Geo fencing and the no fly database update

[FoxhallGH]

Unfortunately we are now seeing that there are a lot of authorities testing anti-drone tech' and Airline Pilot's Associations lobbying for extended No Fly Zones around UK airports. The reason they are doing this, is because drones are still being seen near Airports! See this thread ... U.K. Airports are Testing Drone Detection Technology NOW - Here's How Many Drones They've Found ... Which shows us that along with all the fallout from the Gatwick incident in the last weeks, four 'other' major airports in the UK were scanned for 148 days, and there were 285 drone incursions detected in that time ... This activity coupled with YouTube videos and forum Posts - means that 'helpful' suggestions as to how we can continue to fly NFZ's by rolling back and even hacking firmware, will just illustrate how irresponsible and rebellious Drone operators are - and give ammunition to why Drones should be banned!
Add a few additional words to your statement above @Rhinodron ...

"I recommend rolling back the firmware before you get stuck. Its so nice not having to be bothered by it. And as of right now the no fly database is stored on the drone so you can also wipe that back to an empty file, and if your controller has internet it will show the current no fly zones but nothing will happen to the drone's ability to fly there. ... until we are all banned and nobody can fly anywhere!"

 

[Rhinodron]

Unfortunately we are now seeing that there are a lot of authorities testing anti-drone tech' and Airline Pilot's Associations lobbying for extended No Fly Zones around UK airports. The reason they are doing this, is because drones are still being seen near Airports! See this thread ... U.K. Airports are Testing Drone Detection Technology NOW - Here's How Many Drones They've Found ... Which shows us that along with all the fallout from the Gatwick incident in the last weeks, four 'other' major airports in the UK were scanned for 148 days, and there were 285 drone incursions detected in that time ... This activity coupled with YouTube videos and forum Posts - means that 'helpful' suggestions as to how we can continue to fly NFZ's by rolling back and even hacking firmware, will just illustrate how irresponsible and rebellious Drone operators are - and give ammunition to why Drones should be banned!
Add a few additional words to your statement above @Rhinodron ...

"I recommend rolling back the firmware before you get stuck. Its so nice not having to be bothered by it. And as of right now the no fly database is stored on the drone so you can also wipe that back to an empty file, and if your controller has internet it will show the current no fly zones but nothing will happen to the drone's ability to fly there. ... until we are all banned and nobody can fly anywhere!"

Ok I live in the USA I have no idea what the laws are over there.

But I have written permission from the FAA before the low altitude approval system was in place to fly within 5 miles of an airport at a certain altitude. Should DJI lock the hobby person out from this area yes? But if I have a part 107 license my drone should be unlocked.

My next drone will be home built with open source software so I don't have to deal with DJI being a nanny since I took the time to get the license and education and use it for commercial purposes.

Last I checked hobby rules for drone had to follow the same rules as the model aircraft association guide, which no one follows and would basically limit drones to RC airparks which many cities have. I have seen plenty of stupid "hobby" users flying around at the local mall or over large gatherings of people, both day and night. They are also an issue in the nice part of town invading peoples privacy in nice homes. Personally, I wouldn't care of hobby drones got banned within city limits.

Don't try and make me look like a rule breaker or some rebel, I just want to use the product I paid for in an area that I 100% can fly in and in. I wouldn't care if DJI aeroscope broadcast my name or phone number since I wouldn't be doing anything illegal.

 

[sar104]

Ok I live in the USA I have no idea what the laws are over there.

But I have written permission from the FAA before the low altitude approval system was in place to fly within 5 miles of an airport at a certain altitude. Should DJI lock the hobby person out from this area yes? But if I have a part 107 license my drone should be unlocked.

You mean you have an FAA waiver to fly in specific controlled airspace - yes? If so then it's good until it expires. Why do you think you will be locked out?

Last I checked hobby rules for drone had to follow the same rules as the model aircraft association guide, which no one follows and would basically limit drones to RC airparks which many cities have.

No, that's not correct at all. You need to review the current Section 336/Part 101, the AMA Safety Handbook, and the new FAA Authorization Act of 2018 Section 349 (for the future rules). None of them say anything like that.

 

[crlmjohnson]

I recommend rolling back the firmware before you get stuck. Its so nice not having to be bothered by it. And as of right now the no fly database is stored on the drone so you can also wipe that back to an empty file, and if your controller has internet it will show the current no fly zones but nothing will happen to the drone's ability to fly there.

how do you wipe the database?

