Mavic Air 2s question

[Paint Rock Drones]

Yes, I did that, I got zone approval thru DJI zone for my area for 3 days. I imported the unlock.

It sounds like you did everything right. That's why in my earlier response I suggested you reach out to DJI support. Mavic Air 2 - Product Support - DJI, and look at the bottom for contact options.

 

[Dennisg]

Yes, I did that, I got zone approval thru DJI zone for my area for 3 days. I imported the unlock.

I called the FAA drone zone and left as message. They called back hrs later. He said DJI does not work well with laanc. He says they have a self imposed wall around airports. Se sounded like he did not like DJI. Hmmm. Maybe I have to switch brands.

 

[Dennisg]

Yes, I did that, I got zone approval thru DJI zone for my area for 3 days. I imported the unlock.

I called the FAA drone zone and left as message. They called back hrs later. He said DJI does not work well with laanc. He says they have a self imposed wall around airports. Se sounded like he did not like DJI. Hmmm. Maybe I have to switch brands

 

[Dennisg]

You have to view clearance and locking independently.

Aloft gets you clearance from the FAA. It is actually not related to the drone; once you get that clearance you can legally fly whatever drone you want as specified in that clearance. You can see the area covered by your LAANC clearance in the Aloft app, but that is not related to whether or not your DJI drone will fly in that area.

Unlocking is a DJI specific thing. You use the DJI website to request the "license" to unlock a specific drone in a specific zone. And you need to load the license (using settings in DJI Fly) into the specific drone you are flying.

Does that help?

I called the FAA drone zone and left as message. They called back hrs later. He said DJI does not work well with laanc. He says they have a self imposed wall around airports. Se sounded like he did not like DJI. Hmmm. Maybe I have to switch brands

 

[Paint Rock Drones]

I think you (and apparently the person at the FAA) are still mis-understanding. DJI does not need to work with LAANC.

ALOFT/LAANC gets you legal clearance from the FAA, so that you don't get into trouble when you fly in controlled airspace. That part is working fine for you.

DJI, independently, has placed locked zones where they believe there are restrictions. Their idea is to protect you from accidentally operating in controlled or restricted airspace without clearance. Sometimes they are wrong. But your problem is with the DJI unlocking process. It has nothing to do with LAANC, or the FAA, other than sometimes DJI wants you to prove to them that you have clearance. You need to contact DJI support to ask them why your zone unlock license is not working.

 

[Paint Rock Drones]

I have one other suggestion. Since this is your first try at unlocking, perhaps find a location further from the airport, say in a 300 or 400:foot zone. Make sure your unlock license is still valid, and get a LAANC clearance for the new time and location. If that lets you fly then you know you are following the procedure correctly, and can confirm to DJI that the problem at your current location is their issue.

 

[Dennisg]

I have one other suggestion. Since this is your first try at unlocking, perhaps find a location further from the airport, say in a 300 or 400:foot zone. Make sure your unlock license is still valid, and get a LAANC clearance for the new time and location. If that lets you fly then you know you are following the procedure correctly, and can confirm to DJI that the problem at your current location is their issue.

Thanks, I'll try going out to 300 ft and see what happens

 

[Dennisg]

Thanks, I'll try going out to 300 ft and see what happens

Today I unlocked using aloft. Then the email I got from them with approval, I changed to PDF. Then I unlocked a zone using DJI. I got an email from DJI saying denied. Said I need to use custom unlocking. So I resubmitted using custom unlock at DJI. Now it works. It's a start. Laanc works easy. But DJI makes it difficult.