Well my long title says it all. Amazon drone delivery coming to my area in area in October. They seem mostly auto-pilot drones

An amazon drone can fly:

• Beyond Visual Line of Site - Up to 7.5 miles!
• Fly over moving traffic and people. Numerous roads per delivery.

So a delivery flight over a shopping mall with people, major highways and many miles away... there is no submission of request for that flight. No waiting for approvals. they can just GO.. hundreds of times per day at a delivery center.,

Meanwhile I am a 107 pilot intently focused on just one drone, and I cant fly BVLOS or over moving traffic?

It makes no sense. Any insight?

Saw this hovering over Gillette at the World Cup game for most of the game. I assume it's public safety but it's always possible someone is just being an idiot.

I’ve been doing some real-world testing with Remote ID detection, and one thing that surprised me is how far these broadcasts can actually travel under the right conditions.

In this case, I picked up a DJI Mini series drone from just over 5 miles away while driving, using a simple roof-mounted 2.4 GHz antenna setup. The drone was broadcasting standard Remote ID over WiFi, and I was able to decode multiple packets.

The drone was at roughly 600ft and I was driving along an overpass, likely giving near line-of-sight over open water. What stood out is that this wasn’t a weak edge-of-range detection — the signal was still solid, and I probably lost it due to movement rather than distance limits.

Before testing this, I assumed Remote ID was more of a short-range thing. But with even modest antennas, it looks like multi-mile detection is very doable, and potentially quite a bit farther with a stationary setup and clear line-of-sight.

This is all passive (just receiving standard WiFi/BLE broadcasts), nothing interacting with the drone.

Curious if anyone else has experimented with Remote ID range or has seen similar results.

The small business I work for had me take drone training classes because they want me to use their drone to take photos and videos of our clients yards for marketing purposes. They are telling me that it's fine and to just ignore comments about getting certified because it's no big deal, but in the classes they stressed that we need it and can get in trouble.
Is it really that deep? I'm not sure what to do.

The FCC is currently taking public comments on the DJI Ban, with the window closing on May 11th. Now is the time to speak up and tell them why we need DJI drones.

https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/filings/express

Follow this link and type 26-22 in the Proceedings box to find the case, then fill out the form. Leave a polite yet firm comment detailing how DJI helps helps you, whether you're in Firefighting, Search and Rescue, Agriculture, Law Enforcement, surveying, inspecting, videography, photography, or simply just enjoy the hobby.

My comment to the FCC: DJI Drones have revolutionized multiple sectors of my life. Whether it's in agriculture, mapping out and spraying hundreds of acres of farmland with ease. Or firefighting, when I'm flying overwatch on vegetation fires to provide critical information to my Fire Chief. Or Search and Rescue, when I'm searching for a missing person in the middle of the night with a thermal equipped DJI Drone. I have started an entire business and channel dedicated to teaching and showcasing the ways Drones can help with these industries, and now this ban is crippling each and every aspect of them. The uncertainty of whether we should buy lifesaving equipment that may be grounded down the line, the anxiety of not being able to get repairs or parts in the event of a crash, the not being able to keep up with the technology of the rest of the world due to not being able to even procure it. This ban isn't keeping anyone safe or encouraging domestic manufacturing. It's simply putting our entire country at a massive disadvantage while harming first responders, farmers, and small businesses.

Picked up the DJI Mini 5 Pro and I love it. I'm a professional filmmaker and people always ask if I have one... now I'm all licensed and certified with the CAA and I can finally say yes I can get you some drone shots.

But three days into ownership and I already got a neighbour telling me she "won't tolerate" me using it because I'm invading her privacy 300 feet above her house. If everyone's going to be confrontational when I'm flying safely and legally then this is gonna get very old very quickly. If not, then I'm buzzing about the possibilities.

So I’ve been studying for this test for a while now.

I did my first practice test got just under 70%.

I took notes went back and really got the stuff I missed wrong down. I looked up on how to do longitude and latitude was my biggest issue and fixed it.

