As the title implies, I'm trying to determine where DJI obtain their no fly zone data from as I'm getting conflicting information about the regulations and what the DJI app shows.

In order to take the CAA test here in the UK I went through the Drone and Model Aircraft Code. In it, it shows the flight restrictions around airports (the same image is also on the dronesafe.uk website. It is the one named dronesafe-map and clearly shows a 1km wide area stretching 5km beyond the runway boundary as well as a radial area around the airport. Seems clear enough.

If however I look on the noflydrones.co.uk website, the NFZ extends 11km beyond the runway boundary with a 8km radius around the airport. This is the noflydrones-map image.

And finally we have the NFZ data shown in the DJI app. This is the DJIapp-map image, and now we have a dual coloured zone. The blue one is 7km from the runway boundary (which ties in with the CAA figures) and the yellow one extends 16km from the runway boundary.

I still want to get more practice in before venturing further afield, but one of the locations I want to go to is within the yellow band to the south. My concern is that the DJI app will stop me from flying in that area despite it being way outside CAA regulations.

A little history, and to rub salt into the wound, the North/South runway hasn't been used in decades. The airport is former WWII RNAS Eglinton (HMS Gannet) and lay derelict after the war. The North/South runway was last resurfaced in 1979 and has a commercial business just 50m from the edge of the runway and will never be used agan. You might also note another airport just to the east. That is former WWII RNAS Ballykelly (HMS Sealion). That closed in 1971, with the only aircraft using it after that were helicopters from the British Army Air Corps, and even they left in 2008. In fact, the last 'flight' into it was in 2006 when an A320 landed there by mistake. It no longer has any air traffic. As you can see, the DJI map has a lot of zoned area that shouldn't really be the case.

My guess would be in the USA from FAA

djiuser_LSA2v8XVnCFw Posted at 2-13 11:12
My guess would be in the USA from FAA

Why would DJI turn to a US authority for information about a foreign airfield?

The DJI APP does not prevent a flight ... You will get a warning at takeoff, which you must first confirm in order to be able to take off. Tried in a no-fly zone (Vienna - but in the apartment ...).
In a flight control zone, flights are generally permitted up to 120m after prior approval from the flight control / tower.
See: https://map.dronespace.at/ (LOWW)Such cards are sure to be available for all countries ...
e.g. https://dronemaps24.org/

ozoffi Posted at 2-14 00:39
The DJI APP does not prevent a flight ... You will get a warning at takeoff, which you must first confirm in order to be able to take off. Tried in a no-fly zone (Vienna - but in the apartment ...).
In a flight control zone, flights are generally permitted up to 120m after prior approval from the flight control / tower.
See: https://map.dronespace.at/ (LOWW)Such cards are sure to be available for all countries ...

Very helpful to know as I read somewhere that the drone app (not just DJI) would prevent you from flying. If the weather ever improves and I can get some more practice in, I'll venture up to the area I'm interested in, that is within the yellow area, and see what happens.

Geebax Posted at 2-13 14:27
Why would DJI turn to a US authority for information about a foreign airfield?

That was my thinking as well, especially when I said I was in the UK and also mentioned the CAA in regards to obtaining the requisite requirements to fly. I shall have to dig deeper.

Yellow airspace in the DJI app is usually an advanced warning zone,  you'll see a notice but it will not stop you from flying.

DAFlys Posted at 2-15 01:10
Yellow airspace in the DJI app is usually an advanced warning zone,  you'll see a notice but it will not stop you from flying.

Already confirmed by ozoffi above. What's annoying is that it shouldn't be there anymore as the runway hasn't been used for over 20 years and never will be used again. Hence my question as to where DJI get their information from.

steamship Posted at 2-20 11:09
Already confirmed by ozoffi above. What's annoying is that it shouldn't be there anymore as the runway hasn't been used for over 20 years and never will be used again. Hence my question as to where DJI get their information from.

My guess is that they get it from varying official regional sources and may even supplement it with original research. If you believe their data is in error, you can contact flysafe@dji.com -- I've been able to convince them that their map data was wrong and had their restrictions updated in the past.

