Current draw of the motors while flying or hovering would do it. A heavier drone needs more power.
Is the Mini 5 Pro a sub-250g drone?
- Thread starter mavic3usa
- Start date
True, but the simplest and most accurate solution is to set RID according to the battery type, which is determined directly rather than inferring the weight according to power draw, which varies with air density (elevation) and humidity.
DJI used battery type to set RID on the Mini 4 Pro, and almost certainly on the Mini 5 Pro.
I confirmed empirically that battery type is used to set RID on the Mini 4 Pro last year by running several test cases and observing how RID was triggered - with standard battery, plus battery, and weight attached to the drone with the standard battery to push weight well above 250 grams. .It's an easy experiment to duplicate.
The mini 5 pro is able to fly above 120m but that is the height limit set by Europe and United Kingdom.
The same way the drone determines there is too much wind. Motors working too hard while lifting off.
Yes, Mini 4 Pro RID broadcast is based upon the battery type detected, not the weight per se, although the effect is still the same.
I wasn't meaning to imply that the drone can detect changes of a few grams.
However the User M5P Manual states that no RID will be broadcast with the regular battery.
I was just wondering if there was any additional limitation, were you to add excessive weight for nefarious purposes, where RID might broadcast based upon the excessive weight, or the drone will not allow any additional weight within its "takeoff weight altered" detection range, and will simply immediately land.
Last edited:
Only in the EU. It's a GPS based limitation. Fly it in the U.S. and it's 500m or 1000m depending upon the drone, and the location, but you are still required to stay within 400 feet AGL.
Last edited:
The problem with these regulation is that they are to a large degree ignored by law enforcement authorities as well as users. It is convenient to turn the blind eye. Until an accident happens. Then the whole hell breaks loose. Authorities jump on the extra 2 grams as a clear breach of that 250g regulation!!!! Sky will cave in tomorrow!!! Lawyers and media have a field day and DJI gets crucified once and for all (in US at least). That terrible deliberate act od deception by that deceitful DJI, that Chinese Spy agent!!! Such will be the headlines everywhere. And that will be the end. I mean Armagedon!!!!!
Last edited:
How hard the motors work would deviate based on the altitude of take-off. Yeah, they could probably program altitude into an equation but there'd also be blade deviations and whatnot.
I seriously doubt that DJI would even bother with all that when they could just program in a switch in the battery.
AeroJ
Well-Known Member
1. Doesn't practically matter. Police in field rarely have scales.
2. Regulators trust and enforce class markings as the responsibility of the manufacturer, not the pilot. Even though it is technically the responsibility of pilot to check AUW, it is a reasonable defence to claim you believed the certified manufacturer !
3. Like the weight of the Mini5P, Class 0 has certain tolerance thought of as 'within acceptable limits'. DJI declare that tolerance to be +/- 4 grams, so presumably so do regulators ? Geeksvana took that view in their video earlier today.
4. DJI even provide 3 Class 1 stickers in case yours is over the threshold.
5. Rules not that much harsher even if it is Class 1.
2. Regulators trust and enforce class markings as the responsibility of the manufacturer, not the pilot. Even though it is technically the responsibility of pilot to check AUW, it is a reasonable defence to claim you believed the certified manufacturer !
3. Like the weight of the Mini5P, Class 0 has certain tolerance thought of as 'within acceptable limits'. DJI declare that tolerance to be +/- 4 grams, so presumably so do regulators ? Geeksvana took that view in their video earlier today.
4. DJI even provide 3 Class 1 stickers in case yours is over the threshold.
5. Rules not that much harsher even if it is Class 1.
If people are really worried about flying a drone 2g heavy where are all the tear downs of the battery to discover where some judicious lightening can take place?
Me, I’m going to go with the design weight for certification being 249.9 and only flying the drone with the specified accessories (battery, props, nd filters and sdcard). I’m not even going to use a sticky label for my op ID.
Me, I’m going to go with the design weight for certification being 249.9 and only flying the drone with the specified accessories (battery, props, nd filters and sdcard). I’m not even going to use a sticky label for my op ID.
As long as DJI has certified it as Class 0 and the tolerance DJI has declared is also acceptable for that class by the EU, fine in the EU. Whether the FAA has a similar de minimus tolerance of +4g for 250g remains to be seen, but few scales are accurate to the gram at 250g unless certified for commercial use (or weighing cocaine where every gram counts! LOL! Confucius say man with two watches never knows what time it is. Trial of the dueling scales. Your scale or that of the cop? Like a radar unit, was the cop's scale properly calibrated before his shift? Can he prove the true weight of his calibration weight standard? Reasonable doubt!
