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Restricted airspace

brutus51

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Went to my fathers house today which is approx. 2 or 3 miles from Ohare airport and my DJI fly software would give me an " Restricted Airspace" notice and turn off.
Tried it a whole bunch of times always with the same result. Is this normal? Just wanted to take some pictures of his garden and house. :(
Was trying to fly an Air 2S if that matters.
 
Went to my fathers house today which is approx. 2 or 3 miles from Ohare airport and my DJI fly software would give me an " Restricted Airspace" notice and turn off.
Tried it a whole bunch of times always with the same result. Is this normal? Just wanted to take some pictures of his garden and house. :(
Was trying to fly an Air 2S if that matters.
Two things:

  • Check with a LAANC provider to see what altitude is legal for you to fly at that location. If it is legal, obtain authorization.
  • Check with "Fly Safe" to see if the the area you want to fly in is geo-fenced (it is based on your description). Unlock the area using either DJI's Fly Safe web site or directly using the DJI Fly app.
You would have seen LAANC mentioned in the TRUST test you took when becoming compliant with recreational drone regulations.
 
You can also check B4UFly.com to understand what you can do/not do at your location.
 
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Sounds to me like you haven't taken the TRUST yet. If you had, you would understand airspace and its restrictions.

Also, get familiar with DJI's GEO Fence system. That was what was keeping you on the ground.


TRUST: FAA TRUST Online Portal for Recreational Drone Operators - Pilot Institute
 
Welcome to the horrible world of Geo Fencing brought to you by your friends at DJI. I agree with everyone - take the test learn some things. I also fly very close to Ohare alot (like I shoot across the street at the Hyatt constantly). Now heres what your gonna love - at that location no problem nothing needed it just gets up and goes (MP2). I need to mention I am shooting live events so the drone rarely goes over 200 feet and 85% of the time is hovering between 12 and 40 feet). If you have the regular RC that attaches to your phone you should get a prompt warning you - you hit 3 check boxes and your free (Dont be stupid). Now if you have the extra expensive screen built in RC you almost need to get permission from DJI to Fly via the website. You login to their website tell them when your going to be flying etc etc and they send a code to your RC to allow you to fly for a limited time. I live near another Airport (DuPage) and DJI was able to permantley unlock that geo zone for me. But if I go one block closer its a no go and I need to get permission if using the RC with the screen built in. Again not the case with the RC where the phone attaches.

I mentioned this a few weeks ago I was downtown sandwhiched between skyscrapers flying at 40 feet and DJI kept saying I was in a flight pattern. It was a real pain. I kept hitting OK it kept popping the message up.

Seriously take a little time to learn some things about where you can and can not fly (Near prisons are bad too). But no matter how much you know DJI will still try to control the hardware you purchased and often with bad results. Yes it makes me really mad.

In the END after all said and done no matter what anyone tells you...you ever see another flying object anywhere near your flight pattern land the drone immediately.
 
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In the END after all said and done no matter what anyone tells you...you ever see another flying object anywhere near your flight pattern land the drone immediately.
That's actually very bad information to give a new drone flyer.

"Land immediately" can cause more issue than just staying put and watching the other aerial vehicle.

It's about deconfliction, not landing immediately. Evasive action for sure. Landing immediately only in very extreme cases.
 
I see your credentials so you know more than I do but I am assuming he has line of site to the drone/plane, you want to keep it up in the air to see what the plane does? Try to guess the planes next move? Maneuver around it? Im assuming the drone is not OVER the aircraft? Maybe I misspoke but the evasive answer I thought was to descend. Get out of the way. Not sure why landing safely is only in extreme cases? If Im wrong bad me.
 
No. In this case the geo-fencing performed exactly as intended.
That’s exactly what it’s supposed to do. Keep the clueless and careless out of the sky where they don’t belong.
 
Is that really what you think GEO fencing is for "to Keep the clueless and careless out of the sky where they don’t belong." ?

So anyone that fly's safely but is grounded by GEO fencing is clueless and careless? I am trying to point out in many cases that GEO Fencing is flawed. Planes can NOT land on Wacker Drive . Planes can not land 25 feet in front of a hotel.

That statement is "Clueless". You must work for DJI (the only DRONE maker that I know of that has this "feature" - so by your logic guess anyone who doesnt buy a DJI is clueless and careless as well?).

While I fly safe and have NEVER crashed or had an incident in over 5 years I do not agree with any company that controls the hardware that I bought. As a pilot it is your job to safely fly, know your surrounding and your limitations,

Now that I have heard 2 of your opinions I will say I think your wrong on both accounts.