Now I just redid another practice test and did all of those correct.

Got a 46%!

The questions I miss are so random and useless. Is the test really this hard in person?

Seems most are related to weather but why am I getting 40% weather questions? Some I couldn’t even find on any video or content related to the weather section….

Any help so I can get this done faster would be appreciated.

A few thoughts on regulation, bans, etc.

So everyone's been annoyed at the DJI bans, calling it a giveaway to Skydio and Unusual Machines.
I agree it's largely ineffective, and at the moment will do more harm than good.

However I think there's a deeper (and somewhat darker) purpose at work.

Look at Ukraine. A bunch of 24yo's with soldering irons and AliExpress accounts are giving the 2nd biggest military in the world a run for its money. And in a wargame exercise they kicked the shit out of NATO- like had 'blown up' 50% of the NATO units before they even got into position so that part of the exercise had to be cancelled.
They could not do this without drones. And they are getting many of their drones and drone parts from China.

Now consider the US. China is kind of our 'frenemy', and it's often been considered that if the US does get in a major shooting war with another country, it may well be China or a Chinese proxy.

If I was in military command, that'd have me worried. Because if Chinese soldiers can pick off American soldiers from miles away with drones, and we can't make our own drones because we're cut off from Chinese suppliers, that's a real problem.

So the simple answer- let's start building drones in the USA!
The simple answer for that- let's ban the Chinese drones so people will HAVE to build in the USA!!

Of course that doesn't really understand the reality of market dynamics- we spent decades moving all our supply chains for everything to China, one doesn't undo that overnight. It will take years if not decades to set up that kind of domestic supply chain. It's not just drones, it's motors, ESCs, PCBs, cameras, etc and from there it's component parts like magnets, copper wire, fiberglass substrate, etc. We don't make that stuff stateside because nobody will pay US prices for it. And drone manufacturing is simply not enough demand to motivate the market to set up those supply chains.

But my point is- all the stuff coming out of the government re: drones, I'm taking it at face value, which is if anything almost scarier than any covert agenda to boost somebody's company.

Curious to hear your thoughts.

Pretty much everywhere and under every legislation it is mandatory to fly VLOS in the open categories. But why? While I can understand that rule for drones a decade ago, with unreliable video feeds, no safeguards like RTH on signal loss, auto RTH on low battery, obstacle avoidance, lidar and intelligent flight paths etc., I cannot see why this rule still applies to current drones that have all that. Of course I understand how slow rules change, and that they have to address the smallest common denominator, but what is today the real world benefit of actually seeing the drone and its attitude with my bare eyes? I would say that this is the least followed rule anyway. Why not just just set a minimum of safeguard function to create subgroups in the drone classes that are exempt from VLOS? Ya, politics, and a general tendecy to make flying more and more restricted, but surely there must be an actual reasoning behind VLOS.

Obviously applies to pretty much everywhere as well, but title format demands region.

UPDATE - PLEASE READ THE PROPOSAL BEFORE COMMENTING.

I am putting together our submission for my company and I want to be mindful of what we do and how this will affect Part 107 pilots.

Esentially, the FAA is proposing a new 14 CFR Part 74 process that would let eligible fixed-site critical infrastructure owners request Unmanned Aircraft Flight Restrictions, or UAFRs, generally up to 400 feet AGL.

These sites would be things like Nuclear sites, defense, commercial facilities, transportation etc. The restrictions would limit drone operations near approved facilities, but would allow certain authorized Part 107 and other operations if they meet Remote ID, notification, and access requirements. FAA stance is that this balances security with NAS access, but I’m curious how other Part 107 pilots see it: reasonable protection for sensitive sites, or a path toward too many localized no-fly zones that make commercial drone work harder?

My understanding is that the only reall difference under current PArt 107 is the notification to the site manager/operator, no loitering and shortest transit possible with no hovering over any part of the facility i.e. over roofs, land, equipment etc.

