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Dire consequences for DJI coming soon and all of us.
910 4 2018-3-26
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Paco572
lvl.3
Canada
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To whom this may concern, I can't tell just how difficult it is to write this letter, with one hand I'm slapping DJI and with other I asking them to help all of us. Nevertheless, this needs to be said even though it's a difficult thing to say. So please go easy on me. I'm a new Spark owner with one flight yet I'm astonished at the level of disengagement DJI has with its customers and this is leading to deep divisions between app makers, and support from DJI, which in turn is counter-intuitive and is working in favor of THOSE WHO WANT TO SEE THESE DRONES BASICALLY GROUNDED. Consumer Drones are becoming very popular so much so it's a phenomenon reaching very high numbers and in turn due to bickering, might lead to its ultimate demise unless something is done to bring the entire industry together to combat those forces wanting to ground it. Please let me explain.      

Due to recent and ongoing talks with Transport Canada, big changes are in the works to basically ground hobbyist drones from flying as the political bureaucracy grinder comes into action, some of the purposed laws include, lower the max height from 90M to 50M (Rumored), lower the minimum weight from 300g to 250g, lowering the max distance from the pilot from 500M to line of sight which is about 250m, increasing the maximum distance from people, cars and the public from 30M to 90M (Also Rumored), Also, drone pilots will have to take flying lessons, be certified, be 18 years or older, and have insurance liability insurance provider for at least $100,000. If this passes along with other purposed laws THIS will be the death of hobby drones. Millions in losses, not to mention countless job losses.

For my self, I'm willing to stand up and fight these new laws as being unfair, too restrictive, but on the other hand, I have absolutely no ammunition whatsoever to combat this. I'm talking about the Spark and Maverick as an example. I need to be able to stand in front of these committees, or speak to my MP or MLA and tell them we have a multilayered safety approach with the drones and DJI is leading the way making this happen, when in fact the opposite is happening. DJI is intentionally shooting themselves in the foot, with their own brand of internal politics which is stifling itself and when the day comes when drone sales virtually come to an end, they will have only themselves to blame.

This is a warning that if something is not done and very soon, this hobby WILL come to a dead stop as it will, by design, by the government to make it so unappealing no one other than filmmakers will jump through the multilayered hoops the government wants in place to deter the average hobbyist. There are rumours that Transport Canada wants to sell permits to fly over Crown land along with filing flight plans to make it even more difficult.

To hopefully stave off a disaster for DJI and app makers and all hobbyists, because, if this legislation passes you can bet other countries will follow.

This is what needs to be done if I'm going to have any hope of convincing the government not to proceed.
1) Full OTG support. To give the aircraft and RC as much bandwidth as possible with the least amount of interference to the phone. Please correct if I'm wrong about the OTG support, it just makes sense to me, but I could be wrong.
2) A complete set of instructions on how to kill all background tasks on the pilots' phones to give the app it's full attention without interference from other apps. Perhaps an app from DJI to do just that.
3) Full GPS waypoint/orbit (and anything else to give the pilot more control,) DJI support and development support for apps like Litchi and Autopilot both iOS and Andriod and any other 3rd party apps with additional full support for these apps and others in Crystalsky. FULL UNFEDERED SUPPORT for 3rd party apps, no exceptions.

Provided these items are taken seriously, I would be able to say to my MP or MLA or to a committee,

"The pilot of the drone has at his disposal every possible safety feature possible given the technology available, from the maximum allowable bandwidth given today's technology for aircraft safety to a multilayered approach to flying, both are controlled by the pilot but also aid the pilot in making flight safe for everybody concerned. An example is, flying a waypoint mission in which the height, speed and direction are planned ahead of time making sure no laws get broken during the flight, this makes this tremendously safer than just eyeballing it thanks to advancements in GPS. With ongoing full unfettered support from DJI in all these areas including many 3rd party apps receiving full support from DJI and it's continued commitment, to safety and improving technology, There is no need to politically grind this hobby into the ground when the laws in place are sufficient. It's pilots have the best possible control, the best possible apps to control given today's technology with unparalleled support from the drone manufacturers and software makers who work hand in hand to move this industry into the future with safety as the cornerstone of development."

At this time, I can't say this because DJI is committing internal political suicide with its bovine scatology by not supporting 3rd party apps.
DJI needs to support the pilots, it's customers and 3rd party apps from every possible angle with unparalleled conviction, the more the merrier, in order to save itself. I certainly can't go to my MP or my MLA under the current conditions, as I would have little or no effect on the proposed legislation because I have "NOTHING TO BRING TO THE TABLE". To make a long a story short, band together or "you all" will lose it. As the saying goes, together we stand, divided we fall. Well...the axe is coming what are you going to do DJI?. That's my 2 cents anyway.

DJI. You've been warned.

PACO
New Spark Owner from Canada

2018-3-26
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Solestacz
Second Officer
Flight distance : 489193 ft
United States
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well, Canada still has a lot of positives over where i live. guess i'll have to comfort myself flying my drone and paying out the nose for healthcare. cheers!
2018-3-26
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A CW
Captain
Flight distance : 13838848 ft
  • >>>
United Kingdom
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It does sound like an issue in Canada rather than a global meltdown of the hobby - the EU are making a new set of regulations that are very fair indeed and the UK has no proposals to alter anything to the CAA drone code other than possibly registering the drone and sitting a test with questions like how high can you fly your drone... It is unfortunate that Transport Canada are possibly looking to impose such restrictions but DJI provides drones to the world, not just your country. You may wish to tell your MP that DJI have inbuilt geofencing that prevents the drone from taking off in a marked NFZ - that should go down better than saying you can use an OTG now. ;-)
2018-3-26
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Lyons90
Second Officer
Flight distance : 164528 ft
Australia
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If this is what you consider, in your life, 'dire consequence', sir, I envy you.
2018-3-26
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BeastMaster_101
First Officer
Flight distance : 1082992 ft
Canada
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I also live in Canada and so far the laws are OK. Could be a lot better. But you mentioned one thing. The minimum weight of the craft has to be 300g for these laws to apply to it (from 250g) This could mean that since the spark is 302g~, the laws wont be applied to it. (if we ignore the 2 grams)

Oh and I have asked a few companies for a quote for the $100000 liability insurance and the cheapest price that I was quoted was $400 per year. THATS THE PRICE OF THE SPARK ITSELF!!!

EVERYONE PLEASE GO AND SIGN THIS PETITION. EVERYONE IN CANADA WOULD APPRECIATE IT. TRUST ME THESE LAWS ARE GETTING OUT OF HAND. PLEASE PLEASE SIGN THIS TO PREVENT THE GOVERNMENT TO CONTINUE WITH THESE LAWS. https://www.change.org/p/request ... drone-use-in-canada
Its 4,634/5000 right now. Lets get it to 5000
2018-3-26
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