MavenRoute 2.0 is a major step forward for DJI pilots who want smoother missions and a practical way to fly planned routes even on aircraft that don’t support third-party SDK apps.

This release focuses on two big features:

  • Curved Paths (DJI Fly style) — smoother turns and more natural trajectories

  • KMZ Export for DJI Fly — plan in MavenRoute, fly in DJI Fly (especially useful for drones “without SDK support”)

1) Curved Paths: smoother missions, cleaner trajectories

Until now, MavenRoute let you choose between straight segments or rounded corners. With Curved Paths, MavenRoute now generates smooth transitions between segments, closely matching the flight behavior you see when running waypoint missions in DJI Fly.

Why it matters:

  • Smoother footage (less “snap turning”, fewer jerky transitions)

  • More efficient flights (less braking/accelerating, better continuity)

  • Plan missions for DJI Fly — export your route as KMZ and run it directly in DJI Fly, which is especially useful for drones/controllers without SDK support

Curved paths are especially noticeable when you have frequent direction changes or tight geometry.

2) KMZ Missions: plan in MavenRoute, fly in DJI Fly

The biggest practical upgrade in MavenRoute 2.0 is KMZ export.

What this unlocks:

Even if your drone/controller can’t use third-party waypoint apps (because the DJI SDK isn’t available for that model, or the controller doesn’t allow installing apps), you can still design missions in MavenRoute and then fly them using DJI Fly by importing the KMZ.

This makes MavenRoute useful for a much broader range of DJI Fly drones.

Editing in DJI Fly (safe workflow):

Once imported, the mission in DJI Fly will use the expected straight path structure for DJI Fly waypoints. You can also edit and save the mission inside DJI Fly without worrying about “breaking” the file structure or losing compatibility.

3) Planning improvements in 2.0 (simpler + DJI Fly-ready)

MavenRoute 2.0 isn’t only about KMZ and curves — it also makes planning faster and clearer:

✅ Simplified photo capture strategy

Photo capture is now easier to configure, with a clearer choice between:

  • Distance-based interval

  • Time-based interval

  • Waypoint photos (take a photo as a waypoint action)

This helps reduce confusion and makes it easier to choose the right approach for photogrammetry vs cinematic missions.

✅ Terrain Follow is now one clear option

Terrain follow has been simplified into a single, explicit option that’s easy to understand and avoids overlapping settings.

✅ DJI Fly Mode switch (compatibility-first planning)

There’s now a dedicated DJI Fly planning mode in the planner:

When enabled, MavenRoute automatically removes or disables any settings that are not compatible with DJI Fly, so you can design the mission with confidence, knowing the exported KMZ is meant to be executable in DJI Fly.

4) Which drones can potentially use MavenRoute 2.0 via KMZ?

The simplest rule is:

If your aircraft supports DJI Fly and includes DJI’s Waypoint / Route / Waypoint Flight feature, there’s a strong chance it can fly MavenRoute missions via KMZ.

That said, KMZ behavior can vary depending on:

  • aircraft model

  • firmware version

  • controller type (RC / RC2 / RC Pro / phone + RC)

  • DJI Fly version

Common DJI Fly families where KMZ export is especially valuable

Because many of these models are not supported by the DJI Mobile SDK for third-party apps, KMZ export is often the best workaround:

  • DJI Air series (DJI Fly generation)

    Example: Air 3 / Air 3S

  • DJI Mavic series (DJI Fly generation)

    Example: Mavic 3 series (Classic / Pro / Cine), and newer generations

  • DJI Mini series (newer DJI Fly models)

    Example: Mini 5 Pro

In other words: if your drone is a DJI Fly model and it has waypoints inside DJI Fly, KMZ export is the bridge between mission planning and mission execution.

Important: I’m intentionally saying “potentially” because DJI Fly waypoint support and KMZ import/export behavior can change across versions and devices.

5) Typical workflow

A simple workflow looks like this:

  1. Create your mission in MavenRoute

    Plan the path, altitude, speed, camera direction, grid settings (for photogrammetry), etc.

  2. Enable Curved Paths

    Especially if you want smoother transitions.

  3. Export as KMZ

    MavenRoute generates a DJI Fly compatible KMZ mission file.

  4. Import/open the KMZ in DJI Fly

    The easiest way to transfer the KMZ mission to your controller is using MavenBridge

  5. Fly the mission in DJI Fly

    Using DJI Fly’s waypoint execution.

6) Notes, limits, and best practices

Mission size limits

Some controllers become slow or unstable with very large waypoint counts. If you’re building big photogrammetry projects:

  • Reduce waypoint count where possible — for example, use a different photo capture strategy (such as time-based interval shooting) so you don’t need a waypoint for every single photo.

  • or split the mission into multiple parts — MavenRoute includes an automatic mission splitting tool in the photogrammetry planner, so you can set a max waypoint limit and export the project as multiple smaller KMZ missions.

Compatibility is not guaranteed

DJI Fly behavior can differ across:

  • different aircraft generations

  • firmware updates

  • DJI Fly updates

If you see any issue importing or running a KMZ, send me:

  • drone model

  • controller model

  • DJI Fly version

  • number of waypoints

  • the CSV/JSON mission file

Best results

  • For smoother videos: use Curved Paths

  • For large photogrammetry jobs: prefer strategies that don’t generate a waypoint for every photo unless you really need it

7) Why MavenRoute 2.0 matters

For years, mission planning for DJI drones has been split into two worlds:

  • SDK-supported drones → can use advanced third-party apps

  • DJI Fly-only drones / no SDK support → often stuck with limited tools

With KMZ export, MavenRoute becomes a practical mission planner even for DJI Fly drones where third-party apps aren’t available.

And with Curved Paths, missions look and feel more like the smooth DJI Fly waypoint experience — but with MavenRoute’s planning power.

Try MavenRoute 2.0

MavenRoute is available now on MavenPilot:

mavenpilot.com/planner

If you test KMZ export on your aircraft, I’d love to hear your results — especially your drone model/controller setup, so I can keep improving compatibility and workflow guides.

 

update:

Transferring KMZ missions to DJI Fly

 

To complete the KMZ export workflow, we also created MavenBridge — a small desktop tool available for macOS and Windows that allows you to transfer KMZ missions directly from your computer to your DJI controller running DJI Fly.

With MavenBridge you can simply connect your controller via USB and move missions in seconds, making it easy to plan flights on a big screen with MavenRoute and then execute them using DJI Fly.

The tool is completely free and works with any mission planner that generates KMZ files, not only MavenRoute.

👉 learn more on MavenBridge here: https://www.mavenpilot.com/mavenbridge/