Hi all, first time using Drone Hub… be gentle ha ha! Today I was shooting at Cadgwith Cove,Cornwall UK… just outside the strict No Fly Zone of Royal Navy Air Station Culdrose. Production and myself had written permission to fly there, all paperwork, licensedand called in to air traffic control to advise we would begin shooting… however… when i tried to fly… props locked, No Fly Zone Authorisation required.. i tried to unlock the aircraft, signing up to the local pubs wifi to achieve this, I got my verbal unique auth code from DJI but it still said unable to unlock aircraft… could this be due to me having up to date firmware?? A colleague with an older DJI Mini 3 Pro, which he admitted he hasn’t updated in ages, simply advised caution and allowed full use?? At identical location so we used his aircraft. Anything I can do to prevent this happening again? Apologies if this is a stupid question! Huge thanks in advance of any help.
Sorry I should clarify, we had written permission from both the properties and contributors at the Cove as well s full and written permission from RNAS Culdrose Air Control.
That sounds more like a DJI geofencing difference than anything you did wrong on site. Having permission from Culdrose ATC doesn’t automatically override DJI’s own FlySafe restriction, so a newer firmware/app or updated GEO database could explain why your Mini refused to arm while the older one only gave a warning.
For future jobs that close to a restricted area, I’d submit the DJI unlock in advance and attach the ATC permission rather than relying on an on-site unlock. Also worth checking that the unlock licence has actually synced to the aircraft before you leave home.
I definitely wouldn’t start downgrading firmware or trying to work around the geofence. If one Mini 3 Pro behaves differently from another at the same location, I’d compare DJI Fly version, aircraft firmware and the FlySafe database first.
Sure I saw an unlock geofence or similar in the dji fly setting
Maybe an option
Not a stupid question at all — DJI’s geofencing can be a law unto itself, and it’s separate from having ATC/landowner/client permission. The most reliable way to avoid this is to do the DJI unlock in advance, while you’ve got good internet, using the exact aircraft serial number and DJI account/controller you’ll be flying with. Then power everything up before you travel, check the unlock certificate is synced to the controller/app, and do a quick motor-start test somewhere safe if possible.
Thanks for this… along the lines of what I was thinking… good plan regarding early downloads etc… I had a bit of duff info on location and was told no issues… of course ha ha! Thank you all for the sage wisdom!