Inadvertent entry into Authorization Zone

[R.Perry]

I think Rob's point is that DJI has no jurisdiction to govern US airspace, which their authorization zones are doing. What is the purpose of being certificated to fly by the governing body when a foreign company is setting additional restrictions? A lot of DJI's information is faulty or sloppily entered. While they may be able to set restrictions in Canada, to my knowledge, the FAA has not granted that authority in the US.

So true, that is why disabling geofence makes life much simpler. Although if you do, just remember the PIC is responsible to fly legally at all times. Meaning having authorization where needed.
I know with many that don't disable the geofence uses the custom unlocking and well ahead of time so they don't get on site and have problems.

 

[R Martin]

So true, that is why disabling geofence makes life much simpler. Although if you do, just remember the PIC is responsible to fly legally at all times. Meaning having authorization where needed.
I know with many that don't disable the geofence uses the custom unlocking and well ahead of time so they don't get on site and have problems.

The PIC is always responsible, despite any third party software. But I know that is what you meant.

 

[R.Perry]

Ya Martin, I think that's what I meant, LOL.
One of the companies I do work for insist on not disabling geofence, not sure why.

 

[R Martin]

Ya Martin, I think that's what I meant, LOL.
One of the companies I do work for insist on not disabling geofence, not sure why.

I haven't touched a DJI product in almost 2 years now but we recently replaced the Inspire and I am going to have to start again soon. I am looking for a reason, any reason, to surplus the thing and just fly the FireFly.

 

[R.Perry]

How does FireFly do with Litchi and Drone Deploy?

 

[R Martin]

How does FireFly do with Litchi and Drone Deploy?

It doesn't. BirdsEye has their own software that runs on the laptop that we do flight planning in. It does the same job but you have more control over each point in the path. It's easier to assign a specific heading for the entire flight and also altitude which is handled on a per point basis instead of the entire mission. Based upon local conditions prelaunch I set the direction of takeoff and the cruising altitude to get to the start point and the Pixhawk gets it there. Mission altitude can be set on a global basis and then augmented with terrain following which does a decent job keeping a constant altitude AGL. It takes a little longer to set it up but the learning curve is not that difficult. You just have to ensure that when you load it to the aircraft you read it back out of memory; the aircraft stores the last successful update. If that happened to be a mission you flew last week in another county....that's where the bird is going to go.

The aircraft handles great in forward flight. It's like flying any other RC airplane. The transitions from forward flight to vertical takeoff and landing are where automation is preferred. It is a beast to land manually. Even with a full mission load there is virtually no weight and any wind plays hell with control.

 

[R.Perry]

Seems that with small drones and wind. I've gotten so use to flying the Inspire 2 and love it's stability in wind. I have done panos in 20mph winds and it was rock solid. For some reason geofence doesn't work on the Inspire any more so that problem has bee resolved. Not only that with the hacks the max speed is increased.
I know many don't like DJI and it is understandable but with no geofence they are good drones and well supported.
For pleasure flying and photography I really love my Mavic Pro, and the photo quality is great.

 

[R Martin]

Seems that with small drones and wind. I've gotten so use to flying the Inspire 2 and love it's stability in wind. I have done panos in 20mph winds and it was rock solid. For some reason geofence doesn't work on the Inspire any more so that problem has bee resolved. Not only that with the hacks the max speed is increased.
I know many don't like DJI and it is understandable but with no geofence they are good drones and well supported.
For pleasure flying and photography I really love my Mavic Pro, and the photo quality is great.

My Inspire was easy to handle even in windy conditions manually. The FireFly has a five foot wingspan and is all foam and carbon fiber. The extra light weight allows it to lift a larger camera and still stay in the air for 45 minutes. Everything has its strengths and weaknesses. Fortunately, the auto pilot is very precise in handling the light weight. I can do it if I need to; I just prefer not to.

 

[Ajkm]

Well, my concern is that even though I got a warning on my display about an authorization zone being 300 feet away, the DJI map did not show any nearby authorization zones. The nearest zone, according to the DJI map, was at least 0.5 miles away. I have attached a map with the area in question, including an inset with the sectional map.
So to say the least, it was unnerving getting a warning that made no sense to me, and that's why I asked about "inadvertently" wandering into an authorization zone that shows nowhere in the documentation.
So, if the DJI app decides that an area you are flying in is suddenly an "authorization zone" I would at least expect it to allow me to maintain control of the craft, so that I can get out of it. As someone else said, and I agree, I consider it very dangerous for the app to take control authority away from the PIC. It would be fine, and even desirable, to refuse to enter further into the authorization zone, but allow movement outwards, so that the PIC can get out.

From the VNC, it looks to me like it’s upset you’re within the CAE.

 

[Props Up]

From the VNC, it looks to me like it’s upset you’re within the CAE.

What's CAE?