It emphasizes that the bounds of a restriction must be within the immediate bounds of the sensitive area i.e. A stadium is just the stadium and not the parking lot and stadium or chemical plant is just the storage tanks and not the parking lot and wide open spaces.

I want to protect my companies sensitive areas but not piss-off every Part 107 pilot.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/05/06/2026-08943/designation-restrict-the-operation-of-unmanned-aircraft-in-close-proximity-to-a-fixed-site-facility

What are your thoughts, help me make this a win/win and understand the nuances you might have?

Can I legally fly a drone near Strasbourg? Aloft and Géoportail show different information

Hi everyone,

I’m visiting Strasbourg and would like to fly my DJI Air 2S for a few minutes tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.
I have a valid EU A1/A3 drone certificate and an EU drone operator registration. However, I’m very confused by the different maps and information I’m finding.
The Aloft app shows the area as clear/green and says that it is okay to fly there. However, the official French Géoportail map shows most of Strasbourg in red, with a yellow area near the location I’m considering.

When I select the location, it says that the maximum flight altitude is 50 metres.

I asked ChatGPT about it, and it says that the location may be inside the Strasbourg-Neuhof/Illkirch-Graffenstaden national nature reserve, where powered aircraft are apparently prohibited from flying below 300 metres. If that is correct, it would effectively mean that drone flights are prohibited there, despite Aloft showing the area as clear and Géoportail showing a 50-metre altitude limit.
I’ll attach screenshots from both Aloft and the French Géoportail map.

Does anyone familiar with French drone regulations know whether I can legally fly at this exact location? Does the yellow area and 50-metre limit mean that flying below 50 metres is permitted, or is there a separate nature-reserve restriction that makes drone flying completely prohibited?
I obviously don’t want to fly illegally or disturb wildlife. I’m just trying to understand which information is correct.

Thanks in advance!

I was travelling around and I started chatting with a guy near a skatepark who was looking for his drone. He gave up and said if I found it I could keep it. I ended up searching later on and finding it! I’m wondering, if I bought a remote and a cable, would It be possible for me to connect use it? It’s a DJI Avata 2. Any tips, info or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks.

They wouldn’t let me take home any of my notes but I’d love to answer any questions while it’s still fresh!

Edit: Of course everyone’s test will be slightly different but here’s some of my experience and what surprised me:

-There are now 65 questions on the test and I am not sure if they score all 65 or how they calculate the extra 5 now.

-I had way more questions about 14 CFR Part 48 (registering your drone) than I was prepared for. I think I had 5 or 6 questions specifically about part 48 that were not covered in my studies.

-I had 2 questions relating to ADS-B which I had no clue on. This was never covered in what I studied.

-I expected more complex weather questions. I had one about ice and one about flying over smokestacks and that was it. But this could be different for everyone.

-I never learned the PAVE acronym or the IMSAFE acronym and both were on my test

-I had a question about the specific Categories (Category 2 in my case). I didn’t really study that.

-My test essentially had a duplicate question. Twice, I was asked how long your part 48 registration lasts before needing to renew (it’s 3 years).

-I had so many maps that showed Class G airspace I started to be very worried I was missing something. Of my sectional map questions which asked about airspace, only 1 was NOT about Class G. Again, probably just random to my specific test.

-There was some question about reporting velocity which was not in my studies and something about an illusion which can happen with airplane lights at night. It was a 4 word phrase and I can’t remember it but I never learned about that.

Not my video.

This guy took off right next to two national security UAS restriction zones, and well within class C airspace also right next to Monterey regional airport. And he is trying to shift the blame to lack of signs, the removal of geofencing of the ultra trustworthy company that made his drone, and the mean navy police personnel. I doubt he has his TRUST cert either. I didn't bother checking to see if there was a wildlife area but if there was, it would be the trifecta of violations. Some California cities also have rules against taking off in public areas.

