- Joined
- Aug 20, 2015
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- 83
I have vetted some questions with DJI Policy & Legal Affairs group in regards the new firmware and procedures. As with any changes there is some good and some bad but I believe it is fair to say that, at least for the US, the solution is reasonable even though it will add a little work for me and others that may find themselves subject to the new and more simplisitic geo-fencing firmware.
The advantage of the current DJI setup for a user like me who lives near the edge of an Category A airport 5 mile circle is that the existing firmware enforced the actual FAA no fly zone which is a 3D shape including the upward sloping altitude limitation that goes from 35' at 1.5 miles out to the UAV 400' limit at 5 miles. That means that flying my Inspire-1 in my yard for maintenace and testing (well below tree and roof level) was allowed because the actual no-fly zone altitude limit at 4.7 miles (nearly 400') was applied. Note that is a separate issue from the requirement to notify the local tower of details for planned activity within the 5 mile zone.
Some other maufacturers applied a strict 2D 5 mile circle and so their aircraft could not be operated at all in circumstance like the location of my home, I would have to drive somewhere else.
The bad news with the new DJI firmware is that this actual FAA no-fly cone is being lost in favor of a broader policy driven and more flexible set of 2D geofencing objects (adding additional no-fly zone types such as borders, power plants, the Capitol, and other senitive areas). These special-purpose zone types could grow over time as evolving experience and law may dictate. So, as much as I would encourage DJI to add the "cone" programming back in with a future firmware release, I understand the need they have had to move quickly on these issues to protect us all from over-regulation (and the plethora of ill-informed loud mouth types from all walks of life).
The good news is that the process for granting permission for legal flight within an airport (or most other) no fly zones is passive and self-initiated. It will require only that you make the request using your DJI online account login credentials. This means that DJI will have record of your request and access to the aircraft logs for actual flights performed by your equipment in these zones (insuring government agencies that if any rules are violated there will be no question about the person or aircraft involved). This is very much like the FAA registration approach where once you register and get your ID you simply place that ID on all your aircraft. Passive but effective. Given what so many immature bozos have done with their UAV's this is really protection for all of us.
It does mean an additional step when preparing for legal flight in restricted areas but it is a simple automated step which will take less time than many other things that you should be doing in advance of a planned shoot.
The only detail that seems to be unresolved is how this system will work if the location does not have access to the internet at the time of flight. That is still subject to some head scratching before a procedure is defined.
The advantage of the current DJI setup for a user like me who lives near the edge of an Category A airport 5 mile circle is that the existing firmware enforced the actual FAA no fly zone which is a 3D shape including the upward sloping altitude limitation that goes from 35' at 1.5 miles out to the UAV 400' limit at 5 miles. That means that flying my Inspire-1 in my yard for maintenace and testing (well below tree and roof level) was allowed because the actual no-fly zone altitude limit at 4.7 miles (nearly 400') was applied. Note that is a separate issue from the requirement to notify the local tower of details for planned activity within the 5 mile zone.
Some other maufacturers applied a strict 2D 5 mile circle and so their aircraft could not be operated at all in circumstance like the location of my home, I would have to drive somewhere else.
The bad news with the new DJI firmware is that this actual FAA no-fly cone is being lost in favor of a broader policy driven and more flexible set of 2D geofencing objects (adding additional no-fly zone types such as borders, power plants, the Capitol, and other senitive areas). These special-purpose zone types could grow over time as evolving experience and law may dictate. So, as much as I would encourage DJI to add the "cone" programming back in with a future firmware release, I understand the need they have had to move quickly on these issues to protect us all from over-regulation (and the plethora of ill-informed loud mouth types from all walks of life).
The good news is that the process for granting permission for legal flight within an airport (or most other) no fly zones is passive and self-initiated. It will require only that you make the request using your DJI online account login credentials. This means that DJI will have record of your request and access to the aircraft logs for actual flights performed by your equipment in these zones (insuring government agencies that if any rules are violated there will be no question about the person or aircraft involved). This is very much like the FAA registration approach where once you register and get your ID you simply place that ID on all your aircraft. Passive but effective. Given what so many immature bozos have done with their UAV's this is really protection for all of us.
It does mean an additional step when preparing for legal flight in restricted areas but it is a simple automated step which will take less time than many other things that you should be doing in advance of a planned shoot.
The only detail that seems to be unresolved is how this system will work if the location does not have access to the internet at the time of flight. That is still subject to some head scratching before a procedure is defined.