The new european drone legislation that will we applied in january 2024 is saying that C0 class drones will be limited to 120m above the take off point (no more extension to 500m when flying in the mountains for example) and C1 class drones will also have this limit unless the remote controller application have a way to calculate de height of the drone above the ground at the drone location !

DJI should add a way to download elevation data like the NASA provided SRTM for the flying area allowing the app to calculate de real elevation of the drone at the flying location. It would be nice to be able to download this elevation data when having a connexion and putting it in cache like it's done actually for offline maps.

C0 -> 2019-945 ANNEX PART 1 (3) -have a maximum attainable height above the take-off point limited to 120 m;

C1 -> 2019-945 ANNEX PART 2 (3)
C2 -> 2019-945 ANNEX PART 3 (2)
C3 -> 2019-945 ANNEX PART 4 (2)
-have a maximum attainable height above the take-off point limited to 120 m
or
be equipped with a system that limits the height above the surface
or
above the take-off point to 120 m
or
to a value selectable by the remote pilot;
if the value is selectable, clear information about the height of the UA above the surface or take-off point during flight shall be provided to the remote pilot



To summarize, only C0 are impacted by this measure.
For the other C1 C2 C3 it's the same as currently. The zero height is taken when the drone is turned on, then the preset ceiling is 120m. Modifiable by the remote pilot according to needs.

Concerning the SRTM it's a good idea. But unfortunately the maximum resolution is only 30m and is starting to date. In addition, the precision of the GNSS system of consumer drones does not make it possible to know the departure altitude with certainty.
GNSS error + Ellipsoid geoid conversion error + low SRTM resolution = Too many uncertainties.

There's no point in picking <250g in Europe, just pick the heaviest and presumably the best <900g (C1) because you can basically fly in the same places and will perform way better.

With both C0 and C1 you should avoid flying over people, try to avoid it and try to minimize it if it happens, it's written differently on each class, but in the end is basically the same, both categories can fly in A1 so the best choice in Europe is to just pick the best <900g (C1) you can have, which for the moment is the Mavic 3.

I still have the Mini 2 and only fly it from time to time to give it a cycle to the batts, all the other flights I use the M3 because basically, there's no point to a <250g anymore for me.

<250g are good for learning and less intimidating for beginners, in that case, just pick a Mini 2 or Mini 3 which don't have the 120m limitation because they are not C0, and as <250g will be able to fly in A1 forever.

IMO, the Mini 4 is just useless unless someone manages to hack that 120m absurd limitation.

Hi, vyskocil. We appreciate your valuable suggestions. We will forward your feedback to the related department for evaluation. Thank you for your great support.

LV_Forestry Posted at 10-2 02:15
C0 -> 2019-945 ANNEX PART 1 (3) -have a maximum attainable height above the take-off point limited to 120 m;

C1 -> 2019-945 ANNEX PART 2 (3)

Thank you for the correction, so for the C1 class drones the "or take-off point during flight" is the key that will allow keeping the 500 or 1000m hard limit.

Huginn Kenningar Posted at 2023-10-2 09:32
There's no point in picking

I couldn't agree more.

Also it is false advertising, if you limit the height to 120m that is basically average modern day building, you also can't go anywhere in urban areas, also if you are in the mountain you are limited to the same angle that you can climb and take a phone video as well (not really but you get the point).

So range is also impacted, you really have a toy not only by weight just that this toy costs a lot.

Got mavic mini 4 pro recently, having mini 1 prior i was completely unaware of what's going on.

I "unlocked" the height by removing the label through the app for it to only be valid for couple of days until next update is pushed.
So now I don't have the label but i do have the limit #$@!.

Having RC2 is also a downgrade even tho you pay more, with RC that uses mobile you can downgrade dji fly app version but on RC2 you can't since it is locked.
So you pay more to get played more.

I completely regret buying this drone and customer support feels like AI honestly.