4 ms·

I think the real drone market is in the sub 250g area. Flying anything above this is legally a serious pain in most jurisdictions. I spent days researching it,

I think the real drone market is in the sub 250g area. Flying anything above this is legally a serious pain in most jurisdictions. I spent days researching it, sure you can get away with it, which I hazard a guess many, many people do. You can buy these classes of drone on Amazon with no licence checks. In most of Europe, legally, there is a very, very limited market for this drone IMO. They shouldn’t market it as a hobbyist product, because legally it really isn’t in that category. I’m sure I’ll get downvotes but.. I would love to fly this, but legally I know it would be very very problematic beyond what the slash page sells me. As an example, a friend bought a similar class drone on Amazon and was shocked when I told him that legally he couldn’t fly it anywhere within London, where he lives. Most people don’t read the rules and regulations.

gpt5 5y ago
In the US, the only “benefit” of weighing less than 250g, is that recreational pilots don’t need to register the drone. All other regulation applies.
- causi 5y ago
  Almost, but not quite. In the US you're legally beholden to fly according to the guidelines of a "community-based organization", which often include generic guidelines like "don't fly wrecklessly" and "don't pose a danger to people, vehicles, animals, or disturb the peace". Should someone call the police on you, it's easier to argue your compliance when your drone is tiny than when it's big. Smaller also tends to be quieter, so you disturb people less and are less likely to get in trouble in the first place.
  - wizardofaz 5y ago
    “Smaller tends to be quieter” Not true in this case. Smaller tends to have higher pitched prop noise which is much more noticeable and annoying to the people around. The larger mavics have larger props that produce a lower pitch noise which blends in much more easily.
  - teeray 5y ago
    > In the US you're legally beholden to fly according to the guidelines of a "community-based organization" Only when flying recreationally under USC 44809. Part 107 is free from CBO requirements (but, of course, has others). There’s also a reckless operation catch-all in 107 too.
- Steltek 5y ago
  You also escape future Remote ID requirements. For commercial drone pilots, I think you also escape qualifying the drone for certain operations but I'm not sure. I don't have the commercial license yet.
  - teeray 5y ago
    You cannot under Part 107. Any sUAS that requires registration under Part 48 also requires Remote ID once Part 89 takes effect in September 2023. The only escape for Remote ID for Part 107 flights will be to fly in a FRIA (FAA Recognized Identification Area). However, sub 250g drones with prop guards can qualify as Category 1 drones (subpart D) allowing you to fly over open-air assemblies of people (e.g. concerts) once equipped with Remote ID.
fsloth 5y ago
"In most of Europe, legally, there is a very, very limited market for this drone IMO." I'm not sure what the overall EU regulation situation is, but in Finland which follows EU regulations very strictly, the drone flier registration required for above 250g was not really an issue. I've been flying my Mavic Pro legally just fine. The situation may be different in different jurisdictions of course. But I think the EU legislation has been crafted so that heavier flyers need to register, but is not so burdensome it would be a problem for hobbuists flying Mavic type drones.
- aix1 5y ago
  I think this very much depends on where one wants to fly, e.g. cities or nature. For a drone weighing 734g (Mavic Pro), under EASA rule one either - has to fly 150m away from residential, commercial or industrial areas (subcategory A3); or - is required to hold an A2 Certificate of Competence (which would allow flying close to uninvolved people but, at this weight, not over them). Qualifying for an A2 Certificate of Competence is not hard (I've done it both in the EU and the UK) but it is significantly more involved than punching a few details into a Web form.
  - addandsubtract 5y ago
    The base regulations aren't really the problem. It's the no-fly zones which make owning a hobby drone basically worthless. Granted, I've only looked at the maps of Germany and Spain, but any area near civilization is marked as a prohibited zone for one reason or another.
waltbosz 5y ago
This is a incidental comment about illegal drone flights that I thought some may find interesting. I live near Joe Biden's house. His neighborhood is off of a major road. Near the entrance to his neighborhood, there are LED road signs that say something like "Drone flights prohibited". I think drone flights are only prohibited while he is in town, which is semi-often. Not that you'd really want to fly a drone in his neighborhood, it's full of trees.
alasdair_ 5y ago
Note that many sub-250g drones do not include the battery. Once you add that you’re the ver the limit.

gpt5 5y ago

In the US, the only “benefit” of weighing less than 250g, is that recreational pilots don’t need to register the drone. All other regulation applies.

causi 5y ago
Almost, but not quite. In the US you're legally beholden to fly according to the guidelines of a "community-based organization", which often include generic guidelines like "don't fly wrecklessly" and "don't pose a danger to people, vehicles, animals, or disturb the peace". Should someone call the police on you, it's easier to argue your compliance when your drone is tiny than when it's big. Smaller also tends to be quieter, so you disturb people less and are less likely to get in trouble in the first place.
- wizardofaz 5y ago
  “Smaller tends to be quieter” Not true in this case. Smaller tends to have higher pitched prop noise which is much more noticeable and annoying to the people around. The larger mavics have larger props that produce a lower pitch noise which blends in much more easily.
- teeray 5y ago
  > In the US you're legally beholden to fly according to the guidelines of a "community-based organization" Only when flying recreationally under USC 44809. Part 107 is free from CBO requirements (but, of course, has others). There’s also a reckless operation catch-all in 107 too.
Steltek 5y ago
You also escape future Remote ID requirements. For commercial drone pilots, I think you also escape qualifying the drone for certain operations but I'm not sure. I don't have the commercial license yet.
- teeray 5y ago
  You cannot under Part 107. Any sUAS that requires registration under Part 48 also requires Remote ID once Part 89 takes effect in September 2023. The only escape for Remote ID for Part 107 flights will be to fly in a FRIA (FAA Recognized Identification Area). However, sub 250g drones with prop guards can qualify as Category 1 drones (subpart D) allowing you to fly over open-air assemblies of people (e.g. concerts) once equipped with Remote ID.

fsloth 5y ago

"In most of Europe, legally, there is a very, very limited market for this drone IMO." I'm not sure what the overall EU regulation situation is, but in Finland which follows EU regulations very strictly, the drone flier registration required for above 250g was not really an issue. I've been flying my Mavic Pro legally just fine. The situation may be different in different jurisdictions of course. But I think the EU legislation has been crafted so that heavier flyers need to register, but is not so burdensome it would be a problem for hobbuists flying Mavic type drones.

aix1 5y ago
I think this very much depends on where one wants to fly, e.g. cities or nature. For a drone weighing 734g (Mavic Pro), under EASA rule one either - has to fly 150m away from residential, commercial or industrial areas (subcategory A3); or - is required to hold an A2 Certificate of Competence (which would allow flying close to uninvolved people but, at this weight, not over them). Qualifying for an A2 Certificate of Competence is not hard (I've done it both in the EU and the UK) but it is significantly more involved than punching a few details into a Web form.
- addandsubtract 5y ago
  The base regulations aren't really the problem. It's the no-fly zones which make owning a hobby drone basically worthless. Granted, I've only looked at the maps of Germany and Spain, but any area near civilization is marked as a prohibited zone for one reason or another.

waltbosz 5y ago

This is a incidental comment about illegal drone flights that I thought some may find interesting. I live near Joe Biden's house. His neighborhood is off of a major road. Near the entrance to his neighborhood, there are LED road signs that say something like "Drone flights prohibited". I think drone flights are only prohibited while he is in town, which is semi-often. Not that you'd really want to fly a drone in his neighborhood, it's full of trees.

alasdair_ 5y ago

Note that many sub-250g drones do not include the battery. Once you add that you’re the ver the limit.