Wish me luck...

[Solsearcher]

I live in Winnipeg, a very short walk from a small park and creek (frozen lol). I am within about 5kms (3 miles) from the airport, so definitely within the no fly zone. I intend to take my M3P to the park tomorrow and shoot some pics/video of it. I am NOT on a flight path, and the park is actually a bit lower than the surrounding landscape.

The "luck" part is that I'm 90% sure "someone" is either going to Karen me, or call the police. There was a drone "incident" here a few years back whereby someone was flying a drone further from the airport than I am, and it caused quite the scene....even ended up in the paper. I don't know what kind of drone, or what size, but everyone around here is undoubtedly paranoid.

 

[Yaros]

I know that this post will be hated on. I'm not here for that, I will not stop you or tell you why it's not a good idea, I know that you already know all of that.
But just to warn you, there is a thing called DJI Aeroscope, which allows authorities to see which drones are flying in the area if the device is present and installed, and get your serial number, full name, email, and full flight data (telemetry, but not video feed). It is not very common in US and Canada, but it is very common where I live, Spain.

I think that if we sincerely ask people, most of them will admit that they flew in a no-fly zone at least once (including me). Most such flights end up fine, but there's still risk…

So, good luck on your flight! Hopefully no one notices the drone, as the M3P is pretty quiet, and definitely avoid flying close to any kind of manned aircraft!

 

[GFields]

The "luck" part is that I'm 90% sure "someone"

Why take the chance? Are there not other places you can fly?

 

[3rdof5]

Unless I'm mistaken, the Mini 3 pro is not subject to the same regulations as the larger quads. You say you have the highest certification available in Canada. Although I only have my Basic license and my quads are also registered, I know what your certification means. I see no issue flying in your park, legally or otherwise, as long as you are flying responsibly and safely. Your Air2S would be a no no, but your Mini will be fine. Who is even going to see or hear it???

 

[thispilothere]

The "luck" part is that I'm 90% sure "someone" is either going to Karen me, or call the police.

Have your setup ready and the shots you want planned. You can launch, get the shots and be gone before police show up. If police are bored enough to show up to your house, be firm, don't volunteer anything, record the interaction and dismiss them as quickly as possible.

 

[Solsearcher]

Why take the chance? Are there not other places you can fly?

I'm not doing anything illegal by flying the M3P there. As 3rdof5 noted, the Air 2S is a non starter, but the M3P is certainly legal. But it's not the legality that concerns me...it's having the inevitable "conversations". But ya...the M3P is very quiet and may not even be seen.

What I don't know is whether take offs and landings in the park (municipal) are ok. I think to err on the side of caution, I'll launch from my driveway. It's a 30 second walk into the park.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

most of them will admit that they flew in a no-fly zone at least once

I don't think it is possible to fly into a no-fly zone that the drone knows about. I think it could be done accidentally if the drone's GPS was up the spout or if the relevant permissions have been obtained and registered. I think there's one not far from me and I get warnings if approaching it, I've never tried to enter it.
No-fly mid-air corridors blocking a high flying drone have been the subject of several threads on here and the DJI forum.

 

[GFields]

I'm not doing anything illegal by flying the M3P there. As 3rdof5 noted, the Air 2S is a non starter, but the M3P is certainly legal. But it's not the legality that concerns me...it's having the inevitable "conversations". But ya...the M3P is very quiet and may not even be seen.

What I don't know is whether take offs and landings in the park (municipal) are ok. I think to err on the side of caution, I'll launch from my driveway. It's a 30 second walk into the park.

No where did I talk about legal issues. I responded to your comment “that I'm 90% sure "someone" is either going to Karen me, or call the police.” If you’re concerned about confrontation then fly somewhere else.

 

[Deleted member 162835]

I live in Winnipeg, a very short walk from a small park and creek (frozen lol). I am within about 5kms (3 miles) from the airport, so definitely within the no fly zone. I intend to take my M3P to the park tomorrow and shoot some pics/video of it. I am NOT on a flight path, and the park is actually a bit lower than the surrounding landscape.

The "luck" part is that I'm 90% sure "someone" is either going to Karen me, or call the police. There was a drone "incident" here a few years back whereby someone was flying a drone further from the airport than I am, and it caused quite the scene....even ended up in the paper. I don't know what kind of drone, or what size, but everyone around here is undoubtedly paranoid.

 

[ResQMike]

I'm not privy of the drone laws and procedures in Canada, but in the US, we would apply for clearance and if granted we can fly legally (with restriction). If you're licensed by the CAA, you are more than knowledgeable to do the right thing. Perhaps you can get clearance to 100', depends where in the airspace you are trying to fly. Stay safe.

