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NFZ No fly zone on DJI Controller - Drone will not connect - NEED HELP.

SwampFox

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Attached is a photo of my two tobacco barns. I went to inspect the top vents and roof on these two barns with my Mavic 2 Zoom. Everything started and connected OK, HOWEVER, On the screen it displayed NFZ, connection failed.
According to the sectional chars for my area south of Fort Campbell's Sabre Heliport, the barns are at least one mile outside the NFZ zone.

I really don't want to hire a roofing company to bring out ladders so I can access the top of these barns and
currently, we have tobacco "firing" in the barn (curing it with smoldering sawdust) and the roof is too hot for anyone to walk on until after the tobacco is properly cured. I need to see if there is a problem with the roof vents to avoid overheating the barn in which case it could burn down. We lost a barn last year because of fire. I really need to get this done now and
would like to use the drone.
QUESTION: Is there anyway I can over ride the NFZ and fly the drone to about 50-100 ft for this inspection?
Tobacco Barns.jpg
 
I ran into this for the first time today. The info you need is on the Fly Safe page at DJI:


I didn't try this today (went elsewhere to fly), but it looks like you can do everything at the website.
 
Attached is a photo of my two tobacco barns. I went to inspect the top vents and roof on these two barns with my Mavic 2 Zoom. Everything started and connected OK, HOWEVER, On the screen it displayed NFZ, connection failed.
According to the sectional chars for my area south of Fort Campbell's Sabre Heliport, the barns are at least one mile outside the NFZ zone.

I really don't want to hire a roofing company to bring out ladders so I can access the top of these barns and
currently, we have tobacco "firing" in the barn (curing it with smoldering sawdust) and the roof is too hot for anyone to walk on until after the tobacco is properly cured. I need to see if there is a problem with the roof vents to avoid overheating the barn in which case it could burn down. We lost a barn last year because of fire. I really need to get this done now and
would like to use the drone.
QUESTION: Is there anyway I can over ride the NFZ and fly the drone to about 50-100 ft for this inspection?
View attachment 83887
I have never asked DJI for clearance. I have worked through FAA, they can grant you 2 years clearance in a defined location... (I have one for a 4 square mile area which includes part of a NFZ for an airport) ... and I use AirMap most of the time and if the airport is using LAANC it’s almost instant clearance... if the area is not in controlled airspace AirMap will tell you so and you’ll be good to go. Just as FYI, I fly my M2P with a CS, but get all my clearances on my phone... which does not function as a controller for my drone.
So you should be able to fly, even if at limited altitude, without involving DJI.
 
QUESTION: Is there anyway I can over ride the NFZ and fly the drone to about 50-100 ft for this inspection?
You are saying the drone doesn't connect? That would have nothing to do with a NFZ.
Being in a NFZ doesn't prevent the drone from connecting to the controller. You just can't start the motors.

You cannot override a red NFZ zone without hacking. But you may be in a blue authorization zone?
It's easy to tell - the map shows if you are in red or blue.
This is provided you cached the map or your device has internet connection. But you can look that up at home on your computer as well:
DJI - Flysafe/GeoMap

There are more details here:
https://mavicpilots.com/threads/help-with-nfz.74691/post-844157
 
Last edited:
Have someone with a Autel Evo to come fly over your barns for you...If I was close to ya I would ........Good luck this is why I fly Autel now.....
 
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I have never asked DJI for clearance. I have worked through FAA, they can grant you 2 years clearance in a defined location... (I have one for a 4 square mile area which includes part of a NFZ for an airport) ... and I use AirMap most of the time and if the airport is using LAANC it’s almost instant clearance... if the area is not in controlled airspace AirMap will tell you so and you’ll be good to go. Just as FYI, I fly my M2P with a CS, but get all my clearances on my phone... which does not function as a controller for my drone.
So you should be able to fly, even if at limited altitude, without involving DJI.
What is a CS? Maybe I need to use one when I fly.
 
I have never asked DJI for clearance. I have worked through FAA, they can grant you 2 years clearance in a defined location... (I have one for a 4 square mile area which includes part of a NFZ for an airport) ... and I use AirMap most of the time and if the airport is using LAANC it’s almost instant clearance... if the area is not in controlled airspace AirMap will tell you so and you’ll be good to go. Just as FYI, I fly my M2P with a CS, but get all my clearances on my phone... which does not function as a controller for my drone.
So you should be able to fly, even if at limited altitude, without involving DJI.
Do I get the FAA clearance for my farm thru AirMap, or some other place? This is great info, want to use the drone for tracking our cattle too, sometimes one is missing and we have to cover 300+ acres by foot to find it. Of course our English Shepard dogs love the walk but my 69 year old legs not so much.
 
SwampFox said:
What is it about the Autel Evo that would allow it to fly vs. the DJI Mavic?

@Teddy warrick replied:
There are no flight restrictions with Autels software....
Just annoying on screen messages that you cannot turn off, blocking your FPV, warning you that their outdated database says you shouldn't be flying there! At least the DJI authorizations clear the screen for a clear view! However, you can still take off and fly, and see most of the camera view.
 
CS (Crystal Sky) or SC (Smart Controller)? There's a significant difference between the two. Former is a specialized Android tablet you use with a standard RC, the latter is a tablet with built-in RC.

If you're in an unlockable NFZ, try starting motors anyway with CSC. You'll get prompted with steps to unlock. You need to provide the app with internet to do it though.

Incidentally, if app shows "not ready to fly" foe too long, try starting motors with CSC. It will then provide more details why it isn't ready.
 
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I have never asked DJI for clearance. I have worked through FAA, they can grant you 2 years clearance in a defined location... (I have one for a 4 square mile area which includes part of a NFZ for an airport) ... and I use AirMap most of the time and if the airport is using LAANC it’s almost instant clearance... if the area is not in controlled airspace AirMap will tell you so and you’ll be good to go. Just as FYI, I fly my M2P with a CS, but get all my clearances on my phone... which does not function as a controller for my drone.
So you should be able to fly, even if at limited altitude, without involving DJI.

I just went through this. LAANC Approval is from FAA. But DJI had to release the NFZ lock. You can go to DJI site or use the self unlocking message that pops up on the DJI Go4 app
 
I just went through this. LAANC Approval is from FAA. But DJI had to release the NFZ lock. You can go to DJI site or use the self unlocking message that pops up on the DJI Go4 app
Never seen the message from DJI never asked them for permission. No problems taking off and flying.
 

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