Override of DJI No-Fly Zones - UPDATE

[RoryG]

It's a no fly zone at the centre ( R1) and then a 15 degree sloping flight height limit starting at 66 feet R2 that that extends out 1 mile from the R1 zone. It's detailed in the manual under the flight app section.

Here's a question, what happens when the airport is located at the bottom of steeply sloping ground? Here's a map showing the DJI no fly / restricted height circles and another showing the hill by the airstrip in Foula, Shetland. I plan to film here next summer. As the FC/Go App is only aware of QFE (field elevation, i.e. height above takeoff point), assuming I took off half way up the hill (still in the restricted height area but not in the no fly zone) and fly towards the airstrip I could effectively be at 200' or more above ground level at the no fly zone boundary, even taking the 15º slope into consideration. They actually want me to film the airstrip so I may have to take one of my other rigs along, but if my theory is right I could get good enough footage from 200' by circling the airstrip around the 0.6 mile no fly zone boundary. Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Rory

 

[Phatzo]

That's how it should be to be honest. Felons can't own guns, un-licensed pilots can't fly over a stadium. Probably a bad example but I do agree to this. Get certified if you want to take your business further
.

ok, but what do you do when your country has not done any rules yet or a possibility to get yourself a certificate?
fortunately there are no NFZ here in my country and I really hope it will stay like this a bit more in time. I can say that I fly responsibly and don´t do any stupid stuff like flying right next to an airport at altitudes where a collision is preprogrammed or just like the last report with the seattle big wheel. my concern is that it will not go into honesty and a reasonable pricing in getting a licence in some countries like the US where you easely spend a whopping 5 grand to get out legally flying which in my opinion is a way to take people off their money. what in earth cost 5 grand to make someone write a test fly some figures and answer questions regarding flight and physics.
how much is a drivers licence in the US at the moment?
one can also come along and say you need to get a shrink to test you to see if your not wako up there and a physicist to see that your coordination is ok, another doctor would need to check your eye sight and if you have depth of field ability to determine where you are in space or next or how far you are next to a tree not to crash into it. the list can go on and on and on. it is eternal. but a real (no offence meant here) - farmers logical sense why is it so overcomplicated?
I really hope that this will not be overkilled and someone with some brains will have the power do make the right decisions.
m 2c

 

[wbill]

Can I humbly ask, Why would you want this NO FLY zones removed?

I'm a professional photographer and I cannot come up with one single idea of a situation where I would need this. Thus my question, I really would love to know a situation where you would want this.

For example, say a private pilot school would want a nice aerial image of their newly built hanger inside of the airport.

WELL, I'm in a NO FLY zone, I cannot take an image with my inspire. HOWEVER, I am talking to a "pilot school"!!!! All I would do is say, I cannot fly my drone in your airspace. So, can you take me up in your plan and let me stick my camera out a window and I'll photograph your building that way.

I honestly do not want to stir the mess....I honestly want to know.

Thanks for your response.

Kirk

Well here's an example. I have a client who's office is right next to an airport. They are mechanics so being able to say use the inspire at about 20 feet off the ground motion shot towards the vehicles and their building would be really nice and pose no danger to airport traffic. I would certainly follow every regulation possible on notification, permission, etc but I currently don't even have the options because it won't fly...and I can't turn it off.

 

[Carlsberg]

Well here's an example. I have a client who's office is right next to an airport. They are mechanics so being able to say use the inspire at about 20 feet off the ground motion shot towards the vehicles and their building would be really nice and pose no danger to airport traffic. I would certainly follow every regulation possible on notification, permission, etc but I currently don't even have the options because it won't fly...and I can't turn it off.

Put a piece of tinfoil over the top of the I1 to block the signal, (don't you have internet access?)

 

[Joola]

Put a piece of tinfoil over the top of the I1 to block the signal, (don't you have internet access?)

I'd rather a permanent fix than something that could fail mid flight. If the I1 regained GPS mid-flight and you are within a NFZ, it will auto land.

