I keep hearing about Dronelink and waypoint missions for DJI drones but I am not sure what the difference is between Dronelink, Litchi, and the waypoints inside DJI Fly. How does a waypoint mission actually work — does the drone fly itself? Do you need internet during the flight? What can you automate with Dronelink that you cannot do manually?
Dronelink is a third-party flight planning app (iOS and Android) that enables fully autonomous waypoint missions on DJI drones through the DJI Mobile SDK. A waypoint mission is a pre-programmed flight path defined by GPS coordinates, altitudes, speeds, headings, and camera actions — you plan everything on a map before takeoff and the drone executes it automatically.
How it works: place waypoints on a map, set altitude at each point, configure camera trigger intervals or specific capture commands, and define flight speed. When you start the mission, the drone flies itself along the entire path and fires the camera automatically. The pilot monitors but does not control flight during execution; an emergency stop returns manual control instantly.
What Dronelink adds over basic waypoints: its component system lets you build complex multi-action missions — orbit a point of interest, execute a facade scan, fly a grid survey for photogrammetry, or trigger camera actions at precise GPS positions.
Key facts: internet is NOT required during the flight (mission downloads to device beforehand). Free tier supports basic planning; paid plans ($9.99-$19.99/month) unlock components and repeatable missions. Part 107 is required for commercial autonomous flight.
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Under the hood, Dronelink sends virtual stick commands to the drone's flight controller via the DJI SDK — not uploading a mission file to the FC. This matters because obstacle avoidance remains active during the mission (unlike some native waypoint modes where OA is disabled), and the mission can be paused and adjusted in real time.
Altitude modes: AGL (above ground level) is relative to your takeoff point. Some platforms support ASL (above sea level) with terrain follow using elevation database data. For survey work over varied terrain, terrain follow is critical — flying a fixed AGL altitude over a hillside keeps the camera at consistent ground distance across the entire grid, which is required for accurate photogrammetry output.
Battery failsafe behavior during a mission: most apps pause the mission and return to home when battery hits the RTH threshold. Confirm your app's failsafe behavior before your first autonomous flight so you know what to expect if a battery event occurs mid-mission.
For professional work — real estate, construction progress documentation, inspection — waypoint missions are transformative. Flying the exact same path on day 1 and day 30 and comparing imagery directly is something manual flying cannot replicate consistently.
Before every autonomous mission: check airspace in your planning app and verify LAANC authorization is current. An automated mission does not exempt you from FAA airspace requirements — you still need authorization in controlled airspace just as you would for manual flight.
Always scout the area manually on the first visit before relying on an automated mission. Obstacles visible on the ground — temporary construction cranes, new power lines — may not appear on satellite imagery for months. Your first visit to a new site should always be manual so you know what is actually there.
Comparing the three main autonomous flight options:
For pure photogrammetry — generating 3D models or orthomosaic maps — dedicated apps like Pix4D Capture or DroneDeploy handle grid planning, GCP integration, and processing workflows better than general waypoint apps. If mapping is your primary use case, evaluate those specialized tools rather than treating Dronelink as a mapping solution.
Creative uses beyond survey work: pre-programming complex cinematic moves and repeating them precisely. If you are shooting a location at golden hour and again at blue hour, running the same saved mission gives you identical framing and movement for both shots — useful for comparison edits and promotional content where consistent framing across multiple visits matters.
The facade scan component systematically photographs a building elevation at precise distances and intervals, creating uniform coverage that manual flying almost never achieves. For architecture clients who need a complete photographic record of a building exterior — windows, materials, detail shots — a programmed facade scan delivers far more systematic coverage than manual spot shooting.
Save missions after every shoot. A saved mission for a recurring client property means any future visit can reproduce the exact same coverage instantly.
For agricultural and survey applications, Dronelink's grid survey component lets you define a polygon on the map and automatically calculate the coverage pattern at a specified altitude, overlap percentage, and camera interval. The key photogrammetry settings: front overlap (80% recommended) and side overlap (70% recommended). Higher overlap means more images and longer flight time but better 3D reconstruction accuracy from the resulting dataset.
The ability to upload flight logs and verify exact coverage after a mission is a significant advantage for agricultural clients who need to confirm that a specific field area was completely documented. Manual flight logs rarely provide that certainty.
For an introduction to another strong autonomous flight option with a one-time purchase model and a large community library of shared missions, see our guide on what the Litchi app is and how it works for drone waypoint missions.