International Drone Day

[Ansia]

Yesterday was the International Drone Day and we celebrated it here in Puerto Rico.

I was the only Evo in the group and there was also 1 XSP.

We had an RTH competition. The winner was a Mavic Air, which got to 4 inches from take off. I ended at 17" from takeoff with my Phantom. I wasn't allowed to go again with my Evo ?. The XSP was the only one who crashed while RTHing. When I saw him taking out the battery, it was so bloated, no wonder it went crazy upon landing. Good times.

 

[G_G]

Yesterday was the International Drone Day and we celebrated it here in Puerto Rico.
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I was the only Evo in the group and there was also 1 XSP.

We had an RTH competition. The winner was a Mavic Air, which got to 4 inches from take off. I ended at 17" from takeoff with my Phantom. I wasn't allowed to go again with my Evo ?. The XSP was the only one who crashed while RTHing. When I saw him taking out the battery, it was so bloated, no wonder it went crazy upon landing. Good times.

Good things come in small packages! Size matters, but smaller is better when it comes to drones! DJI has understood that as well, discontinuing the entire Phantom line, except for a mapping version. Mavic is the platform of the future, and Autel recognized that too, with the foldable Mavic-like EVO.

 

[Ansia]

Good things come in small packages! Size matters, but smaller is better when it comes to drones! DJI has understood that as well, discontinuing the entire Phantom line, except for a mapping version. Mavic is the platform of the future, and Autel recognized that too, with the foldable Mavic-like EVO.

Well, in my opinion, not exacly. You would place yyour drone on the H wherever you wanted and it could have landed spot on, but he would measure from the middle line of the H. The Mavic Air can't compete with the Phantom when it comes to flight times, camera, wind resistance, etc. What advantage it does have is that is smaller, therefore it will always land closer to the H, even if both land on the exact same spot.

 

[G_G]

Well, in my opinion, not exacly. You would place yyour drone on the H wherever you wanted and it could have landed spot on, but he would measure from the middle line of the H. The Mavic Air can't compete with the Phantom when it comes to flight times, camera, wind resistance, etc. What advantage it does have is that is smaller, therefore it will always land closer to the H, even if both land on the exact same spot.

True, the Mavic Air had an unfair advantage. The Mavic 2 (rather than the inferior Mavic Air) is the future, surpassing even the best Phantom, the P4P, in flight time and range, and wind resistance. Once it also supports 4K 60fps, perhaps in a Mavic 3, and a has a mechanical shutter version for photogrammetry, the P4P will become obsolete. With the NLD Mavic 2 hack already complete, EVO no longer has a fly anywhere advantage, as the NLD hack bypasses all GEO 2.0 restrictions. EVO still offers stellar 4K 60fps, which no Mavic 2 is capable of. You have to lower video resolution to 2.7K to get 60fps on all Mavic 2's.

 

[Madhungarian]

True, the Mavic Air had an unfair advantage. The Mavic 2 (rather than the inferior Mavic Air) is the future, surpassing even the best Phantom, the P4P, in flight time and range, and wind resistance. Once it also supports 4K 60fps, perhaps in a Mavic 3, and a has a mechanical shutter version for photogrammetry, the P4P will become obsolete. With the NLD Mavic 2 hack already complete, EVO no longer has a fly anywhere advantage, as the NLD hack bypasses all GEO 2.0 restrictions. EVO still offers stellar 4K 60fps, which no Mavic 2 is capable of. You have to lower video resolution to 2.7K to get 60fps on all Mavic 2's.

How about Mavic 2 only goes 500m altitude max, does the hack include unlimited altitude? The EVO is 300 meters higher at 800m.

 

[Ansia]

How about Mavic 2 only goes 500m altitude max, does the hack include unlimited altitude? The EVO is 300 meters higher at 800m.

I suggest you don't hack your bird. If something happens and you end up under investigation, having your bird hacked will be used against you.

 

[G_G]

How about Mavic 2 only goes 500m altitude max, does the hack include unlimited altitude? The EVO is 300 meters higher at 800m.

The NoLimitDronez.com parameter mod for the M2 does not yet support altitude removal, but it does for the P4P and M1. It is just a matter of time. But you are correct: 800m altitude limit on the EVO is 300m better than than the stock DJI limit. However, a serious mountain climber will need more than 800m, which EVO will never be able exceed, because no one will waste resources on hacking it, unlike the Mavic 2 which has bounties and lots of motivated owners, by a factor of over 1,000 to 1!

 

[G_G]

I suggest you don't hack your bird. If something happens and you end up under investigation, having your bird hacked will be used against you.

How does enabling mountain climbing in any way violate FAA 400 AGL guidelines? Flying from the base of a mountain to its peak, by bypassing an artificial height limit above the launch point set by the manufacturer, in no way violates the 400 foot above ground level limitation, if you are climbing the slope at less than 400 feet above the ground.