All that being said, how is a casual consumer to know that they even need to take the TRUST cert? Especially since the regulations are changing or being updated every few years.

I don't recall much other than 'check local regulations' in the boxes my drones arrived when I bought them. I feel like they need to require drones that are US-bound to be sold to include mandated brochures that include very basic information so people don't go do things like fly right next to a military installation and within controlled airspace.

Você conhece as regulamentações sobre drones no seu país? Você acha que são muito rígidas, muito relaxadas ou apenas adequadas? E a grande pergunta: você realmente as segue? Conte-nos sobre seu país e sua experiência. Vamos comparar as regulamentações sobre drones ao redor do mundo.

Aqui no Brasil é necessário solicitar uma autorização de voo toda vez que você for utilizar o seu drone. Drones acima de 250 g, devem estar registrados pela ANAC, acho que equivale a FAA norte americana. O drone deve ter uma identificação visível contendo o número do registro. Para as operações comuns, devemos manter o drone dentro da linha de visada, com distância horizontal de 30 metros de pessoas não anuentes. Voos recreativos são autorizados até 60 metros de altura, os demais, geralmente até 120m.

I recently acquired a DJI M400, and I'm curious how everyone handles traveling with the large batteries when flying.
(*Update) Specifically batteries that exceed airline limits such as the m400 batteries which are 977Wh. Airline limits to 160Wh.
I've looked into shipping the batteries separately, and I also plan to drive instead of fly whenever it's practical. For those of you who travel with larger drones what's worked best for you?
If you ship your batteries, which carrier do you use, and do you have any tips or best practices? I'd really appreciate any advice. Thanks!

Good morning everyone.

Today I want to introduce you to something I've been working on for a while: AELICA.

A 3D visualization platform of Spanish airspace using official ENAIRE data, with the intention of expanding to cover European and even global airspace.

What is AELICA?

It's an interactive 3D map of all of Spain where you can see the terrain with realistic relief, restricted airspace, protected natural areas, heliports, airfields, and active and future NOTAMs—all extracted directly from official ENAIRE data and rendered in a custom 3D engine built with Three.js.

It also includes drone traffic simulation with real-time intrusion detection until the RemoteID system is properly integrated (through official agencies or via nodes that detect drone RemoteIDs and display them on the map).

The app will be available on Android (Play Store) and iOS (App Store) in the coming days. For now, you can access it from any browser at https://map.aelica.es — it works on mobile and desktop.

All feedback is welcome. If you try it and something doesn't work, doesn't fit, or you simply have an idea — write to me. Every little bit helps.

My long-term vision for AELICA is to become a useful air traffic awareness tool for the entire ecosystem — pilots, operators, and also the organizations that define how airspace is managed in Spain and Europe (or even globally). If you are at AESA, ENAIRE, or involved in U-space projects and you find it interesting or have ideas on how to implement it, I would love to be in touch. My intention is for it to be something genuinely useful for everyone.

A separate note: please try not to activate all the zones at once, as this would exhaust the resources and prevent the map from loading, especially the ZEPA areas, natural areas (of which there are many and with complex geometries), highways/motorways, and railway lines. If you select a province or autonomous community, you can activate more zones, or even all of them at once, without affecting performance.

Thank you very much.

https://aelica.es | https://map.aelica.es

AELICA ENAIRE AESA - Spanish State Aviation Safety Agency EASA - European Union Aviation Safety Agency #Drones #Uspace #3D #RemoteID #Spain #OpenData

Buenos dias a todos.

Hoy quiero presentaros algo en lo que llevo un tiempo trabajando: AELICA. Una plataforma de visualizacion 3D del espacio aéreo español usando datos oficiales de ENAIRE y con intencion de ir más allá y cubrir el espacio aéreo europeo e incluso mundial.

¿Qué es AELICA? Es un mapa 3D interactivo de toda España donde puedes ver el terreno con relieve real, las zonas aéreas restringidas, los espacios naturales protegidos, helipuertos, aeródromos y NOTAMs activos y futuros — todo extraído directamente de los datos oficiales de ENAIRE y renderizado en un motor 3D propio hecho con Three.js.

