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Are DJI drone RID ready?

Vic Moss

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There is a great article from DJIs own Brendan Schulman about whether or not DJI drones will be RID compliant when it becomes mandatory in the U.S.

He does have October 2022 ad 2023 listed as the implementation months, but it's September 16, 2022 and 2023. I texted him earlier for clarification. I'll edit my post when I hear back.

 
Thank you for providing the info! I have been trying to get a couple of people that have been very much involved in the process to provide clear concise information and so far they have refused....it didn't help that the FAA has been less than forthwith with being on time with dates - March then April and being totally confusing about what training one had to do...and even after doing the training and taking the "Self Correcting" exam till you get 100%, you still don't know what you can/cannot do!
I was under the impression that I would be able to fly at night (with Part 107) after taking the training and exam - wrong...took a lot of digging to find out not till 4/21/2021 -
 
Thanks for the link. I'm glad the DJI finally put out some official words on RID and that they "think" a firmware/software update will get their drones ready for October 2023 compliance.

"...DJI expects many of our most commonly used drones to be able to comply through a simple and free software update. It’s too early to say exactly which existing DJI drones will be able to be updated this way, however, because the technical standards for Remote ID haven’t been finalized and approved by the FAA. Once they are, we can evaluate whether the radio hardware of each model can meet the standard and begin our plans to update specific models."
 
Thanks for the link. I'm glad the DJI finally put out some official words on RID and that they "think" a firmware/software update will get their drones ready for October 2023 compliance.

"...DJI expects many of our most commonly used drones to be able to comply through a simple and free software update. It’s too early to say exactly which existing DJI drones will be able to be updated this way, however, because the technical standards for Remote ID haven’t been finalized and approved by the FAA. Once they are, we can evaluate whether the radio hardware of each model can meet the standard and begin our plans to update specific models."
When I took the course and exam for ALC-677 Part 107 today they speak of RID as if all off the shelf category 2 and 3 drones have it already today. There are questions where the only answer that is correct requires flights in controlled airspace with RID, unless you are flying category 1 as a hobbyist. How do I reconcile that with RID availability only October 2023? I would like a specific assurance from DJI that the expensive Mavic 3 that is due to arrive on Friday will be RID compliant with only SW and no crazy dongle. I cannot understand how there can be a law in place that they fully expect me to ignore for lack of enforcement until 10/23.
 
When I took the course and exam for ALC-677 Part 107 today they speak of RID as if all off the shelf category 2 and 3 drones have it already today. There are questions where the only answer that is correct requires flights in controlled airspace with RID, unless you are flying category 1 as a hobbyist.
I think you may have misread the question.

There is no RID requirement for controlled airspace. Airspace has nothing to do with RID. It's a requirement for ALL drones, regardless of use. The only exception would be recreational drones under 250g. RID is tied to registration.

The only times Category 1, 2, or 3 come into play is when you're talking about Operations Over People (OOP). And the only time you need RID for any OOP is when you you're flying over "Open-air assemblies".
How do I reconcile that with RID availability only October 2023? I would like a specific assurance from DJI that the expensive Mavic 3 that is due to arrive on Friday will be RID compliant with only SW and no crazy dongle. I cannot understand how there can be a law in place that they fully expect me to ignore for lack of enforcement until 10/23.
The law is in place, but compliance isn't required by drone owners until September 16, 2023. Until then, don't worry about it. Don't confuse in effect with compliance date.

DJI may be able to make some of their drones RID compliant with a simple firmware update. But they can't promise that yet. Mainly because they don't know what the RID standards will be yet. But those will be released soon.

Until them, don't worry about it. It's almost 2 years before we have to worry.
 
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I think you may have misread the question.

There is no RID requirement for controlled airspace. Airspace has nothing to do with RID. It's a requirement for ALL drones, regardless of use. The only exception would be recreational drones under 250g. RID is tied to registration.

The only times Category 1, 2, or 3 come into play is when you're talking about Operations Over People (OOP). And the only time you need RID for any OOP is when you you're flying over "Open-air assemblies".

The law is in place, but compliance isn't required by drone owners until September 16, 2023. Until then, don't worry about it. Don't confuse in effect with compliance date.

DJI may be able to make some of their drones RID compliant with a simple firmware update. But they can't promise that yet. Mainly because they don't know what the RID standards will be yet. But those will be released soon.

Until them, don't worry about it. It's almost 2 years before we have to worry.
Thanks Vic for this reply and your clarifications. I misstated the applicability of categories which, as you said, only apply to flying over people.

I also understand from you that there is a law but no expectation of compliance. I don’t recall seeing this delay in compliance mentioned in the training module.

This seems odd for me to phrase questions as though this needed to be current practice to fly with RID. If the question were phrased such that after 9/23 a part 107 pilot must do x,y,or z per the cited statute the questions on RID would seem less strange to me.
 
Thanks Vic for this reply and your clarifications. I misstated the applicability of categories which, as you said, only apply to flying over people.

I also understand from you that there is a law but no expectation of compliance. I don’t recall seeing this delay in compliance mentioned in the training module.

This seems odd for me to phrase questions as though this needed to be current practice to fly with RID. If the question were phrased such that after 9/23 a part 107 pilot must do x,y,or z per the cited statute the questions on RID would seem less strange to me.
They've written the questions in such a way they they won't need to go back and change them later. It's the same way with the TRUST. It mentions flying under a CBO, and those don't exist yet either.
 
Thanks Vic for this reply and your clarifications. I misstated the applicability of categories which, as you said, only apply to flying over people.

I also understand from you that there is a law but no expectation of compliance. I don’t recall seeing this delay in compliance mentioned in the training module.

This seems odd for me to phrase questions as though this needed to be current practice to fly with RID. If the question were phrased such that after 9/23 a part 107 pilot must do x,y,or z per the cited statute the questions on RID would seem less strange to me.


This is typical with AVIATION and the FAA. It's easier to go ahead and "mention/train" for the upcoming changes now (while already making current changes) than try to re-do the training/test in a year or so. It's Planning Ahead and merely training us to think RID well before it goes into effect.
 
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Hi Vic,

When I went to register my new Mavic 3 as a Part 107 pilot it asks if my aircraft is RID compliant. If I say yes it asks for the RID serial number. If you say no it still asks if it broadcast RID information. If the Mavic Air is not yet compliant how does one proceed to register this drone?
 
Hi Vic,

When I went to register my new Mavic 3 as a Part 107 pilot it asks if my aircraft is RID compliant. If I say yes it asks for the RID serial number. If you say no it still asks if it broadcast RID information. If the Mavic Air is not yet compliant how does one proceed to register this drone?
You respond "No", because no current DJI equipment is RID approved.
 
Hi Vic,

When I went to register my new Mavic 3 as a Part 107 pilot it asks if my aircraft is RID compliant. If I say yes it asks for the RID serial number. If you say no it still asks if it broadcast RID information. If the Mavic Air is not yet compliant how does one proceed to register this drone?

NO UAS are currently compliant because the standards aren't released yet. The FAA merely added that area for FUTURE use.
 
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