Ever have State Police, FBI, and Homeland security show up at your door all at once??? I didn't think so. LOL
Is the Mini 5 Pro a sub-250g drone?
- Thread starter mavic3usa
- Start date
For what? Because you were flying a drone LEGALLY?
I HAVE had the police and FBI show up, though. Wasn't for a legal drone flight.
I flew a couple of hundred feet over the 400ft limit a few times. They wanted to make sure I wasn't engaging in something nefarious. Now I'm on their radar unfortunately so I'm looking to fly without remote ID
anotherlab
Well-Known Member
And you think that flying without RID is going to take you off their "radar"?
So you FAFO'd and now you want to have the ability to FA without them FO?
I see.
Why not just follow the rules or man up and accept the consequences?
Have we don't this one yet?
Canada: Transport Canada SET Branch Newsletter: Issue 3 — October 2025
According to the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs), operating weight means the weight of a remotely piloted aircraft at any point during a flight, including any payload and any safety equipment that is on board or otherwise connected to the aircraft.
In Canada, drones that weigh less than 250 grams are called microdrones. If the operating weight of the drone is 250 grams or more, it isn’t a microdrone. If you wish to operate a drone that weighs 250 grams or more, you must register it and obtain a Pilot Certificate. If you are concerned that your drone might weigh 250 grams or more, you should register it and obtain a Pilot Certificate – Basic Operations or Pilot Certificate – Advanced Operations.
In addition to following Part IX of the CARs, drone pilots are subject to all federal, provincial, territorial and municipal laws that may apply, including with respect to privacy and trespassing.
Canada: Transport Canada SET Branch Newsletter: Issue 3 — October 2025Transport Canada SET Branch Newsletter: Issue 3 — October 2025
Transport Canada SET Branch Newsletter
Table of Contents
- Knowing your drone operating weight
According to the Canadian Aviation Regulations (CARs), operating weight means the weight of a remotely piloted aircraft at any point during a flight, including any payload and any safety equipment that is on board or otherwise connected to the aircraft.
In Canada, drones that weigh less than 250 grams are called microdrones. If the operating weight of the drone is 250 grams or more, it isn’t a microdrone. If you wish to operate a drone that weighs 250 grams or more, you must register it and obtain a Pilot Certificate. If you are concerned that your drone might weigh 250 grams or more, you should register it and obtain a Pilot Certificate – Basic Operations or Pilot Certificate – Advanced Operations.
In addition to following Part IX of the CARs, drone pilots are subject to all federal, provincial, territorial and municipal laws that may apply, including with respect to privacy and trespassing.
None of us do but if we want to play, we need to play by the rules or risk the penalty.
Both are true.
When the manual was written, DJI did not intend to broadcast RID with the standard battery because the total weight was designed to be under 250g.
However, when it became clear, that even with the standard battery that it would be over 250g, they changed their minds and disabled the code that prevented RID broadcasting with the standard battery, but failed to remove that statement from the User Manual.
They could easily create a new FW update at any time to disable RID with the standard battery, consistent with the original User Manual.
However, they chose to instead remove the conflicting sentence from the User Manual.
Problem solved, except many purchasers relied upon the original User Manual and bought what was supposed to be an RID free drone that would not require registration. Now it not only broadcasts RID but also requires registration. Both were material misrepresentations.
DJI's response: "We so sorry."
They could, but they have chosen not to. They simply deleted the conflicting sentence from the User Manual. It no longer states no RID with the standard battery.
anotherlab
Well-Known Member
Drone vendors can not disable RID in the US if they know that the drone would weigh over 250g or over. If they chose not to, they would violate the RID rule imposed by the FAA.
anotherlab
Well-Known Member
I created a thread about Mavic 4 Pro launch challenges but I did not create one for the Mini 5 Pro. We don't need one because the 250gate speaks for itself and it will never be forgotten; no one will ever claim the M5P launch was perfect and flawless. It's probably one of the biggest launch blunders in DJI drone launching history and sadly, DJI is probably thinking about how they can quickly put this behind them. And you may not be happy with their solution.
dronexl.co
DJI Mini 5 Pro's 250-Gram Drone Problem: Inside The Last-Minute Design Changes That Broke The Weight Limit
An industry insider has revealed the specific pre-production decisions that pushed the DJI Mini 5 Pro drone over the critical 250-gram regulatory threshold,
dronexl.co
anotherlab
Well-Known Member
It was a serious production decision failure. Staying below the 250g threshold should have been one of the rules that "shall not be violated".I created a thread about Mavic 4 Pro launch challenges but I did not create one for the Mini 5 Pro. We don't need one because the 250gate speaks for itself and it will never be forgotten; no one will ever claim the M5P launch was perfect and flawless. It's probably one of the biggest launch blunders in DJI drone launching history and sadly, DJI is probably thinking about how they can quickly put this behind them. And you may not be happy with their solution.
DJI Mini 5 Pro's 250-Gram Drone Problem: Inside The Last-Minute Design Changes That Broke The Weight Limit
An industry insider has revealed the specific pre-production decisions that pushed the DJI Mini 5 Pro drone over the critical 250-gram regulatory threshold,
Upgrading the speaker component was an easy one to say no to. No one buys a Mini for the sound fidelity. That functionality could have been in the remote.
How important were the quick-release props? Would people give up 2g from the battery to allow the quick-release props?
They must have made the decision before the moulds were made and then just gave up. When I compare a mini 4 pro and mini 5 pro the 5 contains plastic that isn’t in in the 4. The ventral slots on the 4 are missing on the 5. Internal ribs that are grooved in the 4 are solid in the 5. There are covers on the rear leg hinges and other screw heads hidden on the 5. Yes, I know these don’t weigh a lot individually but they’ll add up and weight saving is an incremental science.
Understood.
However,
1. They pretend not to know, telling us that it is 249g +/- 4g and that we should weigh our individual drone to determine its true weight, and stated that it would not broadcast RID with the standard battery regardless of weight.
2. The drone is not being sold in the U.S., so why are they obligated to broadcast RID on a drone not intended for sale in the U.S.?
3. I strongly suspect that the Mini 5 Pro in the EU does not broadcast RID, based upon the fact that the only version of the User Manual that had the no RID broadcasting statement removed was the English version. All other languages remain the same as on September 15, still stating no RID broadcasting with the Intelligent Flight battery. The Plus battery is not available in the EU anyway. Can anyone confirm my suspicions?
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You are arguing legality, rather than capability. My point was that a simple FW update could have made the drone consistent with the original User Manual, such that it would not broadcast RID with the standard battery. Surely, that was their original intent, until the drone got too fat!
Finally, the truth comes out about "the rest of the story!"DJI Mini 5 Pro's 250-Gram Drone Problem: Inside The Last-Minute Design Changes That Broke The Weight Limit
An industry insider has revealed the specific pre-production decisions that pushed the DJI Mini 5 Pro drone over the critical 250-gram regulatory threshold,
An upgraded speaker and snap-on props that added 4g of fat to the 249g drone.
I would happily trade both for a true 249g Mini 5 Pro that did not broadcast RID!
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