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KEY TIPS For Big City Drone Flying | DJI Mavic 2 (ZOOM & PRO)

I wanted to do a Mavic flight in Atlanta (Glenwood area) this week for a realtor. After parking I saw two city cops on the corner near my intended flight path. Since they were sticking around, I walked over and introduced myself, showed them my GA driver's license and FAA certification, and explained what I had planned. I told them I would obey all FAA rules, and showed them the quad.

They had no problem, but asked me to check with some woman approaching on the sidewalk - turns out she was the on-site boss for a movie shoot. She asked a few questions (route, flight time, size of drone). As luck would have it, she also owned a Mavic too and said "No problem."

I walked the flight path to locate power lines and other obstructions and had a successful flight.

(Tried attaching a 21 MB .mov sample, but MavicPilots wouldn't allow it)
 
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I wanted to do a Mavic flight in Atlanta (Glenwood area) this week for a realtor. After parking I saw two city cops on the corner near my intended flight path. Since they were sticking around, I walked over and introduced myself, showed them my GA driver's license and FAA certification, and explained what I had planned. I told them I would obey all FAA rules, and showed them the quad.

They had no problem, but asked me to check with some woman approaching on the sidewalk - turns out she was the on-site boss for a movie shoot. She asked a few questions (route, flight time, size of drone). As luck would have it, she also owned a Mavic too and said "No problem."

I walked the flight path to locate power lines and other obstructions and had a successful flight.

(Tried attaching a 21 MB .mov sample, but MavicPilots wouldn't allow it)
@MavicBob ...This forum server won’t accept the file from you. Upload it to YouTube, make it public, copy the link YT gives you and paste it directly in your post (not as an attachment). That will give a preview pic that will play when the arrow is clicked.
Hope this helps.
 
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I wanted to do a Mavic flight in Atlanta (Glenwood area) this week for a realtor. After parking I saw two city cops on the corner near my intended flight path. Since they were sticking around, I walked over and introduced myself, showed them my GA driver's license and FAA certification, and explained what I had planned. I told them I would obey all FAA rules, and showed them the quad.

They had no problem, but asked me to check with some woman approaching on the sidewalk - turns out she was the on-site boss for a movie shoot. She asked a few questions (route, flight time, size of drone). As luck would have it, she also owned a Mavic too and said "No problem."

I walked the flight path to locate power lines and other obstructions and had a successful flight.

(Tried attaching a 21 MB .mov sample, but MavicPilots wouldn't allow it)
[/QUOTE

Absolutely the right approach, leading several more people with a positive view of professional drone pilots. Thanks for that.
 
Need a bit of advice. I own an adventure company in Arizona. These last couple years I've aged out of the climbing and rock climbing. Have a DJI Mavic Air and a Part 107and now offering drone pics and video to climbing guests and groups. I want to upgrade to a DJI Mavic Pro 2 or a DJI Zoom for 2 reasons. One the Mavic Air sounds like a lawn mower. Looking for a less noisy drone but would like to get pics of guest up close. Im thinking the zoom. Thoughts?
Thought about getting some master airscrew stealth props for your air? They bring the noise down to an MP2 level.
 
Guests up close, non-OEM props. What could possibly go wrong?
 
Guests up close, non-OEM props. What could possibly go wrong?

Not all companies have the same ethos as Alibaba! Some companies actually have an R&D department. Master Airscrew have been making props for years now and are very well respected. More importantly they stopped my Air sounding like an angry swarm of wasps and added a minute of flight time!
 
I think the points here are that (a) “close up” is not an option, even Part 107 and DJI have safety limits; and (b) if something were to go wrong and non-OEM props are being used, all warranties and insurance will be invalid, or at the very least, impossibly difficult to deal with.
 
Sir Ajkm, does it specifically say on DJI’s site or in their paperwork that the warranty will be void if you use non oem propellers? That’s like saying if I use non oem parts or tires on my car And I get in a wreck my insurance company won’t honor the claim.

to the point of this thread. I fly in my city almost daily. Im 5 miles from the airport. I request to fly from laanc using Kittyhawk. I fly over homes streets with traffic and my neighbors on the street. My height above ground level is restricted to100 feet. The city doesn’t have any restrictions. I’ve had the cops roll up on me before. They know they can’t do anything and just want to talk. I’ve always been respectful to them shown them the m2z, asked if they want to see it fly or try it. They always say we’ve had a complaint and you need to be careful. I don’t do stupid things like hover above people homes, dive bomb pets, or photograph the peeps in the pool next door. We are all entitled to use the airspace in the city. The city regulations are #1. Then the faa. For instance in Morro Bay Ca you cant fly drones in the marina area. There are restrictions due to sea otters and the marine sanctuary. So you can’t fly around the rock anymore. But Kittyhawk will give you the ok to fly.
 
Sir Ajkm, does it specifically say on DJI’s site or in their paperwork that the warranty will be void if you use non oem propellers? That’s like saying if I use non oem parts or tires on my car And I get in a wreck my insurance company won’t honor the claim.

to the point of this thread. I fly in my city almost daily. Im 5 miles from the airport. I request to fly from laanc using Kittyhawk. I fly over homes streets with traffic and my neighbors on the street. My height above ground level is restricted to100 feet. The city doesn’t have any restrictions. I’ve had the cops roll up on me before. They know they can’t do anything and just want to talk. I’ve always been respectful to them shown them the m2z, asked if they want to see it fly or try it. They always say we’ve had a complaint and you need to be careful. I don’t do stupid things like hover above people homes, dive bomb pets, or photograph the peeps in the pool next door. We are all entitled to use the airspace in the city. The city regulations are #1. Then the faa. For instance in Morro Bay Ca you cant fly drones in the marina area. There are restrictions due to sea otters and the marine sanctuary. So you can’t fly around the rock anymore. But Kittyhawk will give you the ok to fly.
While I respect your consideration in the last part of your post, remember that FAA is the controlling body from ground (or territorial waters) up. Sanctuaries, wilderness areas, etc do have different regs.
Apparently FAA and LAANC don’t agree with whoever made the regulation about the location you mention. Have you checked it on an official aeronautical chart?
 
No I haven’t. But the city’s website specifically says no drones around the rock or in the marina. LAANC gives you the all clear to fly. So it’s just those specific areas in Morro Bay. I’m sure you could request a permit from the city. But I’m not a 107 guy. Strictly recreational. In Burbank it’s different. They let you fly VLOS. But LAANC won’t give you authorization in most parts of the city because of the airport.
 
No I haven’t. But the city’s website specifically says no drones around the rock or in the marina. LAANC gives you the all clear to fly. So it’s just those specific areas in Morro Bay. I’m sure you could request a permit from the city. But I’m not a 107 guy. Strictly recreational. In Burbank it’s different. They let you fly VLOS. But LAANC won’t give you authorization in most parts of the city because of the airport.
Understand the dilemma... it’s what happens when entities other than FAA try to make regulations that are actually in the jurisdiction of FAA, which is from ground (or water) upward.
That said, if you fly when the local government says you can’t they will prosecute you if caught, and likely add other infractions to the citation which they can enforce. I would rely on LAANC, but make final decision based on the aforementioned.
 
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