 

[Ansia]

How does enabling mountain climbing in any way violate FAA 400 AGL guidelines? Flying from the base of a mountain to its peak, by bypassing an artificial height limit above the launch point set by the manufacturer, in no way violates the 400 foot above ground level limitation, if you are climbing the slope at less than 400 feet above the ground.

You are just focusing on mountain climbing. What about every other aspect of NFZ. If you are flying in a controlled airspace and hit the window of a building. The FAA will investigate and upon finding out your drone was altered, they will determine it may have been your intention to break the law. On one of the webinars from the FAA someone asked about this and the FAA guy said it is frown upon.

Then again, it is your drone. You do as you wish with it.

 

[Madhungarian]

The NoLimitDronez.com parameter mod for the M2 does not yet support altitude removal, but it does for the P4P and M1. It is just a matter of time. But you are correct: 800m altitude limit on the EVO is 300m better than than the stock DJI limit. However, a serious mountain climber will need more than 800m, which EVO will never be able exceed, because no one will waste resources on hacking it, unlike the Mavic 2 which has bounties and lots of motivated owners, by a factor of over 1,000 to 1!

What do you need to hack on the EVO? A lot less then what the DJI has implemented. I have yet to reach my 2600ft limit ceiling, the highest so far was 1800ft going up a hill.
You cannot have any privacy flying with DJI since you need your phone. With the EVO if you fly without your phone, there really is no way they are recording your flight. No logs are stored on the controller that has been confirmed. IF anyone ever figures out how to get the feed straight from the controller then a phone will never be needed. I do know you can fly your mavic without your phone but only to a controlled distance. Also, in order for you to get the Mavic to fly 500m(altitude) you need to ask for permission from DJI and also provide your personal information.

 

[Madhungarian]

I suggest you don't hack your bird. If something happens and you end up under investigation, having your bird hacked will be used against you.

Ansia, no need to hack the EVO, maybe just to customize the flight control like with what they do in Beta flight.

 

[Ansia]

Ansia, no need to hack the EVO, maybe just to customize the flight control like with what they do in Beta flight.

We were referring to the DJI drones, not the Evo.

 

[G_G]

You are just focusing on mountain climbing. What about every other aspect of NFZ. If you are flying in a controlled airspace and hit the window of a building. The FAA will investigate and upon finding out your drone was altered, they will determine it may have been your intention to break the law. On one of the webinars from the FAA someone asked about this and the FAA guy said it is frown upon.

Then again, it is your drone. You do as you wish with it.

Just because you can does not mean you should, and just because DJI says you can't doesn't mean you shouldn’t! Nobody, and certainly not I, is advocating flying illegally in controlled airspace. I focused on mountain climbing because it is perfectly legal, but unachievable with restrictions imposed by drone manufacturers, which have nothing to do with legality, but are cheaper for them to implement than true AGL measurements. These altitude restrictions assume the earth is FLAT! While flat earthers still exist, the earth isn't. The FAA guidelines are 400 feet ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. No where do they state that a UAV pilot may never legally fly more than 400 feet above their launch point.

Commercial UAV pilots may have authorization to fly legally in a NFZ from all necessary authorities, but if DJI won't let them take off, they are screwed. Having a way of bypassing DJI imposed NFZ's, such as owning an EVO for backup, or using NLD parameter mods on a DJI aircraft allows the UAV pilot to get the job done legally and without delay.

 

[Ansia]

Just because you can does not mean you should, and just because DJI says you can't doesn't mean you shouldn’t! Nobody, and certainly not I, is advocating flying illegally in controlled airspace. I focused on mountain climbing because it is perfectly legal, but unachievable with restrictions imposed by drone manufacturers, which have nothing to do with legality, but are cheaper for them to implement than true AGL measurements. These altitude restrictions assume the earth is FLAT! While flat earthers still exist, the earth isn't. The FAA guidelines are 400 feet ABOVE GROUND LEVEL. No where do they state that a UAV pilot may never legally fly more than 400 feet above their launch point.

Commercial UAV pilots may have authorization to fly legally in a NFZ from all necessary authorities, but if DJI won't let them take off, they are screwed. Having a way of bypassing DJI imposed NFZ's, such as owning an EVO for backup, or using NLD parameter mods on a DJI aircraft allows the UAV pilot to get the job done legally and without delay.

Didn't say your intentions were bad. I just said that if something happens, it will be used against you.

I fly my DJI birds in controlled and restricted airspace all the time. How? With the proper authorizations/waivers from LAANC/FAA and DJI's Flysafe program. Only once was I held back and it was my fault for not following the steps. You can thank that one event, as the reason for me being here.

 

[G_G]

Didn't say your intentions were bad. I just said that if something happens, it will be used against you.

I fly my DJI birds in controlled and restricted airspace all the time. How? With the proper authorizations/waivers from LAANC/FAA and DJI's Flysafe program. Only once was I held back and it was my fault for not following the steps. You can thank that one event, as the reason for me being here.

