Changes on UK rules post 1 January

[Mrktn]

Well my Air 3s has had its maximum speed reduced from 60 to 41.4 mph - no FW update to do it, just a post 1st January GPS drone lock is all it needs.

Those who have just the mini series C0 class drone have had the max altitude capped at 120m above take off point. Time for those who fly in big hilly / mountainous terrain in the UK to become good climbers

Need to fly it to see if flight time has also been compromised. Bad weather here in the UK right now

 

[BossBob]

No, there was software involved, you just didn’t know you’d downloaded it. My Mini 4/5 Pro’s are still able to fly above 120m. They haven’t had an update since early December as I limit connectivity and don’t blindly update anything.

 

[Mrktn]

No, there was software involved, you just didn’t know you’d downloaded it. My Mini 4/5 Pro’s are still able to fly above 120m. They haven’t had an update since early December as I limit connectivity and don’t blindly update anything.

I wonder how they sneaked that in through the back door.

Was it the recent pre Christmas DJI Fly update? Can’t remember when the most recent FW update was to the actual drone. June 25?

DJI always seem to hide these things under ‘fixed known issues’

 

[AeroJ]

Yep, my mini4P also remains unlimited. Looks like only updating firmware when it offers some functions you actually want has some advantages...

 

[Mrktn]

I wonder how they sneaked that in through the back door.

Was it the recent pre Christmas DJI Fly update? Can’t remember when the most recent FW update was to the actual drone. June 25?

Yep, my mini4P also remains unlimited. Looks like only updating firmware when it offers some functions you actually want has some advantages...

Seems to mean not only ‘fixed known issues’ to the pilot but also to DJI themselves

 

[BossBob]

They haven’t changed since the days of the Mavic Pro and that developers copy of DJI Assistant 2 that got out. I’ve still got an original file of that, it still works on windows 11!
I look at ALL updates sceptically. Do I know what is new, (rarely with DJI)?
What do I gain/what do I lose?
NEVER win the race to update. Let others be the beta testers/crash test dummies!

 

[wco81]

It's going to come down to enforcement.

Are they going to check drones for CE marks to make sure you were flying in the correct Open category?

I heard in 2027, UK1 may no longer map to C1 so Europeans visiting the UK with C1 drones may get into trouble. That is if they're proactively enforcing like making you land the drone and checking your aircraft.

Or is it that when something goes wrong and they see a C1 drone involved, they're going to examine your flight and decide if you were operating illegally?

 

[BossBob]

Unless you are a d**k and get the police involved (they enforce the CAA rules), no one is going to be checking drones at the moment. What happens when RID is blanket enforced on drones over 100g nobody knows. What happens if your drone is involved in an incident requiring investigation and the involvement of insurance companies, again, nobody knows.

 

[CMAC86]

No, there was software involved, you just didn’t know you’d downloaded it. My Mini 4/5 Pro’s are still able to fly above 120m. They haven’t had an update since early December as I limit connectivity and don’t blindly update anything.

Hey how's things. I've just bought the mini 5 pro and it arrives tomorrow, quick question. How have you been able to restrict connectivity? I'd prefer to keep the drone on the lowest firmware (preferably if it's lower than whats been released up to this point) as I live in an area of Northern Ireland that is vast and I'd like to see some of the higher areas like the mountains near me as it's a beautiful spot.

Do you use a device with no access to internet data or WiFi? I've an old Samsung S21 with no SIM card that I could use for flying. Thanks

 

[BossBob]

The RC 2 I fly with has no 3/4/5G connectivity, only WiFi, so you have to link it to something to log in to DJI. I use a hotspot on my mobile to do that then put the phone into Aircraft mode, severing links to the internet. I also fly my drones (even my Mavic Pro) with my mobile in aircraft mode.
The R/C and drone are going to want updates the moment they are turned on for the first time. How you get past that I don’t know as only the latest versions will be offered.
You also have to refuse updates when offered and disable model updates that try to update while you are flying, a stupid time to do updates if there ever was one.
The problem you’ll have is DJI Fly. The latest version of that will want the latest versions of R/C and drone software. I don’t know how you’ll stop them from downloading.

 

[CMAC86]

The RC 2 I fly with has no 3/4/5G connectivity, only WiFi, so you have to link it to something to log in to DJI. I use a hotspot on my mobile to do that then put the phone into Aircraft mode, severing links to the internet. I also fly my drones (even my Mavic Pro) with my mobile in aircraft mode.
The R/C and drone are going to want updates the moment they are turned on for the first time. How you get past that I don’t know as only the latest versions will be offered.
You also have to refuse updates when offered and disable model updates that try to update while you are flying, a stupid time to do updates if there ever was one.
The problem you’ll have is DJI Fly. The latest version of that will want the latest versions of R/C and drone software. I don’t know how you’ll stop them from downloading.

Thanks a lot for your reply. I guess there's no way around it then. They will force the update and I can't do anything then, unless I get an older version of the android DJI fly app and side load it but I'd not know which version to download. In this thread someone suggested that the forced 120m limit may have been introduced back in the December update of the app. I'll maybe look for an older version and see what happens. Thanks again

 

[wco81]

Unless you are a d**k and get the police involved (they enforce the CAA rules), no one is going to be checking drones at the moment. What happens when RID is blanket enforced on drones over 100g nobody knows. What happens if your drone is involved in an incident requiring investigation and the involvement of insurance companies, again, nobody knows.

It would still take manpower to monitor RID and track down the pilots, unless they can tell from RID and location that a drone was operating illegally and that is enough to at least send a citation or something?

If it's the normal police who does enforcement, are they going to drop their other duties to find a drone pilot operating illegally?

If they have to prioritize the things they have to do in the course of a day, enforcing drone regulations would seem to be low on the list for policemen, unless people were complaining about drone activity over some crowded venue or some very famous landmark like Big Ben.