I've had a couple of incidents where I lost conrol of my Mavic and it drifted into a wall (luckily only broken props).   My assumption is that it's related to the cycling of the GPS/OPTI/ATTI modes while flying inside an aircraft hangar at an airport (class D airspace).  I realize that flying in a Class D airspace requires authorization, but also know that flying inside a building would not require that.  Does anyone know how the drone would react inflight if it suddenly realized it was flying in a geo-fenced no-fly zone?  Would the controller loose the ability to control the drone altogether?  I guess the best way to fix that issue is to get authorization for the class D airspace and update the info on the http://www.dji.com/flysafe/geo-system.  I really want to take some videos & photos inside the hangar!  Thoughts?  

Jim ,
I'm not sure if you need clearance to fly in a NFZ when your indoors --- Good question
Yes the Mavic can fly indoors , you need good lighting and a floor that has a pattern that the VPS can read
Also use Extreme Caution it can become tricky   

Thanks for your feedback.  I"m sorry, but I think I failed to ask my question clearly.  I'm wondering what would happen when the controller switched from OPTI mode to GPS inside a "no-fly/restricted" zone.  In OPTI mode the aircraft doesn't know its geo-referenced positioned, but when GPS enables it realizes it's in a restricted zone.  My assumption is that flight control would be lost since DJI won't let the aircraft operate in a restricted zone unless properly authorized online prior to flight.  Has anyone else experienced that?

My assumption is that it's related to the cycling of the GPS/OPTI/ATTI modes while flying inside

Yes, that would be consistent with other similar experiences people have reported here.

Does anyone know how the drone would react inflight if it suddenly realized it was flying in a geo-fenced no-fly zone?

That was discussed recently by someone who took off in an NFZ before his Mavic acquired a GPS signal. In a nutshell, he reported that after a short delay (about 20 seconds) it began trying to land, though he did still have some control over it.

Would the controller loose the ability to control the drone altogether?

Apparently not. What was described in that other thread sounds like what occurs when the critical battery level threshold is reached: the aircraft wants to descend, but you still have a bit of control over it.

I guess the best way to fix that issue is to get authorization for the class D airspace

If you mean fulfill the FAA's requirement of notifying the tower and airport manager I don't imagine that will help. If you mean that you think that the Mavic (incorrectly) believes itself to be in an NFZ and want to get the DJI database updated, that's easy enough to check: just power it on outdoors, wait for it to acquire GPS, and see what happens. If it's willing to let you take off then you aren't in an NFZ.

I really want to take some videos & photos inside the hangar!  Thoughts?

Use prop guards, go slow, and try to stay away from windows where GPS signals can leak into the hangar.

Mavic Jim Posted at 2017-4-7 18:30
Thanks for your feedback.  I"m sorry, but I think I failed to ask my question clearly.  I'm wondering what would happen when the controller switched from OPTI mode to GPS inside a "no-fly/restricted" zone.  In OPTI mode the aircraft doesn't know its geo-referenced positioned, but when GPS enables it realizes it's in a restricted zone.  My assumption is that flight control would be lost since DJI won't let the aircraft operate in a restricted zone unless properly authorized online prior to flight.  Has anyone else experienced that?

Jim ,

You do not loose RC control  -- you may not even be able to take off
lets say if you do fly into a NFZ the Mavic will verbally warn you are in a NFZ
But you will not loose the control signal to operate it
I heard of one pilot couldn't even take off
I heard of another pilot that did fly into a NFZ and kept getting warnings of it till he flew out of it
But I never heard off a Mavic Crashing due to RC loss by flying in or into  a NFZ
hope this info helps you

Yes, when you get a GPS lock there is no indoor/outdoor information so you have to jump through whatever hoops there are to show you have FAA authorization to fly in a NFZ.   WHich sounds like a pain in the butt.  Of course the FAA will have no flying indoor issues.  How to communicate that to the automated DJI authorization systems I'm not sure, so I shouldn't say it's going to very painful.  But I bet it will be.

I fly light aircraft all the time and we're responsible for complying with the FARs.  You use whatever NAV aids and sectional information you need.  Interesting why we get all this "help" forced upon us by DJI.  If they made cars they'd have governors coupled with a GPS speed limit database, and restrict your speed.  If you were trying to get to a hospital with someone dying in the back seat, tough luck..  Most of the maximum altitudes sound very reasonable in the new FAA maps for commercial drone operator guidance.  I still think having to get prior authorization to fly at 150' 4.9 miles from Macon Airport (say) is more than a bit absurd.  But agencies like the FAA don't care about wasting resources.  They want a bigger budget and more people.  Hence de facto laws in the form of regulations that were not directly made by law makers with voter accountability.

maybe this can help... decided to fly indoors. Take off in ATTI mode about 20 feet away from patio door. Controls fine, but when I get near door, it goes into GPS mode and starts to "float" in weird directions. Kinda like a cheap drone, it doesn't stop when I let go of the controls. I manage to control it back away from the door, it goes back in to ATTI mode and it snaps back in to better control. I did this a few times and it happened every time. Can this be the "fly away" problem people are having?

Has anyone figured this out?  My house is literally 50 yards from the edge of the Disney World NFZ.  I cannot fly indoors because the Mavic won't let it takeoff.  I cannot believe they haven't created an 'Indoor' mode you can select.  It could offer the standard warnings you have to OK and maybe limit the altitude to 50' or so, the max height I can imagine for a barn, hangar or other building you might fly in.

I really want to take some videos & photos inside the hangar!  Thoughts?  

If hangar has planes in it, and you have a Mavic Pro, I would get these: Prop Cages.  At very least use Prop Guards
Bang into an expensive private aircraft with spinning props, and it might be far more costly.