Best Drone App for Authorization Zones

PJ_la · Jul 23, 2020

New pilot here. Recreational use only for now, but I am studying for the 107.

Drone: Mavic Air 2
Location: Los Angeles Area (city, valley, beach)

I've had my drone for a couple weeks and have had a lot of fun learning the features. However as I educate myself more on the FAA laws and general drone use; I've found more options then answers.

So I read up on previous posts and this is what I gathered:

1.) Airmap (used to be great, but now no one like it because the company is apparently against the drone industry and DJI no longer works with them)

2.) B4Ufly - Seems okay but nothing special (kittyhawk seems better)

3.) Skyward - Good for planning out future flights (just recently downloaded on PC, will take some getting used to so I figure all the bells and whistles out)

4.) Kittyhawk - The best all around. Recently downloaded and it seems easy enough to navigate.

-- But I guess my main question is, when flying my drone do any/all of these apps override the DJI Fly app? (as in if I get cleared through the app, am I okay? or does DJI Fly overrule everything?)

-- I've found the DJI Self-Unlock website isn't as restricting as the Apps (I may be understanding wrong, but for some places it say BLUE AUTHORIZATION in which case I would have to unlock on the spot which is no big deal)

-- I also read that by emailing [email protected] I could just unlock the Blue Zones for an entire year?? (this seems too good to be true)

So any and all wisdom is welcome.

I believe my main confusion is my understanding of the zones and how they differ with each app and DJI Fly restrictions.

Thanks!

Fred Garvin · Jul 23, 2020

DJI NFZ and the FAA Airspace Authorizations have no link whatsoever and are two completely different things.

DJI NFZ (Flysafe, whatever) is a geofenced airspace restriction imposed by DJI and built into its software. It has very little correlation to actual FAA Controlled Airspace, but most of the DJI zones do in fact lie within FAA Controlled Airspace. Getting a zone to unlock through DJI will unlock that geozone and allow the drone to be flown in that zone. It does not mean that you have permission from the FAA to fly there.

The FAA authorizes access and flight in Controlled Airspace. This is what LAANC (AirMap, Kittyhawk, etc) is for. You get permission from the FAA to fly in this Controlled Airspace. The authorization will be for a given amount of time, in a specific location, up to a maximum altitude. Once you have your 107, you can look into getting a Certificate of Authorization (CoA) for an airspace you frequently fly in.

So, two different things. Typically, check to see if where you want to fly is in a Controlled Airspace. Use AirMap, Kittyhawk, or whatever to determine this. If it is, get your FAA Airspace Authorization to fly there. Then, check DJI's NFZ site and see if there's a zone you need to unlock. Most of the time there won't be but if there is, go through that process.

There's more to it, like checking TFR's and NOTAMS, but you're studying for your 107 so you'll be learning all this soon enough.

Here's a great link for you: FAA UAS FACILITIES MAP

Shows all the controlled airspaces, by grid square with maximum allowable altitudes, LAANC readiness, airport info, etc. It's like Google Maps with the airspace overlay. You can zoom in to where you are and want to fly, and see if there;'s any restrictions.

PJ_la · Jul 23, 2020

Fred Garvin said:
DJI NFZ and the FAA Airspace Authorizations have no link whatsoever and are two completely different things.

DJI NFZ (Flysafe, whatever) is a geofenced airspace restriction imposed by DJI and built into its software. It has very little correlation to actual FAA Controlled Airspace, but most of the DJI zones do in fact lie within FAA Controlled Airspace. Getting a zone to unlock through DJI will unlock that geozone and allow the drone to be flown in that zone. It does not mean that you have permission from the FAA to fly there.

The FAA authorizes access and flight in Controlled Airspace. This is what LAANC (AirMap, Kittyhawk, etc) is for. You get permission from the FAA to fly in this Controlled Airspace. The authorization will be for a given amount of time, in a specific location, up to a maximum altitude. Once you have your 107, you can look into getting a Certificate of Authorization (CoA) for an airspace you frequently fly in.

So, two different things. Typically, check to see if where you want to fly is in a Controlled Airspace. Use AirMap, Kittyhawk, or whatever to determine this. If it is, get your FAA Airspace Authorization to fly there. Then, check DJI's NFZ site and see if there's a zone you need to unlock. Most of the time there won't be but if there is, go through that process.

There's more to it, like checking TFR's and NOTAMS, but you're studying for your 107 so you'll be learning all this soon enough.

Here's a great link for you: FAA UAS FACILITIES MAP

Shows all the controlled airspaces, by grid square with maximum allowable altitudes, LAANC readiness, airport info, etc. It's like Google Maps with the airspace overlay. You can zoom in to where you are and want to fly, and see if there;'s any restrictions.