Quick points regarding the state of recreational drone flying. Recreational meaning drones weighing less than than .55 pounds / 250 grams, which makes them exempt from registration requirements when flying under the Exception for Limited Recreational Operations in the USA.
First and foremost, this is the one area where I see no viable alternatives, which is very sad. In case of TikTok there is Instagram, and there is Coinbase as an alternative to Binance. But when it comes to the market of recreational drones there’s nothing that comes close to DJI.
Second, the AI-driven obstacle avoidance is overrated. But the good news is that DJI provides an excellent customer service: the fly-away program delivers replacement drones the next day, faster than most banks deliver the lost cards replacement.
To fly recreationally you have to pass the TRUST test. It’s really straightforward and simple, the main idea is to stress out that flying a drone is a serious activity that poses many risks, which is my third point. The official recreational drone flying maximum altitude of 400 feet may seem low, but that’s so misleading. It’s only after you begin operating a drone when you start to notice and pay attention to all the low flying aircraft. For example, small airplanes tend to fly really low along beaches – the locations with stunning views for drone footage. Potential damage that a tiny 250 gram drone can inflict on an aircraft can be seen in the California firefighter plane case.
TRUST also mentions local regulations, that’s repeated so many times that it’s impossible to forget. And that brings me to my fourth point: in most cases, local rules make it clear that drone flying is prohibited. Drones are banned in major cities like NYC and Washington, in all state parks, at ski resorts – essentially every location I had in mind turned out to have drone restrictions.
Before flying a drone one has to invest significant effort into researching local rules and regulations. There are services that help determine if flying a drone is permitted from the FAA’s perspective, but there is no centralized service that tells you whether the particular area has local restrictions
Flying internationally brings a whole new level of complexity, and my fifth point is: think three times before taking your drone abroad to avoid getting in trouble with the law, as many countries are much less forgiving compared to the USA. In the European Union, for example, there are EU-wide regulations that apply to all member states, but then each country has their own FAA-like organization with additional, often more restrictive rules. That system is designed to discourage tourists bringing their drones and disturbing the local population. For example, in Italy it is a legal requirement to have any drone insured for one million euros in damages. At the time of writing it is impossible for a US resident to get such insurance. Another example is Switzerland, that requires all drone pilots to register with the national aviation authority, but registration is only available to EU residents. All that makes it seemingly impossible to travel with a drone to the EU, however for truly dedicated pilots, there are certain loopholes that may provide a way forward.
Despite all of the challenges above, drone videos are so breathtaking that it’s worth taking that journey. Good luck finding a good spot, and remember to fly responsibly.
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