DJI does it again.

kevbac · Jul 28, 2020

I'm in a restricted zone. There's a small, lightly used airstrip a short distance away. I had no problem unlocking a couple of days ago.
Today, DJI has it listed as a no-fly zone. Transport Canada does not - their warning is to fly with caution.
Neither the Mavic. Pro or Mini will allow me to take off.
I appreciate that DJI want us to fly safely, but their screw-ups have me seriously considering another manufacturer when I upgrade in the fall.

sar104 · Jul 28, 2020

Can you be more specific? The DJI geo system doesn't have anything called a no-fly zone:

Zbip57 · Jul 29, 2020

kevbac said:
There's a small, lightly used airstrip a short distance away. I had no problem unlocking a couple of days ago.
Today, DJI has it listed as a no-fly zone.

I'm in Ottawa too. Which airstrip are you referring too?

Have you looked at DJI's GEO Zones map? Be sure to check all the boxes, Warning Zones, and Enhanced Warning Zones.
FlySafe Geo Zones

Dr. Bill 1969 · Jul 29, 2020

i L

kevbac said:
I'm in a restricted zone. There's a small, lightly used airstrip a short distance away. I had no problem unlocking a couple of days ago.
Today, DJI has it listed as a no-fly zone. Transport Canada does not - their warning is to fly with caution.
Neither the Mavic. Pro or Mini will allow me to take off.
I appreciate that DJI want us to fly safely, but their screw-ups have me seriously considering another manufacturer when I upgrade in the fall.

I too have grown tired of DJI's intrusive firmware. In order to no longer deal with it I just took delivery of an Autel Evo Pro 2. It's another world altogether.

Dr. Bill 1969 · Jul 29, 2020

sar104 said:
Can you be more specific? The DJI geo system doesn't have anything called a no-fly zone:

View attachment 109172

Perhaps if you read the first line of the DJI Geo system carefully you'd notice the first line which reads "...flight is prohibited...". That's as close to a "no fly zone" as one can get!

sar104 · Jul 29, 2020

Dr. Bill 1969 said:
Perhaps if you read the first line of the DJI Geo system carefully you'd notice the first line which reads "...flight is prohibited...". That's as close to a "no fly zone" as one can get!

And perhaps if you had read it carefully you would notice that it actually reads "flight is prevented", not "flight is prohibited". Then you could have avoided your snarky response from being wrong, although it would still have been snarky. If you have nothing useful to contribute then simply don't post.

The question was relevant because it affects how to authorize takeoff, and you are just guessing which category applied.

kevbac · Jul 29, 2020

The controller displayed NFZ
The app, when I went to unlock, used some variation of 'no-fly zone'.
The actual zone I was flying in, well attempting to fly, is inside the Authorization Zone for the Iroquois municipal airport (CNP7).
I checked the Transport Canada map, the Drone Pilot Canada app and NOTAMs. I called the airport to see if there was impending traffic.
The airport manager was very pleasant, but completely unaware of the regs that apply to sRPAS flights.
It is possible that the area has been temporarily flagged as no-fly, although there were no notices. There is a nest with three fledgling ospreys about 100 metres from where I was trying to launch.
Before anyone gets riled up, I was not going to harass the chicks. I was there with an entirely different mission in mind. My plan was to head straight to 400AGL (about 395 above the nest's height) and circle out well away from the nest to get where I wanted to be.
While I was trying to unlock (and doing a bit of quiet cursing), the reason I was there came and went.

The hour-plus drive each way wasn't a total loss, though. My secondary (no-flying) mission was to get some photos and footage - with my carry-around camera, not with the drone - of the youngsters in the nest. It turns out that they were trying out their wings and doing short takeoff and landing flights. I suspect the nest will be empty in a couple of days, so I'm actually pretty happy about the timing.

I've been using online forums for a VERY long time. I'm well aware that some people feel a sense of personal validation when they are able to point out the most insignificant flaws in messages left by others. When that happens, I tend to think of Shakespeare - "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." (That partial quote is really out of context and doesn't put forward the deeper meaning of the soliloquy.)

Anyway, I made the original post as a way to vent.

I appreciate those who supplied information, and tried to be helpful.

To the trolls, another quote: "Go away before I taunt you a second time."

@sar104: I gather you're a fan of Dragnet?

Dr. Bill 1969 · Jul 29, 2020

It's funny I didn't see my reply as "snarky" simply the truth of the manner. It's a " rose by any other name" kind of deal. My post was made to clarify the fact that DJI does, in fact, have no fly zones no matter what one has named them.

I too live in an DJI no fly zone. Living near a closed airport(Essex Skypark). I can"t fly either. DJI's software is the reason I've switched to Autel.

sar104 · Jul 29, 2020

kevbac said:
The controller displayed NFZ
The app, when I went to unlock, used some variation of 'no-fly zone'.
The actual zone I was flying in, well attempting to fly, is inside the Authorization Zone for the Iroquois municipal airport (CNP7).
I checked the Transport Canada map, the Drone Pilot Canada app and NOTAMs. I called the airport to see if there was impending traffic.
The airport manager was very pleasant, but completely unaware of the regs that apply to sRPAS flights.
It is possible that the area has been temporarily flagged as no-fly, although there were no notices. There is a nest with three fledgling ospreys about 100 metres from where I was trying to launch.
Before anyone gets riled up, I was not going to harass the chicks. I was there with an entirely different mission in mind. My plan was to head straight to 400AGL (about 395 above the nest's height) and circle out well away from the nest to get where I wanted to be.
While I was trying to unlock (and doing a bit of quiet cursing), the reason I was there came and went.