I think GEO fencing is meant to keep YOU grounded as you would keep the drone up in the air with a plane near by to see what happens. I take it back YOU need Geo Fencing. The rest of us should fly responsibly.

BTW to the guy who lives near Ohare - please be responsible. Dont play chicken with the planes and know your surroundings.

In my opinion the ground is usually the safest place when your unsure - but dont land on people. That's bad too.
 
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Is that really what you think GEO fencing is for "to Keep the clueless and careless out of the sky where they don’t belong."

So anyone that fly's safely but is grounded by GEO fencing is clueless and careless? I am trying to point out in many cases that GEO Fencing is flawed. Planes can NOT land on Wacker Drive . Planes can not land 25 feet in front of a hotel.

That statement is "Clueless". You must work for DJI. While I fly safe and have NEVER crashed or had an incident in over 5 years I do not agree with any company that controls the hardware that I bought. As a pilot it is your job to safely fly, know your surrounding and your limitations,

Now that I have heard 2 of your opinions I will say I think your wrong on both accounts.

I think GEO fencing is meant to keep YOU grounded as you would keep the drone up in the air with a plane near by to see what happens. I take it back YOU need Geo Fencing. The rest of us should fly responsibly.

BTW to the guy who lives near Ohare - please be responsible. Dont play chicken with the planes and know your surroundings.

In my opinion the ground is usually the safest place when your unsure - but dont land on people. That's bad too.

Yes, I'd say that is exactly the primary purpose of geo fencing. It's a simple measure to prevent people who don't know better or don't care about regulations and safety from flying in certain areas. That seems pretty straightforward to me.

The fact that it also inhibits people who fly responsibly does not in any way suggest that those people are clueless or careless.
 
I agree in safe guards - dont get me wrong but bricking the hardware in my opinion is wrong. It may be the purpose of the software but the software is deeply flawed. IMO.
 
Not to throw gas on the fire....but the only other time I heard of software overwriting a pilots wishes is the Boeing 737 thing....remember when the pilots couldn't undue what the plane thought was the best course of action, and it fell out of the sky killing everyone on board? Software should be a guide - not the deciding factor. Too many variables IMO
 
Is that really what you think GEO fencing is for "to Keep the clueless and careless out of the sky where they don’t belong." ?
Yes, for the most part. Look at how many people (like the OP here) had no clue they weren't supposed to fly and GEO Fence locked them out. They then go on social media and complain.

Now think of how many people don't. They just get angry and don't complain. The number who don't complain likely far exceed the number who do.

GEO Fencing works very well for what it's intended to do. It's also a pain at times at a 107 operator. But I know there is always a work around.

So yes, it is designed to keep the clueless and careless out of harm's way.
So anyone that fly's safely but is grounded by GEO fencing is clueless and careless? I am trying to point out in many cases that GEO Fencing is flawed. Planes can NOT land on Wacker Drive . Planes can not land 25 feet in front of a hotel.
I never said "anyone". You're adding words to my statement to augment your argument. That doesn't work.

As far as the 25' instance, think about fly aways. The vast majority of fly aways are pilot error, and the vast majority of those are because people are clueless or careless about where or how to fly.

And yes, GEO is flawed, but the instances of it working well far outweigh the instances of it causes legitimate concerns for legal flights.
That statement is "Clueless". You must work for DJI (the only DRONE maker that I know of that has this "feature" - so by your logic guess anyone who doesnt buy a DJI is clueless and careless as well?).
More fire for your argument. I don't work for DJI. Never have, never will. You attack the author instead of the argument. That's the tactic of someone without a legitimate argument.

And no, there are plenty of other manufacturers out there with good products. Autel makes some good birds. Skydio does okay, although we were very disappointed in the results from the Skydio X2 we had to fly for the Nation Park Service. But at least they were nice enough to send me one (& two of their employees to help) when we needed one. No charge of course.
While I fly safe and have NEVER crashed or had an incident in over 5 years I do not agree with any company that controls the hardware that I bought. As a pilot it is your job to safely fly, know your surrounding and your limitations,

Now that I have heard 2 of your opinions I will say I think your wrong on both accounts.
Not wrong, as explained above.
I think GEO fencing is meant to keep YOU grounded as you would keep the drone up in the air with a plane near by to see what happens. I take it back YOU need Geo Fencing. The rest of us should fly responsibly.
These statements alone show just how clueless you are as to who I am. They're actually quite laughable. I'm likely one of the safest drone pilots out there. Ask around.

