Freefly Astro + Herelink Controller Bundle EOL (7/13/23)

Freefly has decided to end-of-life our Herelink Controller + Astro bundle. We have designed a new controller, the ‘Freefly Pilot Pro Controller’ that will be ready to ship starting in August, 2023. We planned on having plenty of Herelink Controllers to cover the time until our controller was ready, but we messed up our planning a bit (sorry) and as of today (July 13th) we are out of stock of all Astro bundles. 

The team doesn’t have full info ready to release about the Pilot Pro yet, but you can assume it will be Freefly quality and will have our 100% customer satisfaction policy.

We chose to develop this controller as we wanted pilots to have access to a high quality, purpose built controller that allows them to achieve maximal performance with the Astro and our product ecosystems. 

We will be initially offering the Pilot Pro for Astro with a Herelink RF and then following on with a Doodle or other NDAA friendly radio option after that. The Pilot Pro is modular and allows for new radio offerings in the future, as well.

We’ll start shipping Astro again in small quantities in August, ramping production as we head into the fall, as fast as we can build Pilot Pro for them. If you want an Astro you can pre-order on our website:

• Astro Base Essentials Kit
• Astro Map Essentials Kit

For existing customers with Astro, we are selling the Pilot Pro separately so that you can upgrade from your existing Herelink controller if you want, and still use the Herelink air unit on your Astro:

• Pilot Pro Controller (Herelink RF)

FAQ’s

What does the Freefly Pilot Pro look like?

• 3D Model of Freefly Pilot Pro Controller (with Doodle Labs radio backpack)

How much will the controller cost?

1. The base price for the controller with no radios will be around $5,000 USD
2. The price for Pilot Pro with Herelink RF modules for Astro will be $6,000.00 USD
3. The price with Doodle Labs radios will be around $8,000.00 USD

What features does the new controller have?

1. High quality joysticks
2. Internal batteries with hot swap external battery for 100% uptime
3. Emergency Kill switch
4. High resolution rockers for precise camera / gimbal control
5. Open architecture for use with any robot / drone
6. Discreet buttons for all key user actions
7. Tight integration with Astro / Alta X
8. Realtime Gimbal speed limits
9. Realtime Drone speed limits
10. Accessory mounting points
11. 7 inch Samsung ActiveTab3
12. User harness
13. Hard carrying case

Will there be a Blue option?

• We intend to achieve Blue compliance with this controller, but this is not complete yet.

Will the controller itself be NDAA compliant?

• Yes

What Radios are you launching with?

• Initial Controllers will be reserved for Astro and will be Herelink RF and then followed by Doodle Labs or similar NDAA friendly radio after that.

Will this be an option for Alta X?

• Yes there will be an option for Alta X as soon as we are able to ramp production to support this.
• We will release more info as we get closer to launch but we are hoping to offer this in Q4 2023 but it might slip to Q1 2024 if Astro demand is high enough. Our top priority right now is getting Astro production flowing again.

Can I integrate this controller into my own robot or UAS?

• Absolutely – we want this to become the preferred controller for any robotics application. We designed it to be robust, adaptable, and precise.

Will you integrate this controller with:

• Alta 6/8
  • Uncertain, technically possible but depends on demand
• Mōvi Pro
  • Uncertain, we would like to but it depends on the bandwidth and needs of the gimbal ecosystem and team
• Mōvi XL
  • Same as Mōvi Pro
• Ember
  • Absolutely, but it will come a bit later