Watch below at 1min 50sec for what I'm talking about. This video is specifically for the Phantom 2 when the NFZ feature was added, but the same thing will happen with the Inspire. It's described in the manual as well (page 48).

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[B Dog]

Here's a question, what happens when the airport is located at the bottom of steeply sloping ground? Here's a map showing the DJI no fly / restricted height circles and another showing the hill by the airstrip in Foula, Shetland. I plan to film here next summer. As the FC/Go App is only aware of QFE (field elevation, i.e. height above takeoff point), assuming I took off half way up the hill (still in the restricted height area but not in the no fly zone) and fly towards the airstrip I could effectively be at 200' or more above ground level at the no fly zone boundary, even taking the 15º slope into consideration. They actually want me to film the airstrip so I may have to take one of my other rigs along, but if my theory is right I could get good enough footage from 200' by circling the airstrip around the 0.6 mile no fly zone boundary. Any thoughts?

Cheers,

Rory

View attachment 4511
View attachment 4510

Since the Inspire only uses a barometer that is calibrated to 0 at it's own take off elevation, then what you are saying should be true and allow you to take off outside of the R1 No-Fly zone even if you are at 200' elevation. Note that on your No-Fly zone map, the inner ring is your no-fly zone which is only extends the length of the runway. It's diameter is about .3 miles and not .6 miles (using Google earth as a reference). The lighter outer ring is the restricted height zone which will be offset by the takeoff elevation.

B

 

[B Dog]

Can I humbly ask, Why would you want this NO FLY zones removed?

I'm a professional photographer and I cannot come up with one single idea of a situation where I would need this. Thus my question, I really would love to know a situation where you would want this.

For example, say a private pilot school would want a nice aerial image of their newly built hanger inside of the airport.

WELL, I'm in a NO FLY zone, I cannot take an image with my inspire. HOWEVER, I am talking to a "pilot school"!!!! All I would do is say, I cannot fly my drone in your airspace. So, can you take me up in your plan and let me stick my camera out a window and I'll photograph your building that way.

I honestly do not want to stir the mess....I honestly want to know.

Kirk

There's a hostage situation at the airport or near it and air support for SWAT is required.

This is the stuff I deal with. We definitely need to fly in these areas when required. Of course we are certified and ground school trained to do it safely. I have been talking to DJI management about this issue ever since it showed up. Nice to see that it is going to be introduced.

 

[purezerg]

any pilot cant that fly without GPS isn't a certified pilot in my opinion and thus should not fly in such areas. i wrap my GPS with tinfoil. not only is it flying faster, it doesn't have any restrictions. i keep a roll of tinfoil in my case just in case nearby pilots wants to give it a try. I trained a couple of my friends to fly their drones without GPS. and trust me, they are so much better now that they find it weird to fly it with GPS just like me.

not to mention, the videos are so much smoother. partially due to no active braking.

 

[The Editor]

any pilot cant that fly without GPS isn't a certified pilot in my opinion and thus should not fly in such areas. i wrap my GPS with tinfoil. not only is it flying faster, it doesn't have any restrictions. i keep a roll of tinfoil in my case just in case nearby pilots wants to give it a try. I trained a couple of my friends to fly their drones without GPS. and trust me, they are so much better now that they find it weird to fly it with GPS just like me.

not to mention, the videos are so much smoother. partially due to no active braking.

All true except there is a height restriction of 400' imposed with no GPS present but for the most part sensible operators will not be going above that ceiling in any case.
The danger with using your method is should the aircraft manage to get a fix (albeit weak or sporadic due to low elevation Glonass or Navstar satellites) a forced landing may be invoked and you will be powerless to stop it.

 

[purezerg]

but the best angles are not higher than 120m. infact they are around 1-30m

 

[purezerg]

not to be a show off. but this was shot at 3.1m height.