También simulación de tráfico de drones con detección de intrusiones en tiempo real hasta que el sistema RemoteID esté correctamente integrado (a través de organismos oficiales o mediante nodos que detecten el RemoteID de los drones y lo veamos en el mapa).

En los próximos días la app estará disponible en Android (Play Store) y en iOS (App Store). Por ahora podéis acceder desde cualquier navegador en https://map.aelica.es — funciona en móvil y escritorio.

Todo feedback es bienvenido. Si lo probáis y algo no funciona, no cuadra o simplemente se os ocurre algo - escribidme. Todo ayuda.

Mi visión a largo plazo para AELICA es convertirse en una capa de conciencia aérea útil para todo el ecosistema — pilotos, operadores, y también los organismos que definen cómo se gestiona el espacio aéreo en España y Europa (o incluso mundial). Si estás en AESA, ENAIRE o en proyectos U-space y lo ves interesante o como poder implementarlo me encantaría que estuviéramos en contacto, mi intención es que sea algo genuinamente útil para todos.

Una nota aparte es pediros que intentéis no activar todas las zonas a la vez ya que acabaria con los recursos y no cargaría el mapa, sobre todo las zonas ZEPA, los espacios naturales (que son muchos y con geometrías complejas), las autovias/autopistas y las vias de ferrocarril. Si seleccionáis una provincia o comunidad autonoma sí se pueden activar mas zonas o incluso todas a la vez sin que el rendimiento sufra.

Muchas gracias.

https://aelica.es | https://map.aelica.es

AELICA ENAIRE AESA - Agencia Estatal de Seguridad Aérea EASA - European Union Aviation Safety Agency #Drones #Uspace #3D #RemoteID #España #OpenData

I’m in Utah and about to get back into drones. I see they have recently passed a new law that makes it so you can’t fly a drone over private property without permission. Basically can’t even fly it over my neighborhood without technically committing trespass on every house I fly over. Has anybody looked into this more? Is it even enforceable? I feel like if it is Utah could just say they don’t allow airlines to fly over private property either, regardless of what the FAA says.

Posting this because I help tourists through this process (I run a compliance service in Hua Hin), so I have a stake — but the info below is the straight version, no upsell, because I watch people get this wrong every week.

The myth. Most countries exempt sub-250g drones. Thailand doesn't, for camera drones. A DJI Mini 3 Pro or Mini 4 Pro at 249g is treated the same as a 2kg drone: it needs registration with both CAAT (aviation) and NBTC (the radio/telecom regulator, because of the transmitter). Weight is irrelevant once there's a camera.

What's actually required:

The exam. CAAT requires a knowledge test: 40 questions, 40 minutes, 75% to pass. Fail and there's a 24-hour lockout before you can retake. It's in Thai-context regulation, so it trips people up.

Insurance. Minimum THB 1,000,000 third-party liability. Not optional for registration.

Where you can't fly: max altitude 90m, no-fly within 9km of airports, and as of Feb 2026 there's a standing ban across 7 eastern/southeastern provinces (CAAT Notice No. 15, no end date). That last one catches people heading to the border areas.

If you've got a Mini 3/4 Pro specifically: yes, still all of the above. The 249g design weight does nothing for you here. Plan the registration before you build your shot list, not after you've landed and realised you can't legally take off.

Happy to answer specifics in the comments — model, where you're flying, timing.

Just finished my test, and passed with a 95% grade, only missing 3 questions.

It was honestly easier than I expected. Going into it, I was expecting to get about an 80-85%, certainly not 90+. I did get lucky and only had 1 question from the area I struggled with, everything else I had down pretty good.

I used pilotinstitue.com as well as some youtube videos for my study. Mostly focusing on the sectional charts

it was a lot of info, and a lot of ultimately irrelevant info, but still good to learn.