As far as flying near planes, yes, I do. Every weekend at KDEN. I'm one of VERY few pilots who can get permissions to fly drones near landing patterns and in 0 grids. And yes, GEO keeps me grounded at that location. Which is why I have custom unlocks for that area and others.

I fly 1.3 miles from the end of Runway 35L at KDEN, just west of Final.

GEO isn't designed to keep people like me (& you if you're as safe of a pilot as you say) from flying. It's design to keep the (wait for it...) "Clueless and Careless" out of the sky.

And in that aspect, it works very well.
BTW to the guy who lives near Ohare - please be responsible. Dont play chicken with the planes and know your surroundings.

In my opinion the ground is usually the safest place when your unsure - but dont land on people. That's bad too.
On this we agree.
 
I like people who make the argument because THEY are making the argument that makes them right. My argument stands and you in the end agreed with me - the safest place is generally on the ground. Geo fencing is training wheels for unqualified flyers. Fly safe fly often.
 
I like people who make the argument because THEY are making the argument that makes them right. My argument stands and you in the end agreed with me - the safest place is generally on the ground. Geo fencing is training wheels for unqualified flyers. Fly safe fly often.
Assuming you're reacting to me (click "Reply", and we'll know in the future), I only agreed with the last two sentences.

And you didn't address my other comments.
 
I agree in safe guards - dont get me wrong but bricking the hardware in my opinion is wrong. It may be the purpose of the software but the software is deeply flawed. IMO.
The limitations are defined clearly upfront by DJI and any purchaser making an informed decision will be aware of them. When a user initializes the drone, they must acknowledge and agree to the limitations. The geo fencing system is part and parcel of the package DJI sells and users voluntarily assent to. It's not something they added later.

The software is not flawed. It performs exactly as designed and written. The database it uses certainly needs to be better maintained. And I'd certainly like to see a simpler way for qualified and credentialed pilots to have more control over geo fencing.

But given that a high fraction (probably a majority) of new drone owners are indeed clueless and careless with respect to controlled airspace, it's a reasonable approach to precluding seriously dangerous situations. Without geo fencing, I'm certain we'd have already seen a substantial number of incidents, and likely some accidents, with people going straight home from the drone store and flying into Class B or military airfields to watch the planes take off and land. That sort of behavior on the part of the clueless and careless would have led to even more stringent restrictions on all drone pilots, including those of us who are well informed, skilled, and careful.
 
Assuming you're reacting to me (click "Reply", and we'll know in the future), I only agreed with the last two sentences.

And you didn't address my other comments.
I got bored. Your argument seemed to fall apart on itself. I still believe in the vast majority of the time (unless your on the runway) when you see a plane you get out of its flight pattern the correct action generally is to stay calm and descend. The drone can be on the ground faster than any other way. It is the safest way provided your not above the plane and not filming a parade. Even then descend would be best maybe not land (as I mentioned I mispoke). But your statment "just staying put and watching the other aerial vehicle" I dont think is correct depending on the circumstance.. If I am mistaken I'm am sorry.

My other point is I believe GEO fencing is deeply flawed, Multiple times in my career I wanted to fly the drone maybe 25 feet off the ground and the software prevented it. For example to do a PSA and I needed the drone to go up to the 10th floor of a 40 floor high rise and it wouldnt because of GEO fencing. I get the unlock feature and have used it but it has failed me more times than not. That my exp maybe not yours.

And where you lost me was the "As far as the 25' instance, think about fly aways. The vast majority of fly aways are pilot error, and the vast majority of those are because people are clueless or careless about where or how to fly."

I just didnt think it was good argument. the drone again is nowhere near anything that closely constitutes a problem yet it wont fly. GEO fencing is protecting me from what? I think this is where we part. Maybe that's needed for some, but to blanket something like that in the software I dont agree with. Maybe if you provided proof of your 107 they could unlock it or base it off hours flying without incident. in any case I think it sucks and has caused me far more problems than it prevented (esp cause I am responsible and consider safety above all.)

And your right there are other manufacturers, I think Parrot for what it does it outstanding. Especially for the price point. It is my back up.

Lastly I didnt attack you....I attacked your view point about Geo Fencing. I thought your view point was incorrect. Still do.

I am simply a responsible licensed drone pilot that has flown in multiple countries in multiple airspaces. Commercially, recreationally and racing.

Carry on and have a wonderful Sunday and great week.
 
Had no intension of entering prohibited airspace.
Just wanted to take some pictures of his garden and house.

I think the GEO fencing is awesome and necessary.
Didn't mean to start a rukus.;)
 
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