 

[crlmjohnson]

Unfortunately we are now seeing that there are a lot of authorities testing anti-drone tech' and Airline Pilot's Associations lobbying for extended No Fly Zones around UK airports. The reason they are doing this, is because drones are still being seen near Airports! See this thread ... U.K. Airports are Testing Drone Detection Technology NOW - Here's How Many Drones They've Found ... Which shows us that along with all the fallout from the Gatwick incident in the last weeks, four 'other' major airports in the UK were scanned for 148 days, and there were 285 drone incursions detected in that time ... This activity coupled with YouTube videos and forum Posts - means that 'helpful' suggestions as to how we can continue to fly NFZ's by rolling back and even hacking firmware, will just illustrate how irresponsible and rebellious Drone operators are - and give ammunition to why Drones should be banned!
Add a few additional words to your statement above @Rhinodron ...

"I recommend rolling back the firmware before you get stuck. Its so nice not having to be bothered by it. And as of right now the no fly database is stored on the drone so you can also wipe that back to an empty file, and if your controller has internet it will show the current no fly zones but nothing will happen to the drone's ability to fly there. ... until we are all banned and nobody can fly anywhere!"

how you you clear the local database?

 

[rmb]

So there's my deal. I too am a 107 pilot and I am fiercely committed to the rules. And I do spend time researching the area that I am going to be flying in. That said on two occasions I check with 3 different apps for possible NFZs including the FAA’s Be4ufly app and all was cool. I then drive 2 hours into the Adirondacks and once I got there DJI was convicted that I could not fly (I found out later that there was once a seaplane base there, but no longer) anyway I had no cell service and was unable to fly and I believe lost a client. Anyway I know this is a rare occasion, but as others here have suggested, there should be a way for 107 pilots to only have to acknowledge a warning that could be sent later for the record, but ultimately put the onus on the pilot

 

[crlmjohnson]

I am also a Part 107 pilot. I spend a lot time learning the maps, and spend a lot of money on classes and studying for the exam. I am also a little distrube about the NFZ on my DJI drone. I do own another Drone that does not use the NFZ that I can used.

I also a software and Network engineer. i really do think that DJI should update their software so that the Part 107 Pilots can enter their license numbers and fly in NFZ without any issues.

 

[crlmjohnson]

That way their differentiate between the hobbyist and the Part 107 pilots.

 

[crlmjohnson]

I also believe in following the rules that why I studied and took the test so that I could fly my drones, I wanted to know what the rules are/where, so that I could fly legally and not get into any trouble, and to fly safe.

 

[Canuk]

I have never paid any attention to any of the threads about No fly zones as I don’t fly near any or so I thought . Now all of a sudden I am being warned and have to agree to accept responsibility for flying near a airport. Lmao . This is about a grass airstrip in my small town that was decommissioned over 10 years ago . Heck a plane couldn’t land as the old strip has not being mowed in years and the staging spot where planes parked before now has shops built there . But I must go and agree for flying near this strip as a ghost plane might be in danger . Talk about outdated info they are using .
I have a couple of NFZ apps and they don’t show my old airstrip but yet dji does .
Strange as the old strip was closed before dji was even born . Haha

 

[rmb]

I have never paid any attention to any of the threads about No fly zones as I don’t fly near any or so I thought . Now all of a sudden I am being warned and have to agree to accept responsibility for flying near a airport. Lmao . This is about a grass airstrip in my small town that was decommissioned over 10 years ago . Heck a plane couldn’t land as the old strip has not being mowed in years and the staging spot where planes parked before now has shops built there . But I must go and agree for flying near this strip as a ghost plane might be in danger . Talk about outdated info they are using .

Yeah. My point exactly Canuk. I really don't mind and in fact, appreciate the heads up, but grounding me based on info that may or may not be accurate is a bummer and really needs to be addressed ASAP.

 

[sar104]

I have never paid any attention to any of the threads about No fly zones as I don’t fly near any or so I thought . Now all of a sudden I am being warned and have to agree to accept responsibility for flying near a airport. Lmao . This is about a grass airstrip in my small town that was decommissioned over 10 years ago . Heck a plane couldn’t land as the old strip has not being mowed in years and the staging spot where planes parked before now has shops built there . But I must go and agree for flying near this strip as a ghost plane might be in danger . Talk about outdated info they are using .
I have a couple of NFZ apps and they don’t show my old airstrip but yet dji does .
Strange as the old strip was closed before dji was even born . Haha

Report it to [email protected]. These kinds of database errors are not going to fix themselves.

