Entering a NFZ During Flight - What Happens?

[Zbip57]

I don't understand.

Evidently.

I don't care what DJI or the Chinese government says.

I am merely pointing out that the Terms of Use, to which you agreed upon "activating" your DJI drone, have nothing to do with the Chinese government.

"These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California".

You chose to buy and operate a DJI product which includes geo-fencing software. You digitally signed an agreement and acceptance of the Terms of Use for DJI's hardware and software. Those terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, which is in the USA, not China.

What part of that are you not understanding?

 

[Faster]

Evidently.


I am merely pointing out that the Terms of Use, to which you agreed upon "activating" your DJI drone, have nothing to do with the Chinese government.



You chose to buy and operate a DJI product which includes geo-fencing software. You digitally signed an agreement and acceptance of the Terms of Use for DJI's hardware and software. Those terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, which is in the USA, not China.

What part of that are you not understanding?

Sorry but I don't live in California! USA is a Constitutional Republic made of 50 different States, California State laws do not apply to other States. Federal laws do and this is where FAA rules play its roll. I FLY MY DRONE UNDER THE FAA, not under California state website related laws.

 

[rcb]

As a part-time amateur pilot I totally appreciate DJI’s great comprehensive effort to help me stay out of trouble. This responsible application of technology helps prevent misuse and protects us from further extreme

 

[rcb]

regulations. (Cont. from previous post)

 

[Zbip57]

Sorry but I don't live in California! USA is a Constitutional Republic made of 50 different States, California State laws do not apply to other States. Federal laws do and this is where FAA rules play its roll. I FLY MY DRONE UNDER THE FAA, not under California state website related laws.

Okay, one last try...

I am not disputing that the rules of the FAA take precedence over the rules of any one of your particular States, and certainly over Chinese rules. That's not the issue that I'm trying (hopelessly) to explain here.

Your point is that the FAA determines where you can or cannot fly in the USA, not China. Agreed! End of story as far as you're concerned. That's why you insist that, "DJI has no right to define or dictate how or when we fly our drones."

But my point is that you agreed to accept DJI's Terms of Use when you first activated your drone, which operates under the restrictions of DJI's GEO geofencing system. By signing that acceptance, you voluntarily gave DJI the right to define and dictate how your drone operates. You had the opportunity to decline acceptance of that agreement, but you obviously never even read it.

Sorry but I don't live in California [...] California State laws do not apply to other States.

Here's a simpler example for you.

You registered an account with MavicPilots.com in order to be allowed to post your opinions here in this forum. By registering your account here, you voluntarily agreed to abide by the MavicPilot forum's Terms of Service. Have you ever bothered to actually read those Terms?

There is a clause very similar to the one used by DJI, except the MavicPilot terms say this (emphasis added):

"You agree that the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to conflicts of law provisions, will govern this Agreement and any dispute arising between you and the Company [MavicPilots]. Any action brought against the Company, its members, managers, employees, or agents related to the use of the Websites, must be brought in the state or federal courts of Harris County, Texas and you consent to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of such courts."​

​

By registering your account here and using it, "you agree" and "you consent" to those Terms of Service, regardless of whether or not you live in Texas. It's a legal contract which you "signed" when registering your forum account here, same as you did when activating your DJI drone, or when activating your new iPhone, or installing any new software, etc. You really should take the time to read those Terms before blindly signing contracts.

I don't care what DJI or the Chinese government says.

Do you care what MavicPilots.com says? It's the same deal.

 

[EpicFlight]

What are you trying to prove? I don't understand. I'm telling you that I do whatever I want with my drone and I don'tcare what DJI or the Chinese government says. In USA I just fly under the FAA rules. Period!!!!

Hey, I'm on your side, however the fact is the Chinese govt can decide to have DJI disable your drone unless you're very, very careful about your phone having an internet connection when Fly or Go4 are running, and who knows even if they're simply installed? There are some BG processes from these apps running all the time, if I'm not mistaken.

Just sayin'...

 

[Meta4]

Hey, I'm on your side, however the fact is the Chinese govt can decide to have DJI disable your drone unless you're very, very careful about your phone having an internet connection when Fly or Go4 are running, and who knows even if they're simply installed? There are some BG processes from these apps running all the time, if I'm not mistaken.

Just sayin'...

Just sayin ... a lot of irrelevant nonsense.

 

[Faster]

Nothing coming from China is trustworthy. China is an authoritarian state characterized as a totalitarian surveillance state, and a dictatorship. I have no intentions to follow any rules from them.

 

[Zbip57]

Nothing coming from China is trustworthy. China is an authoritarian state characterized as a totalitarian surveillance state, and a dictatorship. I have no intentions to follow any rules from them.

Do you actually own and fly a DJI drone?

 

[MS Coast]

When I buy a DJI drone and paid for it, I become its legit owner. Not DJI. Which term of service do I have to agree for using it? The Chinese terms or my country/state and local rules and laws? Other than for warranty purposes I see no reason to follow their terms. I find this arbitrary. Is the same as buying a new car from any manufacturer. As its new owner I have all the right to drive it the way I like it as far as I follow my country laws. The manufacturer has no right to define or dictate how or when I use or modify my car but only for warranty purposes. Even for those warranty claims sometimes (depending of what kind of modification I made ) I'm still protected under the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act. In simple words, the drone is mine and as far as I don't brake any rule, I do with it whatever I like.

"The manufacturer has no right to define or dictate how or when I use or modify my car but only for warranty purposes."

