I ordered a DJI Phantom 3 pro on Wednesday. I was super excited when it arrived on Friday !! I did all my firmware upgrades and got it all ready to fly Saturday morning. I head out to the field by my house calibrate it get ready to fly and it says I am in a " No Fly Zone". I figured it was some kind of mistake the nearest major airport is 20 miles away. So I go back to the house start digging online and find out every where around our house is a no fly zone. I live in Greenbelt Maryland which is 13 miles outside DC. The no fly zone is ridiculously large.... I am disabled and have no way to drive everytime I want to fly. I am so dissappointed... When you order a Phantom if your shipping address is in a no fly zone you should be notified at check out. So I am done with DJI !! I understand the small no fly zones around airports, but it should stop at that. A 40 mile circle around DC is so extreme. This is a terrible stomp on our freedom to enjoy things we love to do. It should not be DJI's job to tell me where I can and can't fly. All that being said I am looking for a Drone similar to the DJI, but with out this stupid no fly zone crap. Any suggestions ?

Is this an FAA regulation or did DJI arbitrarily make up this NFZ?

Just curious, I don't keep up on them since I live in BFE.
Nevermind, found this on the DJI website.... http://www.dji.com/fly-safe/category-mc

Sorry to hear about the NFZ...you can bet DJI did not do this of their own accord, surely they had influence and realized if they did not get pro active with what some idiots have been doing with their drones then a bigger hammer would fall, sure there are ways around it but it eliminates the general masses from making some simple mistakes in busier areas per se..
As for knowing your address and advising you were in a NFZ..most folks order these on line, how would they know you were not ordering this for a relative as a gift that lived in the country or elsewhere?

As for recommendations, there are lots of smaller drones out there that are pretty robust, do a bit of research and I am sure a few others will chime in,,,
Try returning the one you have and good luck, hope you get it sorted..,.

When you order a Phantom if your shipping address is in a no fly zone you should be notified at check out. So I am done with DJI....

And here is me thinking I've heard every reason to shitcan dji... Unbelievable.

You are probably within 25 Miles of the White House. DJI made the adjustment to comply with the Federal Law, no drones within 25 miles of the White House. This is due to the event of someone landing on the White House Lawn. As usual, it only takes one fool to hurt all of us in the community. It is not the fault of DJI. They were made to do it to comply with the Legislation. Don't quit, just travel outside of the 25 mile limit.
Hope this helps?

sgeprods Posted at 2015-8-9 07:27
When you order a Phantom if your shipping address is in a no fly zone you should be notified at che ...

It would be extremely easy for them to implement. Hell just have a notice at check out linking thier map " Check no fly zones before purchase". Pretty straight forward ! Thanks for being a great forum member....

put aluminum on the top of u r P3. it will block GPS so it can't tell where it is and you can fly. just be careful as you won't have failsafe

Gun, I feel for you!!!!
Sorry to hear you live "Under The Dome". I live south just at the edge of the DC NFZ and like you had NO idea of the restricted DOME. I was just lucky:

I however, blame our current society and herd mentality culture for these asinine restrictions imposed as SECURITY restriction by the FAA: Notice to Airmen (NOTAM)
A good place for folks to go to see the real world we fly in is SKYVECTOR

However, let me tell you that while your frustrations are real and valid, your quad is more than worth driving out to Rockville or Gaithersberg to fly (easy for me to say, right). But really, the Phantom is a technology marvel worth the effort... Again, sorry that you live Under the Dome!

Thanks Obama.


...someone had to say it

I think I would move.  

Here is another suggestion, do as I did and research the area you live in first, it is not that difficult. I don't blame DJI or any other business for not doing my home work for me. Just sayin.

magart2.hotmail Posted at 2015-8-9 11:59
Here is another suggestion, do as I did and research the area you live in first, it is not that diff ...

