DJI unlocking Geofence

[Makofire1]

What is the process for unlocking a geofence (or am I barking up the wrong tree?). The other day I tried to file a flight plan with AirMap...but it denied me. I was on the edge of a TFR because the Miami Marlins were playing. I’m Part 107 certified, I wasn’t flying outside of 100 feet radius and not above 150. DJIGo4 said unable to take off....so I packed up and went elsewhere to log some flight time. A couple days later, I tried again with AirMap, it said no....so I tried with Kittyhawk and was approved. DJIGo4 still said no. I spoke with a recreational drone guy today and he said he can go through DJI and have the geofence unlocked. Is this true? If so, why does AirMap and DJIGo4 deny a Part 107 pilot? Thanks in advance to indulging me on this...

 

[CNYdronepilot]

What is the process for unlocking a geofence (or am I barking up the wrong tree?). The other day I tried to file a flight plan with AirMap...but it denied me. I was on the edge of a TFR because the Miami Marlins were playing. I’m Part 107 certified, I wasn’t flying outside of 100 feet radius and not above 150. DJIGo4 said unable to take off....so I packed up and went elsewhere to log some flight time. A couple days later, I tried again with AirMap, it said no....so I tried with Kittyhawk and was approved. DJIGo4 still said no. I spoke with a recreational drone guy today and he said he can go through DJI and have the geofence unlocked. Is this true? If so, why does AirMap and DJIGo4 deny a Part 107 pilot? Thanks in advance to indulging me on this...

@Makofire1 , you are dealing with DJI software restrictions above and beyond FAA. Multiple threads are available for reference; here are a couple to start with that will hopefully answer all of your questions. It's a pain but relatively straightforward to acquire and install an Unlocking license:

Unlocking license in GEO zone

Geofence 2.0 Help plz

Hi I havent updated the Newest geofence 2.0 ( maybee luckely) I do understand that i can't fly within the red cirkels ( that 's ok ) but do I understand it right that i can't fly within the blue cirkels either?!?! it woud bee a disaster.

mavicpilots.com

 

[brett8883]

What is the process for unlocking a geofence (or am I barking up the wrong tree?). The other day I tried to file a flight plan with AirMap...but it denied me. I was on the edge of a TFR because the Miami Marlins were playing. I’m Part 107 certified, I wasn’t flying outside of 100 feet radius and not above 150. DJIGo4 said unable to take off....so I packed up and went elsewhere to log some flight time. A couple days later, I tried again with AirMap, it said no....so I tried with Kittyhawk and was approved. DJIGo4 still said no. I spoke with a recreational drone guy today and he said he can go through DJI and have the geofence unlocked. Is this true? If so, why does AirMap and DJIGo4 deny a Part 107 pilot? Thanks in advance to indulging me on this...

Drones are not allowed in a TFR zone and therefore are not typically allowed within 3 miles of a major sporting event within 1 hour of the start or end of an event.

Stadiums and Sporting Events

www.faa.gov

Under certain circumstances you could gain a waiver if you work for the stadium or something. There’s no way to legally fly there without one and DJI won’t unlock them unless you can provide proof of the waiver and is not an easy process even if you do.

AirMap denied you because it isn’t able to grant waivers only LAANC authorizations which apply to airport controlled airspace not TFRs. You need to apply for a waiver from the FAA(and have a really really good reason to fly there and a letter from the event stadium that you have authorization to fly there) and then once approved submit it to DJI and then they can manually unlock the zone.

Basically there’s no way to do this unless you work for the stadium.

It’s concerning that Kittyhawk told you that you could fly in a TFR without a waiver.

 

[brett8883]

Note that this rule applies to all aircraft not just drones.

 

[Mr. Salty]

And also note that just because you're a Part 107 pilot doesn't mean you can fly in a TFR or other no fly zone.

 

[sar104]

What is the process for unlocking a geofence (or am I barking up the wrong tree?). The other day I tried to file a flight plan with AirMap...but it denied me. I was on the edge of a TFR because the Miami Marlins were playing. I’m Part 107 certified, I wasn’t flying outside of 100 feet radius and not above 150. DJIGo4 said unable to take off....so I packed up and went elsewhere to log some flight time. A couple days later, I tried again with AirMap, it said no....so I tried with Kittyhawk and was approved. DJIGo4 still said no. I spoke with a recreational drone guy today and he said he can go through DJI and have the geofence unlocked. Is this true? If so, why does AirMap and DJIGo4 deny a Part 107 pilot? Thanks in advance to indulging me on this...

