21–30 of 187 posts
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Well it's great that you don't need to get a permit in order to fly this drone, but that doesn't mean you should do whatever you want with it in public.
it's five dollars and filling out a web form. its not exactly onerous requirement.
Anyone know how to use the video downlink from DJI drones without the rest of the system? If there is a forum out there for hacking DJI's stuff, I haven't found it yet.
Ethical question: are DJI the good guys here working within the rules set out of the FAA, or are they running afoul of the spirit but staying within the letter?
what's the legality of it in the UK?
what's the legality of it in the UK?
As it weight 249g you don't have to register with the CAA and as long as you keep it under 400ft altitude and within 150ft from other people and private property you can fly it anywhere where there isn't a local limitation and it's not restricted airspace.
In places where there are limitations e.g. London and other big cities you can fly it on private property.
Please note that in the UK the entity that manages a park or other public spaces can impose its own restrictions e.g. you can't fly drones in Alexandra Palace despite Barnet Council not having a wide ban on drones.
For the most part don't be an idiot the police doesn't enforce these rules for the most part outside westminster where the cops do chase down drone flyers especially around the tourist spots since you aren't allowed to fly anything within 150m of a congested area which is pretty much any spot in central london.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
it's five dollars and filling out a web form. its not exactly onerous requirement.
What they are referring too is that you still shouldn't operate these drones where they are not allowed just because they weight less than some FAA weight limit.
BUT - it's worth pointing out that if you live in some cities like Boston, that it is nearly impossible to fly a drone in city limits. Or Cambridge. Or Somerville. Check out the maps on Skyvector; it's 70/SFC, until you're in Watertown, parts of Quincy of north of Lynn. The FAA says to call the tower for permission; and I've spoken to the tower at Logan, and they said the FAA told them to not grant anyone permission (this was 2 years ago admittedly).
So having a little micro drone that you can fly 30 ft in the air around your house legally since it's under the weight limit? Pretty neat.
As someone who wants hardware that does what I instruct it to after I have purchased it, regardless of the manufacturer's wishes, I don't think I can support buying DJI's otherwise-excellent products any longer. The firmware updates and activation locks and flight restrictions imposed by the DJI Go app are too onerous. If I buy a tool, and the tool now belongs to me, the manufacturer attempting to restrict my use of…
I have the Mavic Pro and have issues with the wind carrying it away and not being able to navigate where I want. Is a smaller drone going to even more issue with wind or have they improved this?
I've flown P4P, Mavic Pro, and Spark. Only the big, heavy P4P was stable in strong winds. Even with the larger cross-section the bigger motors in the P4P make a remarkable difference.
As someone who wants hardware that does what I instruct it to after I have purchased it, regardless of the manufacturer's wishes, I don't think I can support buying DJI's otherwise-excellent products any longer. The firmware updates and activation locks and flight restrictions imposed by the DJI Go app are too onerous. If I buy a tool, and the tool now belongs to me, the manufacturer attempting to restrict my use of…
I've never considered buying a drone however I would certainly not buy one that required an app + required user account to operate a piece of offline equipment.
Too bad, I was considering one in lieu of a full frame dslr. Looks like hi-res, poorly shot photos are back on the menu.