Magart2, I likewise in no way blame DJI for GunSurgeon's situation. But let me pose a hypothetical scenario. Let's say that like you, I researched the highway speeds for the state I live in and find that the fastest speed is 65 mph on the Interstate. But I buy an auto capable of traveling 120 mph, only to discover that the automobile manufacturer has been required to put a governor on my auto which restricts my travel to a max of 65mph because of Security. After all, I may kill someone by exceeding the legal speed limit. Well, that's what the FAA is doing. Washington DC is one of the most aerial photographic cities in the US, but there's no provision for even one exception to allow even one citizen to photograph their national capitol with a Phantom 3. Glad we live in a free society where you can do your research before you buy your quad copter. But I feel for the OP because he must travel to enjoy the pleasures of his copter. There's no exception for him to fly it in his own back yard. How is that fair and what did he do to deserve being singled out because of where he bought property -> before the FAA restricted the airspace above his property?

Try flying in atti mode. I have heard that you can use this mode in no fly zones. Just be cautious, easier to lose your bird this way.

terrylewis Posted at 2015-8-9 12:28
Magart2, I likewise in no way blame DJI for GunSurgeon's situation. But let me pose a hypothetical ...

I get what you are saying.  But in your example, the restriction again should only be within the downtown DC area.  Once the driver goes outside that large red circled restricted area, he can then go back to driving as fast as he wants.

In that new scenario, I would still buy the fast car.  Cause the number of restricted areas is still so small compared to the number of open areas.

The heart-ache for GunSurgeon is his disability, which is causing him to not be able to just hop in the car and drive a few miles away.  It appears to be a major undertaking.  

But, sorry GunSurgeon, this is in no way DJI's fault.  They may have issues, and effective customer communication is one of them, but not this time.

I hope you find a way around this problem.  Good luck!!

terrylewis Posted at 2015-8-9 12:28
Magart2, I likewise in no way blame DJI for GunSurgeon's situation. But let me pose a hypothetical ...

All I am saying is that if you look at the fly safe page on DJI's website it pretty much tells you that the Phantom has the capability to not fly in no fly zones. Before I spend $1300.00 I do as much research as I can. To blame DJI for the no fly zones is just not right, they posted and why they do it, on their website. How much do we expect of manufactures before we accept a little responsibility from ourselves?

You've got more flight restriction problems than what were stated.

Greenbelt is 12.5 miles from Washington National Airport, 14 miles from BWI Airport and only 11 miles from the NSA. While the NSA falls out side the no fly zone, I wouldn't suggest flying there. I'm actually dumb founded as to why it's not also listed.

The Washington DC no-fly-zone, yes is indeed overly broad. I used to fly a camera equipped nitro helicopter all around Great Falls on the Potomac. Under the latest air grab, the National Park Service won't allow for you to fly from park property without special permits. Well Great Falls is within the cone of the DC no fly, so that's now out.

Most of Rockville is also a no fly area. The arbitrary listing of areas boggles the mind. The State airport that was next door to where I worked isn't listed as a no fly, yet a rinky dink airport non control towered airport a few miles from home is. No rhyme or reason appears to have prevailed.

Northofthe49th Posted at 2015-8-9 07:21
Sorry to hear about the NFZ...you can bet DJI did not do this of their own accord, surely they had i ...

NORTH! It's nice to see a familiar "face".


OP, I feel for you. l think people coming to UAVs from an RC background know enough to research first.
People coming from a photography background are less likely to know of any rules. They're buying a camera. And some just buy it as a toy. We come from all walks so l do agree that there should be a "warning" on the box that  there are no-fly zones around the world, and that you are buying the drone with that knowledge.
Good luck, l hope it works out for you.
ps/ l checked the new Q500 4K since it looks pretty good, but it too has no-fly zones built in.

I can understand (barely) the large radius around D.C. but my tiny little city in the tri state area (NY/VT/MA) has put a 10 mile diameter no fly zone around our hardly used airport and it doesn't even have a control tower!!!!   Even Logan, Bradley and Albany have smaller no fly radius.