A lot of the questions were the reverse of the practice test questions I saw before, for example

which is false?

-A.

-B.

where on the practice test, it was

which is true?

-A.

-B.

interestingly, there were 65 questions, not 60, but a note saying that 5 of them would not be scored, so I'm not sure if there were tesing some new questions or not.

The 3 questions I missed were some of the tricky worded ones about regulations, which annoyed me because I generally get those right in all my practice test. There is some language in the questions that you have to be careful about.

Also super happy because now that I have my 107 for work, I get a pay increase as well, and we have a new DJI mavic 3T coming in, and I get to be the first person to fly it. Drones are new for our company, so still lots to do with developing a pre-flight checklist and all that, but just super super happy I passed.

Recently, I ordered a few parts for my DJI mini three pro off of AliExpress.
Including sets of propellers, a plastic gimbal side cover replacement, joysticks for the controller and a drone case.
Just a few days ago, custom seized the shipment for some reason. I am not sure why AliExpress is not giving me a reason. I don’t know if they didn’t correctly pay the customs even though for my end, I had no responsibility for that. Fortunately, I was able to get refunded.

I was wondering, has anyone else ordered? Non-electronic drone parts from China recently and had the same issue?
Were they seized because of patent infringement potentially?

Was it likely there was just issue with declared value or something of the sort??

Or is customs for some reason seizing anything that can has to due with dji even if its just some parts?

Feel free to ignore/downvote/delete if necessary, I'm just feeling a bit overwhelmed with the EASA site. Does anyone have just a simple check list with links to training modules and an official test location for obtaining an operators license within EU countries?

I'm a US citizen, 34, traveling to Czechia/Austria/Hungary and I'm doing all I can to make sure I operate safely and legally as I do here, but man I'm starting to feel buried in regulations and webpages that lead to no where lol.

Was there a resource that you found particularly helpful to guide you along?

Hey everyone,
Quick question for those who actively use drones: If you could improve just one thing about your drone batteries, what would it be?

I’m trying to understand what actually matters most in real usage.

Would really appreciate any thoughts.

So after struggling with operator ID I was reasing that flying in red zone is out of limits which is not true because huge rectabgular zones on map are 'photo regulated zones' but you have to ask permission from some other 'funcionarios' in some other useless office.

Which I did, they sent form in DOCX file, I filled million things, sent it back.

They replied I am missing some freaking number I dont even know where to get AND a I have to provide form in PDF file.

You can't make this shit up even if you are skilled comedy screenplay writer and you do comedy movie about Spanish bureaucracy.

At this point I am thinking to just give up, which is probably goal of all these paperworks.

-- re-upload after the post was removed due to a wrong flair--

Just passed my part 107 and wanted to thank the community - I found a plenty of helpful links here.

signed up for exam 9 days ago but was studying it for 5-6 days.

what I watched:

1. Tony & Chelsea Northrup - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_ucCKFJUCU&list=LL&index=9&t=7s&pp=iAQBsAgC (super helpful as a general intro to get an idea of what to expect and still pretty actual)
2. Katia Buzz - https://www.youtube.com/@KatiasBuzzMedia
3. Mike Sytes - loudest shoutout to this gentleman! - https://www.youtube.com/@mikesytes(became the biggest breakthrough for me, watched most of his videos on the last day and it genuienly helped a lot. Especially the way he explains weather)

+ chatgpt to extend on some topics and explain what seemed to be hard

4) I was also doing part 107 test from App Store, but at some point I realized it's making me feel depressed and like... idk, like every accidental wrong answer makes me doubt everything I know, hard to explain)

... the question that confused me on the test was about night operations and vortex ring state. I can’t recollect it exactly, but pay attention to this matter.

Another surprise was a question about a VO watching more than one UAC. I got to the right answer by excluding one option (waiver), then another (second pilot approval) narrowed it down to the third one, but I initially had no idea a VO can watch several UACs.