I can't help but think about those stipulations you have to agree to in order to start many modern automobiles. Every GPS navigation device I've owned has something, too.

 

[Faster]

Do you actually own and fly a DJI drone?

I do, but I don't trust them. One thing do not imply the other.

 

[Zbip57]

Nothing coming from China is trustworthy. China is an authoritarian state characterized as a totalitarian surveillance state, and a dictatorship. I have no intentions to follow any rules from them.

And yet you trust your drone enough to actually fly it.

I do [fly a DJI drone] but I don't trust them. One thing do not imply the other.

You trust the drone, just not "them"?

In simple words, the drone is mine and as far as I don't break any rule, I do with it whatever I like.

So here's the crux of the matter. Let's say you chose to fly in a location where you're not breaking any rules. The FAA says you're allowed to fly there, but DJI has inaccurately extended a GEO zone over that spot, thereby preventing you from taking off.

How do you go ahead and do whatever you like?

 

[March411]

I just spent some time in Cocoa Beach and was sandwiched in between Patrick's AFB and Cape Canaveral. I was in an area that was right on the edge of two restricted areas but could fly. I did receive a warning on the RC but could move through it and launch.

One day I reached out just a little to far and lost my forward stick, the drone just hovered and when I tried again I got a warning. Altitude never changed, just a dead forward stick. I had to rotate the drone and point it to my home point before I would get forward controls back. I had VLOS so it was a bit alarming at first but after a few seconds I figured it out. Glad it didn't try to land where it was, I was over water.

 

[Faster]

And yet you trust your drone enough to actually fly it.


You trust the drone, just not "them"?


So here's the crux of the matter. Let's say you chose to fly in a location where you're not breaking any rules. The FAA says you're allowed to fly there, but DJI has inaccurately extended a GEO zone over that spot, thereby preventing you from taking off.

How do you go ahead and do whatever you like?

Simple, as many other DJI users do . Drone-Hacks.com

 

[Zbip57]

Glad it didn't try to land where it was, I was over water.

When encountering a GEO zone like this from the outside, the drone runs into an invisible wall and refuses to cross that line. You can go up/down, side-to-side, reverse, or simply turn around. It just won't go any further forward into the zone. The danger is if you can't figure out what's going on, panic, and fumble around long enough until the battery runs out. Then it could very well auto-land in the water.

The bigger danger is in launching too soon, before the drone has acquired sufficient satellite signal. Without a good enough GPS lock, the drone doesn't know where it is and has no way of knowing whether it's inside a GEO zone. If it then subsequently does achieve a good GPS lock and wakes up to find itself inside a NFZ, then it might land immediately even when over water.

Bring up the map view in your app, as it shows the boundaries of any GEO zones in your area. Or first check the online map at www.dji.com/ca/flysafe/geo-map before heading out to fly in any new area.

 

[umanbean]

Simple, as many other DJI users do . Drone-Hacks.com

Exactly

 

[March411]

When encountering a GEO zone like this from the outside, the drone runs into an invisible wall and refuses to cross that line. You can go up/down, side-to-side, reverse, or simply turn around. It just won't go any further forward into the zone. The danger is if you can't figure out what's going on, panic, and fumble around long enough until the battery runs out. Then it could very well auto-land in the water.

The bigger danger is in launching too soon, before the drone has acquired sufficient satellite signal. Without a good enough GPS lock, the drone doesn't know where it is and has no way of knowing whether it's inside a GEO zone. If it then subsequently does achieve a good GPS lock and wakes up to find itself inside a NFZ, then it might land immediately even when over water.

Bring up the map view in your app, as it shows the boundaries of any GEO zones in your area. Or first check the online map at www.dji.com/ca/flysafe/geo-map before heading out to fly in any new area.

I knew I could fly in a fairly tight space and attempted to get authorization and came up empty, AFB and the Cape have tight restrictions. Knowing that I figured out pretty quickly that I was entering a no fly zone, I only panic for a second

 

[marcosvc]

Follow attached a test trying to enter in a NFZ area. It looks like an "invisible" wall. It was done only for testing purposes not too high so no danger envolved.

 

[RealSting]

FWIW.. a couple of weeks ago when I purchased my drone I had no idea I was living in a NFZ! I wanted to test the drone in my garden but the drone wouldn’t allow me to take off. I went on the the DJI fly safe website, marked the area I wanted to fly in (my property), and where it says “submit documents”, I submitted a pdf that I created saying with big capital letters “I OWN UP TO 150ft OF THIS AIRSPACE AND I HAVE A LEGAL RIGHT TO FLY HERE”

Less than 5 mins later.. guess what? It was unlocked!

So yes, I believe someone is acting outside of their jurisdiction and I could see this getting quite ugly, and potentially very expensive for DJI!

 

[Heavydpj]

I've seen (on YouTube) and read (various places) of a huge range of bad things that can happen when the Mini 2 enters a NFZ during flight; everything from going into RTH automatically, to repeated disconnects with loss of control, to a fly-away, with the little Mini 2 never to be seen again. I've not ever crossed into a NFZ, but I'm now in an area where the possibility is a real one.

Has anyone ever done this? What actually happened?

I've lived this dream.

Mavic 2 belongs to Davy Jones now.

As they used to say in Penthouse Forum ... "I never thought this would happen to me ..." Before I start, I want to say that I took a knowing and informed risk and did it anyway, so don't feel bad for me. It was my own fault and I have nobody to blame but myself. I've been flying DJI drones...

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