It depends on the type of zone. Most TFRs are just authorization zones, which means that you can self-unlock through the DJI Geo system. That doesn't make it legal to fly in them of course - that requires permission from the controlling agency as listed in the NOTAM.

 

[4thdpi]

@Makofire1 , you are dealing with DJI software restrictions above and beyond FAA. Multiple threads are available for reference; here are a couple to start with that will hopefully answer all of your questions. It's a pain but relatively straightforward to acquire and install an Unlocking license:

Unlocking license in GEO zone

Geofence 2.0 Help plz

Hi I havent updated the Newest geofence 2.0 ( maybee luckely) I do understand that i can't fly within the red cirkels ( that 's ok ) but do I understand it right that i can't fly within the blue cirkels either?!?! it woud bee a disaster.

mavicpilots.com

It comes from the updates usually firmware or quick software fixes. When Trump was in Grand Rapids a month ago I am 10 mi from kgrr and normally fly at 2 to 300 ft. The geofence was expanded I could not take off I did manage to get the spark to go up but it would not go higher than 5 ft it said flight limit reached. I tried to change it in the aircraft settings on the tablet but as soon as I tried to take it off they reverted back to the geo-fence. Geofences in the long run probably will be a good thing. There are Jet Airways today filing their IFR flight plans and FMS routes so it's expected to fly by wire the entire flight.. delivery drones most likely will have the same FMS routes and recreational Pilots will be treated just like private pilot's today and must be clear of airports or get clearance and visual flight rules ensuring there is no contact between airplanes in the air. The Garmin 5000 and so forth on the jet liners I fly also uses tcas whichh keeps aircraft separated. So once all of this is implemented I think it will be a great drone existence and control costs of Transportation of goods and services. However control centers including approach and departure should have override rights to avoid collisions or other issues.

 

[bobfa100]

What is the process for unlocking a geofence (or am I barking up the wrong tree?). The other day I tried to file a flight plan with AirMap...but it denied me. I was on the edge of a TFR because the Miami Marlins were playing. I’m Part 107 certified, I wasn’t flying outside of 100 feet radius and not above 150. DJIGo4 said unable to take off....so I packed up and went elsewhere to log some flight time. A couple days later, I tried again with AirMap, it said no....so I tried with Kittyhawk and was approved. DJIGo4 still said no. I spoke with a recreational drone guy today and he said he can go through DJI and have the geofence unlocked. Is this true? If so, why does AirMap and DJIGo4 deny a Part 107 pilot? Thanks in advance to indulging me on this...

There are several YouTube videos on how to do this. Search “dji geofencing unlock” and you’ll find both DJI official and 3rd party videos. I did the online version a day before the flight. It worked as described in a DJI video.

 

[pmshop]

I know this is a few days out from the last post but I had to unlock recently.
The local area is HQ for the Systems GO! program.
This High School program is a STEM course that teach the kids to build Nitrous-Oxide rockets
capable of reaching Mach 1.
Systems GO! facilitates the launch.
So piggybacking System's Go! FAA waiver up to 12,000AGL, the director sent me a letter authorizing me to 3,000AGL and a copy of their waiver to turn into DJI.
DJI was satisfied and unlocked me to 3000.

 

[brett8883]

I know this is a few days out from the last post but I had to unlock recently.
The local area is HQ for the Systems GO! program.
This High School program is a STEM course that teach the kids to build Nitrous-Oxide rockets
capable of reaching Mach 1.
Systems GO! facilitates the launch.
So piggybacking System's Go! FAA waiver up to 12,000AGL, the director sent me a letter authorizing me to 3,000AGL and a copy of their waiver to turn into DJI.
DJI was satisfied and unlocked me to 3000.
View attachment 71660

Just curious, so you can use an organizational waiver and its just up to the organization who the waiver applies to? Or how does that work?

 

[pmshop]

Just curious, so you can use an organizational waiver and its just up to the organization who the waiver applies to? Or how does that work?

That is how it worked for me.
Director is Col USAF ret.

He looked at it this way, if they were going up 12,000AGL...a drone at 3000AGL would be covered.
Plus, being in the middle of nowhere helps too - 60 and 80 miles away from the nearest major cities.