Probably much do about nothing. Essentially, though, DJI has officially shifted legal responsibility for the actual weight of each M5P drone onto the pilot, rather than the pilot being able to rely upon DJI's declaration of it as a sub 250g drone.
I see a business opportunity for selling all Mini 5 Pro owners a compact digital drone scale for their kit that is secretly calibrated to weigh 4g under the true weight. It's your get out of jail free card! LOL!
Next, YT videos of exactly how to carefully drill Swiss cheese holes into the batteries, in a liposuction treatment for obese Mini 5 Pro units! LOL!
Just flown my Mini 5 pro while SWMBO had her laptop checking for WiFi broadcasts. She could see the quick transfer broadcast but nothing involving the drone serial number. So I’d say that RID wasn’t triggered with the standard battery.
You’re in the UK. There’s no spec yet for UK RID. Most areas implement it slightly differently.
In the UK, RID won't be broadcast at all, no matter which battery is used. It's GPS based, and should only broadcast where required.
However, we have confirmed that DJI definitely states in the M5P User Manual that there will be no RID broadcasting when using the M5P regular battery.
Although I cannot purchase the MP5 in my country (US), the fact that it could be almost 4 grams heavier than the legal limit is really no concern. 4 grams over 250 grams is only 1.6 %. Although this is not a great analogy, this would be the equivalent of driving 101.6 km/h in a 100 km/h zone. Although this is technically illegal, from a realistic and practical aspect, this would rarely be pursued by law enforcement and governments. As others have pointed out, there would not only be questions about tolerances for the measuring device (scale) but there would be questions about how such a device would be accurately calibrated within that margin.
So would you agree if I took my Mini 3 Pro and I attached a strobe light on it which took the weight to 251g, I shouldn't bother to register it with the FAA? Is that [new] position we're taking on in the drone community?
Except there are significant differences between sub 250g and 250g and over. If over 250g, the drone must broadcast RID. If over 250g, you must also register yourself as a pilot, and put your pilot reg number on the drone.
Each one of those is a separate violation with additional maximum cumulative fines. Those are in addition to any other violations like flying VLOS, flying over people, or flying over a restricted area, or launching from a prohibited area.
You also can no longer defer to DJI for your safe harbor exemptions from both of those requirements when over 249.9 grams, as DJI has told you and everyone else that they cannot guarantee it will weigh less than 250g, and they are no longer putting the sub 250g labeling on the regular battery. It's now your responsibility, if over 250g, to fly with a plus battery to broadcast RID, or attach an external RID module, and to register as a pilot with the FAA, and put that number on the outside of the drone.
So, even though it is at most only 4g over, over is over, and true weight is indisputable with an accurately calibrated scale, unlike vehicle speed. An inquiring officer only needs to point to DJI's own statements, use his drug scale and find it over 250g, and seize the drone as evidence, where the true weight is to be determined later with a more accurate device. Much like a breathalyzer test in the field, to be corroborated by a later blood alcohol test, he can rely upon his scale/measurement device to issue a citation and seize the evidence for later prosecution by the FAA.
The safe alternative is to fly a Mini 4 Pro with the regular battery which is guaranteed by DJI to be under 250g.
It's a personal choice. Those that are risk averse should fly the Mini 4 Pro.
Those choosing to fly a M5P are willingly and knowingly assuming the risk, no matter how small or unlikely, unless they can positively indisputably prove their own M5P with their regular battery is under 250g. Based upon all those who have weighed their M5P, they are outside the weight class, as the drones all appear to be "just a few grams" over, not under. The 2 gram speaker and screws inside is the likely culprit!
Yes, but you no longer are legally exempt from RID broadcasting and FAA pilot registration, if you now launch with the 2g strobe attached, as your takeoff weight (the determining factor) now exceeds the maximum of 250g.
Similar threads
DJI Drone Deals
New Threads
-
DJI Mini 5 Pro Sunrise Hyperlapse – Full Workflow (Planning → Shooting → Post in DaVinci Resolve)
- Started by trisen1981
- Replies: 0
-
3 Wentworth Woodhouse, South Yorkshire, England
- Started by CadrePilot
- Replies: 0
-
-
-
Forum statistics