 

[Solsearcher]

Unfortunately, this will have to wait a few days...just too cold for bare fingers!

 

[Solsearcher]

No where did I talk about legal issues. I responded to your comment “that I'm 90% sure "someone" is either going to Karen me, or call the police.” If you’re concerned about confrontation then fly somewhere else.

Thanks for your insightful response.

 

[Yaros]

I don't think it is possible to fly into a no-fly zone that the drone knows about.

Actually, most of the time that's not the case.
You can easily fly in some no-fly zones, especially in countries like France or Spain, at least that's my experience. I have flown in controlled airspace of Nice, France without knowing it, but when I took off it told me “Warning Class D airspace” but didn't block me from flying.

In Palma de Mallorca, Spain I flew in the center of the city, very close to the CTR, which is prohibited airspace here, when I tried to enter the prohibited airspace, I just got a warning and it let me fly in, but I turned around and didn't fly in restricted airspace.

 

[Yorkshire_Pud]

Actually, most of the time that's not the case.
You can easily fly in some no-fly zones, especially in countries like France or Spain, at least that's my experience. I have flown in controlled airspace of Nice, France without knowing it, but when I took off it told me “Warning Class D airspace” but didn't block me from flying.

Well, that's not others have said about their drone being blocked by an air corridor etc. if they wanted to get past the corridor they had to fly under it.

I am not about test trying to fly my drone into the controlled airspace near me for the purposes of an experiment.

I am pretty sure others have posted about being prevented from taking off because they where in a No Fly Zone that was known to the drone.
I also have the vague recollection of a discussion, real or hypothetical, where either a drone flew or flies, into a no fly zone whilst the GPS was insufficient for it to know is position. It was/is force landed once it knew/knows its position and could not be commanded out of the NFZ whilst descending.

There is also a thread about a drone being lost into the sea off the Scilly Isles because of being prevented from crossing a controlled airspace boundary, if I remember correctly the pilot had permission to enter the airspace but could not get out, though that seems daft.

In Palma de Mallorca, Spain I flew in the center of the city, very close to the CTR, which is prohibited airspace here, when I tried to enter the prohibited airspace, I just got a warning and it let me fly in, but I turned around and didn't fly in restricted airspace.

So you did not actually enter the no fly zone or try to enter it but you were warned the drone was approaching it?
If so how do you know that you would not have been blocked.

 

[Yaros]

If so how do you know that you would not have been blocked.

Go to Google and type DJI Flysafe Geomap. Then select the country you're in and the drone you're flying.
Below the map, select all the checkmarks for all the zones, also below there you have an explanation for every zone on the map by color and what restriction it will place on you when you fly.

Here's my more detailed explanation, all the zones from more restrictive to less restrictive:

- Red: Complete no fly zone, it will not allow to enter the zone at any altitude.

- Blue (Authorization Zone): Only allowed to enter if you have a certificate from DJI installed on your account and it is currently valid, there's a page to request those certificates to DJI.

- Grey (Altitude zone): only allows to enter and exit below a specified altitude (click on the zone in the map itself to see which altitude exactly), it will not allow to fly higher inside the zone. You don't need any special certificate or approval to fly, just be below that altitude, and set your RTH and Max Height below as well to not get stuck inside if you lose signal and the drone tries to RTH.
Recently they added huge, huge altitude zones about 50km around airports, if you click on them it will show 500m max, that applies only to Mavic 3, because it's the only drone that can (without hacks) fly higher than 500m if you're not in one of them.

Orange (Enhanced Warning Zone): This one allows you to fly if you accept a responsibility warning in the fly app, it asks you when you approach it, or takeoff from it. You click the blue ticks, click approve and it takes off, other than that, no other restrictions apply

Yellow (Warning Zone): no flight restrictions, but when you enter or takeoff within it, it shows a small warning on screen, you click away from it and can fly.

Warning!
This doesn't in any way indicate if you can actually fly legally or not, always refer to your local drone map, DJI Flysafe only indicates how the drone will behave.

Very important!
Be careful to not get your drone stuck behind a no fly zone, because if you fly around a zone that is enhanced or stricter (above in my list) before actually flying into it and allowing the drone to fly in it, if then this zone is in the way of your RTH path and you have no signal, it will not cross the zone and get stuck in the other side, it might just hover, or even land, depending on the drone model.

When flying close to a no fly zone, always fly in just a bit, approve the warnings and turn off the controller, see if the drone returns or lands. Only then proceed to fly.