Smack in the middle of a red zone

[Will]

So I've had my brick now for 3 days. I can't fly - at all - because of the restrictions DJI has placed on the device.

Chat says to email support. Support says to fill out a form. There are 3 forms. none of them are mobile enabled, so you have to do it prior.

And now I hear that you have to wait up to 5 days for the unlock.

I'm less than impressed with this process, and a quite a bit ticked at the situation.

I get one unlock lifted, only to be stymied by the next one.

Does anyone have any tips on getting DJI's permission to fly the drone any faster?

 

[Steve P]

Fly in unrestricted airspace they are trying to save you from flying in Airspace that your not suppose to and they are still missing some places like National Parks and military bases

 

[MPhelps81]

Fly in unrestricted airspace they are trying to save you from flying in Airspace that your not suppose to and they are still missing some places like National Parks and military bases

So you want DJI to include these areas? I disagree. I think they can be in the GEO system and give you a notification, but they should not make national parks a restricted zone. It should be up to the pilot to know and fly according to the low. DJI is showing that they are not capable of/willing to keep this system accurate and updated, so they should just not try.

Anyone dumb enough to fly on a military base will figure out why that's a mistake very quickly.

 

[Bubbles!!!]

And then the one caught on the military base will try to sue DJI for not being informant enough, or forceful in their efforts to not allow such flights to take place in these areas. Liability and covering ***'s is all the paper work is. If you live in a NFZ I say look at an VFR map, see the nearest location where you can fly, and fly there, if you need a shot in the specific zones, apply for em and plan.
Not to seem like a sucker punch, but the rules and restrictions are here for a reason, and they are extremely extensive on purpose. If they weren't we'd be seeing even more crashed, disturbed, or delayed flights in one of the busiest airspaces in the world.

And Will, Try to apply for a personal unlocking for your drone, there's two options with DJI. They unlock it for a specific flight on a specific day... Or, you unlock it yourself taking full responsibility to get all other paperwork filed and approved previous to the flight. My understanding is that the second, once unlocked, just requires 1 sheet, a hobby flight request sent into the airport/airspace controller itself. It's what I'm going for since the entire island I plan to shoot on is covered completely plus 2 miles out into the Ocean... Best wishes on finding a way to speed things up though!

 

[MPhelps81]

And then the one caught on the military base will try to sue DJI for not being informant enough, or forceful in their efforts to not allow such flights to take place in these areas. Liability and covering ***'s is all the paper work is. If you live in a NFZ I say look at an VFR map, see the nearest location where you can fly, and fly there, if you need a shot in the specific zones, apply for em and plan.
Not to seem like a sucker punch, but the rules and restrictions are here for a reason, and they are extremely extensive on purpose. If they weren't we'd be seeing even more crashed, disturbed, or delayed flights in one of the busiest airspaces in the world.

And Will, Try to apply for a personal unlocking for your drone, there's two options with DJI. They unlock it for a specific flight on a specific day... Or, you unlock it yourself taking full responsibility to get all other paperwork filed and approved previous to the flight. My understanding is that the second, once unlocked, just requires 1 sheet, a hobby flight request sent into the airport/airspace controller itself. It's what I'm going for since the entire island I plan to shoot on is covered completely plus 2 miles out into the Ocean... Best wishes on finding a way to speed things up though!

That lawsuit wouldn't go anywhere. Manufacturers are not the ones liable for someone misusing their products. Just like a car manufacturer can't be at fault for someone getting in an accident or firearm manufacturers can't be at fault for someone shooting someone else.

 

[Steve P]

That lawsuit wouldn't go anywhere. Manufacturers are not the ones liable for someone misusing their products. Just like a car manufacturer can't be at fault for someone getting in an accident or firearm manufacturers can't be at fault for someone shooting someone else.

DJI is trying to make sure there are not stricter laws put in place by drone pilots not knowing or caring about where they can fly. The laws could be so much worse just look at the laws in Canada you pretty much cant fly anywhere there legally

 

[kb3301]

I'm actually not in a red zone and my spark will not take off. I verify that my flight does not cross through a NFZ with the FAA's B4UFly app and it shows I am several miles outside of the NFZ.
I've brought this to DJI's attention several times and they actually claimed that they don't draw the maps. When I asked who did they said the FAA. The fact is that the FAA maps indicate that I'm outside of the NFZ.
I've had to request approval for each area that I want to fly, and here's the kicker. Do you know why I was approved? Because it's not a NFZ in the first place! Now I have to resubmit my flight locations every 90 days and wait for approval from DJI's flysafe team.

I would never had purchased the spark had I known such a poorly organized flysafe program would have total control over the operation of my drone.

 

[RattVader]

Yeah I feel your pain...I’m about as red as you can get...
Restricted Special Use Airspace
FRZ C (WASHINGTON D.C.AREA C). So to fly at all I have at minimum a 15 minute drive just so I can launch the drone let alone get any respectable videos..but I knew that going in and I make it work..

 

[Playthru]

I’m in the same boat in the St.Louis area.I had a cheapie drone at first that I would fly just around the back yard and no higher than roof high,
I tried that with the spark when I first got it and it would not even take off and my wife started laughing hysterically when she saw it not being able to take off.

 

[REMUS1]

That lawsuit wouldn't go anywhere. Manufacturers are not the ones liable for someone misusing their products. Just like a car manufacturer can't be at fault for someone getting in an accident or firearm manufacturers can't be at fault for someone shooting someone else.

Tell that to the firearm industry. It costs them a lot of money to defend against anti-gun lawyers trying to become famous.

 

[ernestoc33]

Their software is buggy and doesn't always unlock even when you are in a zone where flying is okay.