Hello,
I recently have encountered issues flying in “no fly zones” that I am authorized to fly in with my Part 107 and LAANC authorization. I would like to unlock these no fly zones as I am authorized in DJI Go and Legally to fly within them. I have also contacted you using the contact form on the DroneDeploy Website.
Thank you.
Hello @GarnetAerials. In response to the No Fly Zone Issue:
Flying in a No Fly Zone/Restricted Zone in the DroneDeploy app is not currently possible. To describe what is happening as far as No Fly Zone: DJI’s SDK is unreliable in that it will not effectively communicate with our app to set waypoints so you can launch your flight. We have been trying to implement a reliable feature that will allow users to fly in No Fly Zones (NFZ restriction feature). However, we are experiencing issues with this from the DJI side. We are currently in talks with DJI and they acknowledge this issue with their SDK.
This affects DJI SDK 4.4 and lower (which is the latest SDK version at the time of this writing).
Using the DJI GO app, users are able to fly when unlocked. However, this is not the case for the DroneDeploy app.
Thank you!
Thank you for the information @Yusuf. Is enabling nfz flight in development right now?
I have a project in Class C airspace and even though I have a waiver (which really didn’t matter), communication with the ATC (which did matter) and LAANC (which is a joke) ready I could not get my aircraft to takeoff with DroneDeploy. I could takeoff with DJI G4, but I ended up flying the Yuneec instead. I will revisit that site next week so do you have any advice?
The problem with DD is really a problem with DJI’s SDK from what I understand. The unlock is triggered in GO, but the the unlock in not triggered in the hooks provided by the SDK. It’s been like this for a long time now so I don’t think DJI will fix it. We probably will have to wait for GEO 2.0 and hope that DJI actually addresses the issue with the SDK.
DD devs could possibly get creative and find a way around it. But I doubt that it is something they really care about at this point. Easier to just say it’s the SDK’s fault, which is true.
I would be interested in you comment about LAANC.
I should probably clarify that it’s a joke in our area. Very rarely does anybody respond to it. I’ve had two instances where I’ve submitted via LAANC and got rejected so I filed for a traditional waiver and called ATC and was able to fly within a couple of days. Most of the airports smaller than Class C that I have worked with don’t even care to coordinate with LAANC. They just want you to call to check with their schedule and let them know when and how you will be proceeding. it’s going to take a while before the system can function the way it was designed.
Wow, that’s terrible. In direct conflict with what the FAA says to do. I guess it’s their heads on the block though.
How do I request permission from Air Traffic Control to operate in Class B, C, D, or E airspace? Is there a way to request permission electronically?
You can request airspace authorization through an online web portal available at www.faa.gov/uas/request_waiver.
Can I contact my local air traffic control tower or facility directly to request airspace permission?
No. All airspace permission requests must be made through the online portal.
Yeah - A, B and C for sure. Good luck to getting the rest to respond without a phone call.
@MichaelL @Dave Hey guys! As much as we want to correct this issue (trust me this has been coming up for a while now) we are limited on what we can do. We have built our app around the DJI SDK so trying to make changes to influence the drone directly in terms of take-off is difficult. We merely send messages to the drone to follow and the drone takes it upon itself to initiate those actions. If there is a block, such as a No Fly Zone, its difficult to override this. Hopefully, in the future, we can correct this issue but in the meantime, our current stance on this stands. Thanks!