Has anyone tried flying in atti mode in a no fly zone? I have heard that this will work but have never tried it.

suqsid.bobmail Posted at 2015-8-9 08:36
Thanks Obama.

This isn't Obamas fault....

So I came across in a bit of a rant and quite frustrated. The city I live in does not have a full aircraft no fly zone over it. We have 5 small recreational airports in the area that recreational pilots fly out of. Dozens of small craft and helicopters fly over our city everyday. Right outside of DJI's no fly zone is the NSA, Secret Service and about a dozen military installations all in areas where you can fly your Phantom no problem. The DJI no fly zone encompasses about 900sq miles. A good portion of it is opened to recreational full size aircraft. The size of the no fly zone is completely ridiculous. If a terrorist wants to use a drone to attack an area with a no fly zone. DJI's measures will not stop them. Around my city we have tons of places where we could saftley and responsibly fly without worry of injuring anyone or there property. There is a 40 acre field in the woods not a 1/2 mile from  me.  I will be keeping my Phantom for now, but will order another drone to fly here which circumvents the no fly zone issue. I am extremely dissapointed though and look forward to aftermarket software to combat this issue. Let the no fly zones keep popping you could be looking at the slow death of the hobby...

suqsid.bobmail Posted at 2015-8-9 08:36
Thanks Obama.

No, you didn't have to say that, since President Obama had nothing to do with the FAA guidelines and the no fly zone around the White House.  No fly zones around the White House (and other restricted areas) are the result of 9/ll and stupid people who think they can fly a drone where ever and when ever they see fit.  Look at the idiots getting in the way of California firefighters or the jack wagon who attached a handgun to his drone.  Those people and their actions are what will set the limits of drone pilots.  Thank them.

Cash3p Posted at 2015-8-10 01:33
No, you didn't have to say that, since President Obama had nothing to do with the FAA guidelines a ...

Far be it from me to defend Obama, but the DC no fly zone became larger after the Phantom crashed into the White House grounds. This was about a year ago. Then we had the Postal employee that flew his gyrocopter onto the Capitol grounds 6 months ago.

Government always over reacts, that's how they are able to control and extort more money from you.

Cash3p Posted at 2015-8-10 01:33
No, you didn't have to say that, since President Obama had nothing to do with the FAA guidelines a ...

you are absolutely right, but you lost me the moment u stood up for obama

GunSurgeon Posted at 2015-8-10 01:18
So I came across in a bit of a rant and quite frustrated. The city I live in does not have a full ai ...

im afraid u will find the feds will force all civilian quads to implement the no fly zone in their fw

rayrokni Posted at 2015-8-10 02:20
im afraid u will find the feds will force all civilian quads to implement the no fly zone in their ...

You do know that not all UAV's have firmware that can be updated.

I can fly my old 72MHz system which doesn't rely on any outside inputs other than my controls features. There ain't no gps to tell it where it's located.

There has been talk of using an On-star devise to disable a car that's running from police. How would that work on a point ignition system that doesn't use a computer or a manual fuel pumped common rail diesel that only requires voltage for starting. There's always a way around any impediment placed to stop someone that wants to do harm. Not saying that 99.999% of the UAV operators want to do anyone harm, just a lot of uninformed people.

gregg1r Posted at 2015-8-10 02:41
You do know that not all UAV's have firmware that can be updated.

I can fly my old 72MHz system w ...

what u say is absolutely correct, but i should ve clarified that i am referring to new UAV with all the "in" Gadgets. But point taken.
Thanks

I think alot of people are doing all this research ahead of buying it because it's big purchase. I just wanted one. Dropping $1300 really did not bother me. Monday I was watching ariel footage on YouTube and thought damn that would be cool to own. Tuesday I watched some more videos with reviews and some DIY. Wednesday I went to Amazon and bought it. I didn't think there was a huge need for a bunch of research. Now I am learning as I go. I still do not agree with the size of the no fly zone !!! I hope they fix it. I mean I think all of DC would be more than enough, but the surrounding suburbs is unnecessary. That being said to be a resposible member of the community I will respect the no fly zones.

