Mini 3 Pro Flight During Dodgers Game TFR

[GadgetGuy]

But on the flip side, it does mean that the Mini 3 Pro is elgible to be used for 107 ops if a 107 certified pilot wants to use a Mini 3 Pro without any additional hassle or expense. Also I'm wondering if the wording of the FAA rule didn't specify weight when it came to manufacturing/production.

Indeed. However, it should be a user controlled RID broadcast on all sub 250g drones, which are supposed to otherwise be exempt. As long as that were the case, that would be appropriate. however, no indication from DJI that the user/pilot has any control over the broadcasting of RID on the Mini 3 Pro, once the FW is updated to the latest FW which installs and activates RID. I believe weight was specified, based upon the above citations and quotes.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Part of the problem with the Mini 3 is that it can be under or over 250 g, depending on the battery (not counting any extra accessories). If 250 g is a legal bright line that can be crossed simply by changing the battery, I can see the manufacturer opting for the (legally) safe approach of assuming use of a plus battery in complying with any regulations.

(Assuming the drone knows which battery it has installed, code could easily adjust its behaviour accordingly, but at the risk of a bug leading to non-compliance. Safer to have a behaviour 'always on'.)

Yes, but that doesn't explain why DJI chose to do this a full year before it is mandated in the U.S., on this particular drone, which is sold as being exempt as a sub 250g drone, that was flagrantly used just two weeks ago in a PR nightmare for DJI on national television in prime time during a baseball playoff game. This was clearly preemptively reactive by DJI, IMHO!

 

[GadgetGuy]

No, we are discussing RID. ALL newly manufactured drones have RID.
Loudthunder, I just left out the date. Yes, at this time, none are broadcasting in the U.S. that I know of.

This is not a thread about RID! You are hijacking my thread with your RID discussion! If you want to discuss RID, then start your own thread about RID, but please stay on topic in this one.

This is my thread and the topic is specifically about the Mini 3 Pro, TFR's and Aeroscope. I never even mentioned RID in the topic first post! The only relevance of RID now is DJI's installing RID in the latest Mini 3 Pro FW, after this Incident!

There is no currently planned or future RID requirement for sub 250g drones, such as the Mini 3 Pro, when flown recreationally, outside of Part 107 operations. Period.

 

[GadgetGuy]

I did not know that DJI tried to update and distribute TFRs. They are so transitory that DJI could never keep current. I just checked the FlySafe map for Washington DC and there are two TFRs for football games posted in SkyVector, but none in FlySafe. I also check my home turf and there is a TFR posted for a football game in Norfolk, VA; but again, nothing in FlySafe.

I can tell you from personal experience that DJI does try to track, update and distribute TFR's, but is unable to do so when the TFR is imposed after the last internet login of the app, as could be the case with the DJI RC, and when the location of the playoff game was unknown a week earlier, unlike regularly scheduled seasonal games, that are known months ahead of time. When a smartphone is used as the device, the TFR's can be checked upon starting up of the app. When the President was in town on a scheduled visit, TFR's were were loaded into the app a week beforehand for the planned duration of his visit, and stayed in place until the planned end of the TFR, even though the President left 2 hours early.

 

[GadgetGuy]

No, we are discussing RID. ALL newly manufactured drones have RID.
Loudthunder, I just left out the date. Yes, at this time, none are broadcasting in the U.S. that I know of.

Not true! RID is not the topic of this thread, nor is your statement about RID accurate! Please start your own thread, if you want to have a discussion about RID!

 

[LoudThunder]

I can tell you from personal experience that DJI does try to track, update and distribute TFR's,

Your personal experience is much different from mine. Right now, there are 4-TFRs, active now, active in a few hours, and active tomorrow for VIP visits and sporting events and none show up in the DJI flySafe database... Enough folk complain that the FlySafe App is inaccurate that I do not trust it for anything significant.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Your personal experience is much different from mine. Right now, there are 4-TFRs, active now, active in a few hours, and active tomorrow for VIP visits and sporting events and none show up in the DJI flySafe database... Enough folk complain that the FlySafe App is inaccurate that I do not trust it for anything significant.

View attachment 156506

I certainly wouldn't trust FlySafe either! However, they try. It's probably better than nothing, and likely only picks up those known far enough in advance to be promulgated. It is definitely still the pilot's responsibility to check NOTAM for all TFR's before flight.

 

[GadgetGuy]

All of my suspicions about how this nefarious flight was possible during a TFR were independently discussed in a YT podcast 3 days after I posed the same questions here. They came to the exact same conclusions that I did. Great minds think alike!

1. No Aeroscope
2. TFR avoided because of using the DJ RC with the Mini 3 Pro instead of a phone as the device, so no TFR update
3. Pilot must have been flying from above the walls of the stadium with clear LOS (lots of high rise buildings nearby overlook the stadium)
4..Remote ID is the solution and would have immediately located the pilot
5. This was very bad PR for DJI
6. DJI would likely react by installing Remote ID immediately, which they did!

See for yourself.

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[Bob in Savannah]

There should be an IQ test or something required to purchase a drone.
Maybe that would weed out the tards..?

 

[GadgetGuy]

There should be an IQ test or something required to purchase a drone.
Maybe that would weed out the tards..?

I doubt this was a "tard" mistake. Had to be intentional, by someone that knew what they were doing, and took advantage of a few loopholes in DJI's GEO.

 

[Bob in Savannah]

I doubt this was a "tard" mistake. Had to be intentional, by someone that knew what they were doing, and took advantage of a few loopholes in DJI's GEO.

You're probably right. I just hate people like this, though. grr..

 

[GadgetGuy]

You're probably right. I just hate people like this, though. grr..

Me, too! I believe it is the reason DJI immediately unnecessarily activated RID on every Mini 3 Pro within 2 weeks of the incident, a full year early, with a FW update that cannot be rolled back, to save face, after this embarrassing incident, even though all drones under 250g used recreationally are completely exempt from all the future Remote ID requirements, and no one in the United States, no matter what drone they are flying, even commercially, is required to be broadcasting Remote ID until October 23, 2023! Punish every Mini 3 Pro pilot in the country for the bad deeds of a single pilot!

 

[Robert Prior]

no one in the United States, no matter what drone they are flying, even commercially, is required to be broadcasting Remote ID until October 23, 2023

If you are in another country, does this update also start broadcasting a remote ID for your drone? Or does it limit that to Americans?

 

[rcanboy27]

Regarding "which requires no pilot registration", that's actually irrelevant. The moment you start acting in a manner not covered under recreational flight guidelines, you are then being classified under Part 107, which does require that the drone regardless of weight class is registered, which then would also add on possible charges such as operating without a part 107 certificate (and it just snowballs down from there).

I agree, they were in the wrong from the get-go!!!

 

[dirkclod]

Not true! RID is not the topic of this thread, nor is your statement about RID accurate! Please start your own thread, if you want to have a discussion about RID!

He’s right so please stay on the original topic or don’t post.
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