The hour-plus drive each way wasn't a total loss, though. My secondary (no-flying) mission was to get some photos and footage - with my carry-around camera, not with the drone - of the youngsters in the nest. It turns out that they were trying out their wings and doing short takeoff and landing flights. I suspect the nest will be empty in a couple of days, so I'm actually pretty happy about the timing.

I've been using online forums for a VERY long time. I'm well aware that some people feel a sense of personal validation when they are able to point out the most insignificant flaws in messages left by others. When that happens, I tend to think of Shakespeare - "It is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." (That partial quote is really out of context and doesn't put forward the deeper meaning of the soliloquy.)

Anyway, I made the original post as a way to vent.

I appreciate those who supplied information, and tried to be helpful.

To the trolls, another quote: "Go away before I taunt you a second time."

@sar104: I gather you're a fan of Dragnet?

So you are within this blue authorization zone?

If so then you should be able to self-unlock provided that you are logged into your DJI account. A common problem here is trying to do this while not logged in. That alone doesn't guarantee that you are flying within the regulations of course, but it appears to be uncontrolled airspace.

kevbac · Jul 29, 2020

sar104 said:
So you are within this blue authorization zone?

View attachment 109244

If so then you should be able to self-unlock provided that you are logged into your DJI account. A common problem here is trying to do this while not logged in. That alone doesn't guarantee that you are flying within the regulations of course, but it appears to be uncontrolled airspace.

That is the place. I had good internet and I believe I was logged in - of course, I could have been wrong. I tried with my iPad Mini (which allowed me to unlock two days earlier) - on both the Mavic Pro and the Mavic Mini. Then I tried with my phone (which has also never had a problem with logging in or unlocking) and both drones.

I am now guessing it was a temporary glitch (mine or DJI's). When I got home, I went and got unlock codes with the app and uploaded them to the drones - no problem at all.

barton73 · Aug 1, 2020

In remote locations wifi from the cell service can be iffy. Next time unlock the location before you leave and make sure the authorization is downloaded to your DJI App. When you get to the location you should be good-to-go.

kevbac · Aug 1, 2020

Not a remote area and cellular coverage was 5 by 5.
Just some sort of hiccup, it seems.

kevbac · Aug 1, 2020

I flew in exactly the same place yesterday.

simsurf · Aug 1, 2020

On a side note, flying near a nesting osprey is possibly a pretty quick method for losing your drone.

kevbac · Aug 2, 2020

TBH - If someone was to fly close to a nesting osprey, they deserve to lose their drone. Harassing wildlife is NOT, in any way, responsible, safe flying.
I launched from about 150 or so metres away, went up to 120m AGL, then another 500m away - in the opposite direction of the nest.
There is a second vantage point I would like to use, but the babies are starting to fly and it would be a bit too close to them.
That said, I got some ok video of the fledglings - with a conventional camera. The location of the nest attracts a lot of photographers. The nest is on a tall pole next to a large embankment. There is a sort of observation deck at the top of the embankment. The ospreys have been nesting there for some time and don't seem to see the photographers as any sort of threat, in spite of their proximity.

Here's a more-or-less random image from Tuesday (Canon SX60HS)

Three osprey fledglings in their nest. One of them is testing its wings, getting ready fir its first flight.

TuT · Aug 2, 2020

I had the same problem last week in NSW. A small coastal town has an old grass airstrip which DJI declared a NFZ. But it didn't even appear on the Australian Govt app. I have no idea where DJI gets their maps from.

itsneedtokno · Aug 2, 2020

Same zoom level...

Maaaan, I wish I had that much open space.

Jean-Pierre Pineau · Aug 2, 2020

kevbac said:
I'm in a restricted zone. There's a small, lightly used airstrip a short distance away. I had no problem unlocking a couple of days ago.
Today, DJI has it listed as a no-fly zone. Transport Canada does not - their warning is to fly with caution.
Neither the Mavic. Pro or Mini will allow me to take off.
I appreciate that DJI want us to fly safely, but their screw-ups have me seriously considering another manufacturer when I upgrade in the fall.

Take it for what it is : I am totally new to drone flying, but I live in that kind of environment with a local airport. Even though it is not mentioned in the TC fly restrictions maps, my actual geographic position is one street away from complete clearance and the drone won't fly. So, I asked the authorization via the DJI Fly app module and got it. As I was setting my drone for its first fly, I was a bit overwhelmed by the many infos appearing to me, but I took note that the authorization had a time limit (72 hours?) and that I should renew it after that lapse of time, with a cap in request per period.

Check it. That may be your culprit. Or I may be wrong

Zbip57 · Aug 2, 2020

itsneedtokno said:
Same zoom level...
Maaaan, I wish I had that much open space.

What app is that? It's not showing any airports, etc, only displaying Class-F airspace zones.

Admittedly, and thankfully, we do have much more open space for flying than your crowded coastal areas in Florida. But there are some restrictions.

Here is a "Drone site selection tool" that shows more detail.
nrc.canada.ca/en/drone-tool/flightMap.php

Even the DJI FlySafe Geo map shows more detail.
www.dji.com/ca/flysafe/geo-map

itsneedtokno · Aug 2, 2020

Zbip57 said:
What app is that? It's not showing any airports, etc, only displaying Class-F airspace zones.

Admittedly, and thankfully, we do have much more open space for flying than your crowded coastal areas in Florida. But there are some restrictions.

Here is a "Drone site selection tool" that shows more detail.
nrc.canada.ca/en/drone-tool/flightMap.php

View attachment 109534

Even the DJI FlySafe Geo map shows more detail.
www.dji.com/ca/flysafe/geo-map

View attachment 109536