I got my 1st flight in today ! It was really fun ! I am definitely keeping it ! I will post the 1st flight video and put a link heree in this thread. Thanks to the members that understand my frustration. As for the members who were overly aggressive. Chill out no reason to be mean or troll new members of a community !!

suqsid.bobmail Posted at 2015-8-9 08:36
Thanks Obama.

Sorry buddy, but it was Bush the one that started this in 2003 and then made it permanent in 2006!
Read about it here: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Washington,_DC_Metropolitan_Area_Special_Flight_Rules_Area#

GunSurgeon Posted at 2015-8-10 08:42
I think alot of people are doing all this research ahead of buying it because it's big purchase. I j ...

Great to hear!  Enjoy.

GunSurgeon Posted at 2015-8-10 01:18
So I came across in a bit of a rant and quite frustrated. The city I live in does not have a full ai ...

Yes we are facing the slow death of this hobby.
So what are you doing to keep our hobby going?  
You are going to buy another quad that does not have the no fly zones so that you can fly within the no fly zones.
The only thing you are going to do is make us face the rapid death of this hobby.

Send it back to DJI and spend your money fcuking up someone else's hobby.

Not sure what I'm doing to keep the hobby going. I have only had my Phantom for 72 hours. What are you doing to keep the hobby going. You gonna sit back while the put no fly zones up everywhere. I really don't think buying a small drone to photograph my property is gonna cause a rapid death of your hobby. Thanks for your input !!

I feel you you.  It is unfortunate that idiots have been flying them where they should not and killing the hobby/profession.  The mayor of NY said he wants to demand all UAVs come with software like whats in the dji to limit where they fly.  As a former pilot I get the worries of hitting one.  As an owner I get the irritation of  being limited in flight.  The public is scared and that, while unfortunate, is what drives the creation of regulations.

GunSurgeon Posted at 2015-8-10 22:50
Not sure what I'm doing to keep the hobby going. I have only had my Phantom for 72 hours. What are y ...

You are doing nothing to keep our hobby going.
You are one of the fools who will kill it, by deliberately flying in a no fly zone.
In you own words you will buy another drone so that you can fly in a no fly zone, and you also hope that a 3rd partly software developer will over ride the no fly restriction applied by DJI.

I don't have to support your selfish and foolish attitude, and I may express my opinions on this forum.
And I will repeat.  Send it back, leave us alone and don't bring the heavy arm of the Law and Legislation down on us after your 72 hours of ownership.  FFS.

The no fly zone on DJI's app is thier own. It does not show the true DC no fly zone for recreational aircraft. The DJI one is expanded quite farther than the recreational no fly zone around DC. If no other manufacture is adhering to it that's my fault. So blame them for the death of your hobby. I just want to fly on my private propertywhich I'm pretty sure I own at least the 1st 200ft of airspace.

Express your opinions all you want. Doesn't mean I give 2 shits what you say.

Smh... We will see as the next few years progress how pissy you guys are when the no fly zones go up where you live....

Just checked with my lawyer and I own the airspace up to 500ft above my property. So technically speaking I should be able to fly on my property.

GunSurgeon Posted at 2015-8-11 00:45
Just checked with my lawyer and I own the airspace up to 500ft above my property. So technically spe ...

hey bud, im glad you are enjoying your p3, dont pay attention to people that believe quads is their domain and you dont belong there, there is no slow death to the hobby, it is growing and will continue to grow.
have fun

sgeprods Posted at 2015-8-9 07:27
When you order a Phantom if your shipping address is in a no fly zone you should be notified at che ...

Bit silly,  out of all my flights,  virtually none are near my home.  Many if not most owners would fly all over the place,   your home zip is irrelevant and should be.   Its up to you to check first if you want to only fly a few inches from your couch.