Actually, they aren't even my intentions, as I have no mountains nearby to climb, but I do have friends who travel with drones who do. Bypassing a 500m or 800m maximum flat earth assumption elevation limit imposed by the manufacturer will not get you into trouble with anyone, while legally climbing mountains, even if you crash while doing so.

DJI's Flysafe program is completely irrelevant to legal flying, if you already have the proper authorizations from the true legal authorities. Why should I still need permission from a Chinese company to fly my drone in American air space, if all American authorities have already completely signed off?

So we can all learn from it, please share more about that one event you attribute to being responsible for why you are here,

 

[Ansia]

Actually, they aren't even my intentions, as I have no mountains nearby to climb, but I do have friends who travel with drones who do. Bypassing a 500m or 800m maximum flat earth assumption elevation limit imposed by the manufacturer will not get you into trouble with anyone, while legally climbing mountains, even if you crash while doing so.

Ohh... you are debating for someone else. Talk to him and convince him to come in here. Would love to talk to him.

DJI's Flysafe program is completely irrelevant to legal flying, if you already have the proper authorizations from the true legal authorities. Why should I still need permission from a Chinese company to fly my drone in American air space, if all American authorities have already completely signed off?

DJI implemented Geofencing for the same reason Ford eliminated the Bronco from their line of trucks. Bad press. It was a CYA moment that satisfied all airspace regulations worldwide. We may not like it, but it is what it is. So I work with what I have. Don't like paying bills or taxes either.

So we can all learn from it, please share more about that one event you attribute to being responsible for why you are here,

I've interacted enough with you to know you are a smart person and more than capable to understand my meaning.

All I wanted to do was voice my concern for a fellow pilot. You don't need to heed my warning in any way or form. I get your point of view, but for my line of work, I have to deal with it. It's not the monster many people have painted it to be.

 

[G_G]

Ohh... you are debating for someone else. Talk to him and convince him to come in here. Would love to talk to him.


DJI implemented Geofencing for the same reason Ford eliminated the Bronco from their line of trucks. Bad press. It was a CYA moment that satisfied all airspace regulations worldwide. We may not like it, but it is what it is. So I work with what I have. Don't like paying bills or taxes either.


I've interacted enough with you to know you are a smart person and more than capable to understand my meaning.

All I wanted to do was voice my concern for a fellow pilot. You don't need to heed my warning in any way or form. I get your point of view, but for my line of work, I have to deal with it. It's not the monster many people have painted it to be.

They would be my intentions, if I had a need. Doesn't change the legitimacy nor the legality of mountain climbing with a drone, even if one needs to circumvent artificially implemented manufacturer limitations to do so. You are not a lawyer, yet you profess to give legal advice based upon ignorance, not facts. Prove to me and everyone else that using a parameter mod to legally fly makes you more liable than if you hadn't, in the event of an unrelated accident.

 

[Jagerbomb52]

Just wondering out load here but once you modify any part of your UAV being it physical or with software is it still FCC compliant? I mean don't these companies have to fill out all kinds of forms and submit them to the FCC on how their equipment works? If by changing something even if it makes your UAV fly better is it still legal? None of us are lawyers but it would be interesting to see how the FAA and the courts would deal with something like this. I do think this would be more related to Part 107 pilots rather then Recreation Pilots as Part 107 pilots need to have very up to date records on their UAV's.

 

[G_G]

Just wondering out load here but once you modify any part of your UAV being it physical or with software is it still FCC compliant? I mean don't these companies have to fill out all kinds of forms and submit them to the FCC on how their equipment works? If by changing something even if it makes your UAV fly better is it still legal? None of us are lawyers but it would be interesting to see how the FAA and the courts would deal with something like this. I do think this would be more related to Part 107 pilots rather then Recreation Pilots as Part 107 pilots need to have very up to date records on their UAV's.

Good question. FCC compliance has to do with antenna power outputs and frequencies and potential radio wave interference with other devices, not how high you fly. So any antenna mod which increases power outputs, or uses noncompliant frequencies is technically illegal. However, modifying a software parameter to enable your drone to legally climb mountains from the base, while staying within 400 feet of the terrain below the drone, is neither a violation of any FCC regs nor a violation of any FAA regs or guidelines. However, if you then use that same software parameter mod to fly at 5,000 feet around manned aircraft and get caught, you deserve whatever consequences you have earned by being an idiot! That being said, I have heard that some countries require that their commercial UAV pilots must install all the latest FW updates to be compliant, and that their insurance policies may require the same, and any modifications to approved equipment may void insurance coverage. Common sense plays a big role. If your parameter mod facilitates legal flying, and is used legally, no one is going to question it. Similarly, I know commercial pilots that use the NoLimitDonez.com NFZ bypass to fly legally in NFZ's where all appropriate permissions have been secured, except for DJI's! Nobody cares about DJI's permission! Chinese companies have no business controlling U.S. airspace use!

 

[Ansia]

I had the pleasure to call the FAA, upon reading your comment and here is their response. Just like I said, they frown upon it. If they catch you with a modified bird (doing something ilegal obviously) you will be fined.