 

[Canuk]

I was shocked that the new update could have such outdated info . This day and age one would think that things could be up to date .
In the mean time I will sleep with one eye open in case a ghost plane needs to make a emergency landing on a closed strip .

 

[old man mavic]

Unfortunately we are now seeing that there are a lot of authorities testing anti-drone tech' and Airline Pilot's Associations lobbying for extended No Fly Zones around UK airports. The reason they are doing this, is because drones are still being seen near Airports! See this thread ... U.K. Airports are Testing Drone Detection Technology NOW - Here's How Many Drones They've Found ... Which shows us that along with all the fallout from the Gatwick incident in the last weeks, four 'other' major airports in the UK were scanned for 148 days, and there were 285 drone incursions detected in that time ... This activity coupled with YouTube videos and forum Posts - means that 'helpful' suggestions as to how we can continue to fly NFZ's by rolling back and even hacking firmware, will just illustrate how irresponsible and rebellious Drone operators are - and give ammunition to why Drones should be banned!
Add a few additional words to your statement above @Rhinodron ...

"I recommend rolling back the firmware before you get stuck. Its so nice not having to be bothered by it. And as of right now the no fly database is stored on the drone so you can also wipe that back to an empty file, and if your controller has internet it will show the current no fly zones but nothing will happen to the drone's ability to fly there. ... until we are all banned and nobody can fly anywhere!"

well said FoxhallGH

 

[DanMan32]

I'm glad that 107 pilots do their research to verify it is safe to fly where they intend to.
Add to your study/planning to check the map in the Go app or on flysafe.dji.com before you fly or go to the site that might not have internet so you can unlock ahead of time.

 

[crlmjohnson]

When I looked at DJI website about the new firmware update, it seem like they did a generic update. i do think they did any really

I was shocked that the new update could have such outdated info . This day and age one would think that things could be up to date .
In the mean time I will sleep with one eye open in case a ghost plane needs to make a emergency landing on a closed strip .

so true!!

 

[Rhinodron]

how do you wipe the database?

Youtube on how to roll back and defeat it. there is a tool dumldor to roll back firmware, erasing the NFZ was a tad harder. I apologize am not able to provide step by step, one thing I learned quickly is you have to roll back one firmware edition at a time.

 

[Rhinodron]

You mean you have an FAA waiver to fly in specific controlled airspace - yes? If so then it's good until it expires. Why do you think you will be locked out?



No, that's not correct at all. You need to review the current Section 336/Part 101, the AMA Safety Handbook, and the new FAA Authorization Act of 2018 Section 349 (for the future rules). None of them say anything like that.

Why do I think? Its more like why do I know I am locked out? I updated the NFZ database with a drone update and suddenly was locked out like every consumer. The issue comes down to DJI not differentiating commercial vs hobby. I have no rolled back and am able to fly from home, which is slightly up in the mountains over 5 miles from a local airport buy yet I am "under the glide scope" which is 100% is not correct and I am beyond the arrival flight path since I am also earning my PPL at this airport.

Have you read the AMA safety handbook? A lot of cities also have laws on the books governing model aircraft which now apply to drones thanks to idiots. So in my city base don the local laws and AMA, you would be limited to the local model aircraft park, flying visual line of sight. Meaning if you live in a suburban area like many do you can't just fire it up in your backyard and fly over your neighbors like so many do.

 

[sar104]

Why do I think? Its more like why do I know I am locked out? I updated the NFZ database with a drone update and suddenly was locked out like every consumer. The issue comes down to DJI not differentiating commercial vs hobby. I have no rolled back and am able to fly from home, which is slightly up in the mountains over 5 miles from a local airport buy yet I am "under the glide scope" which is 100% is not correct and I am beyond the arrival flight path since I am also earning my PPL at this airport.

If it's controlled airspace and you have a Part 107 waiver then use the online unlocking system. If that's what you meant, which is what I was trying to verify.

Have you read the AMA safety handbook? A lot of cities also have laws on the books governing model aircraft which now apply to drones thanks to idiots. So in my city base don the local laws and AMA, you would be limited to the local model aircraft park, flying visual line of sight. Meaning if you live in a suburban area like many do you can't just fire it up in your backyard and fly over your neighbors like so many do.

Of course I've read it - that's why I referenced it. And it doesn't say what you said it does:

"Last I checked hobby rules for drone had to follow the same rules as the model aircraft association guide, which no one follows and would basically limit drones to RC airparks which many cities have."​

There is nothing in it about only flying at specific model aircraft parks. Local laws are a different issue - nothing to do with the FAA, AMA or DJI, and they are not in the GEO system.