 

[djbuschini]

There is "dumb" then there is "dumber"

 

[Shazbot4]

dont worry guys, im certified, when i see the process for getting nfz's turned off i'll tell everyone how to do it, you can even use all my certification information to do it. it's all false info that leads to a person that doesn't exist.

 

[The Editor]

dont worry guys, im certified, when i see the process for getting nfz's turned off i'll tell everyone how to do it, you can even use all my certification information to do it. it's all false info that leads to a person that doesn't exist.

What are you talking about....have you been drinking?

 

[Shazbot4]

no no it's cool if none certified pilots want a no fly zone turned off. i'll let them submit my exemption info to dji to have it shut off. simple

 

[The Editor]

no no it's cool if none certified pilots want a no fly zone turned off. i'll let them submit my exemption info to dji to have it shut off. simple

And how will that work with the NFZ override being linked to not only certification documentation, ID and serial number of the aircraft?

 

[jon b]

crazy talk

 

[pulsar747n]

I believe that the problem is DJI and not the regulations. In the US, the FAA has issued an "advisory" AC No. 91-57A which states:

"(5) When flown within 5 miles of an airport, the operator of the model aircraft provides the airport operator or the airport air traffic control tower (when an air traffic facility is located at the airport) with prior notice of the operation. Model aircraft operators flying from a permanent location within 5 miles of an airport should establish a mutually agreed upon operating procedure with the airport operator and the airport air traffic control tower (when an air traffic facility is located at the airport)."

So the FAA is advising (the drone operator) to provide prior notice to the Airport for safety purposes. It is not prohibiting or restricting anything!

Somehow, DJI has taken it upon themselves, to prohibit the flight of DJI brand of UAS in these areas! I believe this is not right!. As the "Editor" mention earlier, the software should advice the operator of the proximity to the Airport but not restrict the flight!

I believe that an "override" should be available to Commercial Operators and to anyone else that wants it! As a Certified Pilot, I know that I can not fly in certain locations such as Area 51, Washington DC, or into any TFR. No aircraft in the world that I am aware of, has anything in them that prevents them from flying in those areas. The pilot makes the decision.

As an active EAA Member I have been asked to fly and answer questions to the public about drones, during an event at my local airport. No commercial operations, no money exchanged. The Airport felt that since the FAA classifies them as "aircrafts", the airport will benefit from the education to neighbors of the risks of flying drones near manned aircraft.

 

[RockLobster]

OK,

This is probably going to stir up a hornets nest but....

After a looooong wait I have heard back that DJI will be implementing an override facility for the Inspire.

HOWEVER - the caveat is, this will only be provided to certified operators who are able to prove their qualification/certification in their country of operation.

Please do not shoot the messenger, I have only heard today and I do not have details of exactly how it will be implemented. However I have had confirmation that this is currently being worked on. Although this originally was going to be by way of a web portal/login, this MAY have been scrapped now in favour of providing copy documents etc linked to serial number.

Obviously, as soon as I hear anything more I will post it up here.

Thanks for the info here.

I'm currently studying my RPQ-s examine, so hopefully in the new year I will be qualified.

When DJI say that they will remove restrictions for qualified pilots, does this mean a one off, I mean for say saturday 1st December only, giving a date as an example. Or will it be 'forever' at a particular location, as long as its the same aircraft, qualified pilot etc? thanks

 

[The Editor]

Thanks for the info here.

I'm currently studying my RPQ-s examine, so hopefully in the new year I will be qualified.

When DJI say that they will remove restrictions for qualified pilots, does this mean a one off, I mean for say saturday 1st December only, giving a date as an example. Or will it be 'forever' at a particular location, as long as its the same aircraft, qualified pilot etc? thanks

The original idea was it would be for a particular long/lat on a particular date and for a set time window. In reality, that didn't work out too well. Too restrictive and too many variables - weather etc to make it viable.
I believe the idea now is a permanent unlock linked to a specific aircraft's S/N together with evidence of certification and users identity (passport etc).