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Here's the pilot's YT channel¹, and one of the videos that triggered the fines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQx6xhSSKco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQx6

Here's the pilot's YT channel¹, and one of the videos that triggered the fines: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQx6xhSSKco https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQx6xhSSKco ¹https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrLRWeZSXoTrDlZ5zfkWjQA https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrLRWeZSXoTrDlZ5zfkWjQA

hanklazard 6y ago
The Philly accent is truly something to behold.
Medox 6y ago
there's also his response: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_GgqTMvx-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_GgqTMvx-I
- loeg 6y ago
  @4:21 he claims to not know about any drone flight regulation rules until "a day ago" (video from November 27, 2020). That doesn't exactly square with receiving multiple FAA warnings, as early as October or November 2019.
fblp 6y ago
Thanks for sharing. That video to me indicates that he has a child-like blind love for his drones. I imagine he couldn't give up that love even as he got the letters from the FAA.
- strogonoff 6y ago
  On one hand, cases like this is why responsible pilots may become (and in some countries already are) unable to fly a drone without jumping through bureaucratic hoops. On the other hand, the About section of his channel is a poignant read. In my eyes, DJI application’s UI is as much (if not more) to blame here. It puts way, way too little emphasis on FAA regulation violations; a small corner alert when entering a controlled airspace is IMO inexcusable (“Fly with caution” and then it disappears). Generally speaking, the app knows everything necessary—location, country, time of day, lighting conditions—to show a big “Only proceed if you are indoors, outdoor flight is subject to $xxxxx fine” warning before flight takes place.
  - jiofih 6y ago
    The DJI software doesn’t allow take-off at all when inside a no fly zone. All models in the past five years come with a 120m max altitude set, and an absolute 500m limit. There is a huge buffer area around airports [1]. If you’re seeing the “fly with caution” warning, you are not in a controlled zone. This is purely a matter of regulations. [1] https://www.dji.com/nl/mobile/flysafe/introduction https://www.dji.com/nl/mobile/flysafe/introduction
    - Ancapistani 6y ago
      DJI’s “no fly zones” aren’t the same as the FAA’s airspace classification. I can take off through the DJI app even though I’m in controlled airspace for which there is no automated approval, but can’t take off without a specific exemption from DJI if I’m in the approach path of an airport even though it’s not operational at that time and the FAA considers it uncontrolled.
    - strogonoff 6y ago
      Great pointer, I stand corrected about my use of “controlled airspace”. I still think DJI UI is designed to enable fineable violations. The app at least knows it’s night and middle of a city; perhaps it can’t infer missing line of sight (questionable), but nighttime flight alone outdoors in a city is already illegal without a permit. A company like DJI could easily afford to scrape and aggregate UAV regulations from different regions (there are numerous websites doing just that already) and integrate relevant checks in the app.
deleted 6y ago
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hanklazard 6y ago

The Philly accent is truly something to behold.

Medox 6y ago

there's also his response: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_GgqTMvx-I https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L_GgqTMvx-I

loeg 6y ago
@4:21 he claims to not know about any drone flight regulation rules until "a day ago" (video from November 27, 2020). That doesn't exactly square with receiving multiple FAA warnings, as early as October or November 2019.

fblp 6y ago

Thanks for sharing. That video to me indicates that he has a child-like blind love for his drones. I imagine he couldn't give up that love even as he got the letters from the FAA.

strogonoff 6y ago
On one hand, cases like this is why responsible pilots may become (and in some countries already are) unable to fly a drone without jumping through bureaucratic hoops. On the other hand, the About section of his channel is a poignant read. In my eyes, DJI application’s UI is as much (if not more) to blame here. It puts way, way too little emphasis on FAA regulation violations; a small corner alert when entering a controlled airspace is IMO inexcusable (“Fly with caution” and then it disappears). Generally speaking, the app knows everything necessary—location, country, time of day, lighting conditions—to show a big “Only proceed if you are indoors, outdoor flight is subject to $xxxxx fine” warning before flight takes place.
- jiofih 6y ago
  The DJI software doesn’t allow take-off at all when inside a no fly zone. All models in the past five years come with a 120m max altitude set, and an absolute 500m limit. There is a huge buffer area around airports [1]. If you’re seeing the “fly with caution” warning, you are not in a controlled zone. This is purely a matter of regulations. [1] https://www.dji.com/nl/mobile/flysafe/introduction https://www.dji.com/nl/mobile/flysafe/introduction
  - Ancapistani 6y ago
    DJI’s “no fly zones” aren’t the same as the FAA’s airspace classification. I can take off through the DJI app even though I’m in controlled airspace for which there is no automated approval, but can’t take off without a specific exemption from DJI if I’m in the approach path of an airport even though it’s not operational at that time and the FAA considers it uncontrolled.
  - strogonoff 6y ago
    Great pointer, I stand corrected about my use of “controlled airspace”. I still think DJI UI is designed to enable fineable violations. The app at least knows it’s night and middle of a city; perhaps it can’t infer missing line of sight (questionable), but nighttime flight alone outdoors in a city is already illegal without a permit. A company like DJI could easily afford to scrape and aggregate UAV regulations from different regions (there are numerous websites doing just that already) and integrate relevant checks in the app.

deleted 6y ago

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