the model you selected, because the model you really wanted simply wasn’t available within the simulator to really practice with.

I was kind of hoping they’d release a “teaser” aircraft – maybe hinting at Phantom 5 series but, that’s just me wishing for something they obviously wouldn’t leak in such a way. Still, it would have been nice.

What About Scenarios?

Multiple scenarios have been added to the new version of the DJI Flight Simulator.  I can only imagine new scenarios will be developed on a regular basis, as new fields open up and specific needs are addressed.

It would be nice to see DJI open up a back and forth with the pilot community to help improve existing scenarios and create new ones to address current and future needs.

Now let’s see what’s been introduced in this latest version…

Both the Free Trial and Enterprise versions received two new Free Flight scenario options:

• The Free Flight-Farm scenario – Experience brand new field work. This one is just another free flight environment but modeled around farming.
• The Free Flight-Custom scenario – This one is pretty neat. It allows you to import 3D models for simulation. Have an outdoor arena you need to practice in before actually flying there? How about inside a building? Now you can create pretty much any environment to practice flying in.

Both DJI Flight Simulator versions received new scenario options under the Entertainment module as well:

• Bubble Race – Collecting bubbles along the path. The shorter the time taken to collect as many bubbles as possible, the higher the score.
• City Tracks – This is a new Time Trial level that is set in a city environment.

The Enterprise version received a new scenario that the free trial did not. It’s listed under the Skills Training module:

• UTC Public Safety Test – A series of scenarios designed for UTC Public Safety Test

Has Support Been Added for Additional Remote Controllers?

Yes, as of this writing, the following remote controllers are supported in this latest version of the DJI Flight Simulator:

• Mavic Series:
  • Mavic 2 Enterprise
  • Mavic 2
  • Mavic Air
• Phantom Series:
  • Phantom 4 Pro v2.0
  • Phantom 4 Pro
  • Phantom 4 Advanced
  • Phantom 4
• Matrice Series
  • Matrice 600 Pro
  • Matrice 600
  • Matrice 100
• Inspire Series:
  • Inspire 1
• Lightbridge:
  • Lightbridge 2

Oddly enough the Mavic Pro and Mavic Pro Platinum are missing from this list. They were supported in the first version and I can only assume they were omitted from this list accidentally. I can’t imagine they’d remove the Mavic Pro series and yet leave the Mavic Air. I’ll definitely be pulling out my trusty Mavic Pro remote controller to verify that it still works.
Please check here for the most up-to-date list of supported remote controllers.

What Else is New?

Although it doesn’t go into detail, apparently the flight simulation experience has been improved. In what way, I really can’t say. I guess I’ll have to dust off the old gaming machine and fire up the new DJI Flight Simulator and see if I notice the “improved flight experience” myself.

Conclusion

As you can see, the updates to the DJI Flight Simulator software have improved upon an already great offering. I’m installing the DJI Flight Simulator update now and will see about the “improved flight simulation experience” as well as test out the new scenarios and the new DJI Mavic 2 Pro aircraft model.

Please note I don’t have the Enterprise version so I can’t test out the UTC Public Safety Test scenario and I certainly don’t have all the supported aircraft/remote controllers listed here, so I can’t really test them out either to verify support actually exists. I’ll just have to take their word for it until such time as I can acquire the remote controllers and test them all out.

I’m not sure why, but the version I had installed said 2.2.0 yet it did say it needed to be updated. When the update was done I was at 1.4.0.0. I guess it was a downgrade upgrade. Maybe I had a beta I wasn’t aware of. It just struck me as odd that the version I had originally showed it to be higher than the update that was just released.

Although I wish DJI had included that teaser aircraft I referred to in the New Aircraft section above, I know that’s not likely to happen in the future but, wouldn’t it be great if they ran drone ideas/prototypes by us in the DJI Flight Simulator software. I could see them using it as a great feedback tool and what we like and don’t like about ideas before they ever have to go through the expensive research and development phase.

Take it up a notch and add an aircraft maker module and let the hobbyist and professional drone pilots design their own aircraft. What a gold mine of information they’d have at their fingertips. Seeing what we build, what we’re looking for and so on. Who knows, maybe one of us has the next big drone design idea. Will they do it, probably not. Would it be cool if they did, absolutely.
If you’d like to see DJI release notes for this latest version, you can find them here.

Have you updated to the latest version of the DJI Flight Simulator? Can you confirm any details regarding the new scenarios, aircraft and improved flight experience? Did you notice the odd version difference before you updated? Was something missed that you think should be in here, or worse yet, did I get something wrong? Please let me know by commenting below. I read and respond to each one.

Thank you,

Scott Hinkle

MavicManiacs.com