There is a language barrier, so sometimes you might have to make patient multiple inquiries, rewording the info each time to help them understand your position.

Good luck!

Ex Machina Posted at 2-20 12:12
My guess is that they get it from varying official regional sources and may even supplement it with original research. If you believe their data is in error, you can contact  -- I've been able to convince them that their map data was wrong and had their restrictions updated in the past.

There is a language barrier, so sometimes you might have to make patient multiple inquiries, rewording the info each time to help them understand your position.

Perfect. Thank you for that. Still more digging to do at my end before I contact them though.

steamship Posted at 2-20 13:37
Perfect. Thank you for that. Still more digging to do at my end before I contact them though.

One thing to understand is that DJI do not compile the no-fly data, it is done by a third party, and I am fairly sure it is not in China.

steamship Posted at 2-20 13:37
Perfect. Thank you for that. Still more digging to do at my end before I contact them though.

I feel your pain, Steamship

Back in 2014 when DJI had a kneejerk reaction to a numbnut landing his Phantom2 on the White House lawn, they rolled out a botched 'NoFlyZones' package to all their products. For me it was in the software for the Datalink system that was installed in my F550 hexacopter. This put a six mile exclusion zone around a nearby airport which meant I could no longer arm the Datalink system (I'm around five miles from this airport as is my BMFA affiliated model flying club).

Many others whom were in similar situations as myself complained to DJI about this, they replied that it would be rectified with an update to the NFZ databases, this never happend instead DJI told us all to scrap our Datalink systems and invest in much more expensive hardware.

I'm not against NFZ's as long as they are implemented correctly. But as DJI are incapable of doing this I decided to remove the NFZ's from my DJI Spark in preference to obiding by the correct NFZ's as dictated by the relavent authorities.

Nidge Posted at 2-23 06:56
I feel your pain, Steamship

Back in 2014 when DJI had a kneejerk reaction to a numbnut landing his Phantom2 on the White House lawn, they rolled out a botched 'NoFlyZones' package to all their products. For me it was in the software for the Datalink system that was installed in my F550 hexacopter. This put a six mile exclusion zone around a nearby airport which meant I could no longer arm the Datalink system (I'm around five miles from this airport as is my BMFA affiliated model flying club).

I'm not against NFZ's as long as they are implemented correctly. But as DJI are incapable of doing this I decided to remove the NFZ's from my DJI Spark in preference to obiding by the correct NFZ's as dictated by the relavent authorities.

Neither am I, and quite frankly I'd rather keep away from airports, but when I'm 10 miles from the end of a disused runway threshold in a river valley surrounded by trees, it's annoying to say the least that I get warnings from the app.

Following what 'Ex Machina' said above, I've managed to find an official website with the relevant data and have emailed flysafe@dji.com about it, along with images taken from Google Earth and the app showing the warnings. There is just the language barrier to deal with. Time will tell, and maybe the weather will improve for me to get outside and get some practice in. It's now been a week since I've been out.

steamship Posted at 2-23 08:07
I'm not against NFZ's as long as they are implemented correctly. But as DJI are incapable of doing this I decided to remove the NFZ's from my DJI Spark in preference to obiding by the correct NFZ's as dictated by the relavent authorities.

Neither am I, and quite frankly I'd rather keep away from airports, but when I'm 10 miles from the end of a disused runway threshold in a river valley surrounded by trees, it's annoying to say the least that I get warnings from the app.

Be prepared to hear the distant sound of silence, or at best a C&P response thanking you for choosing DJI.  I did similar and found myself farming tumbleweeds.

I still use some DJI products, I recently picked up a Mini2 Flymore pack but only because it was heavily discounted, but the last thing I expect is any meaningful or useful communication from DJI. In contrast I have a Yuneec Q500 which also had overly large NFZ’s embedded in it. I contacted Yuneec and explained the situation and in reply I received an alternative Firmware package without the NFZ’s in it.

I’ve dealt with other manufacturers, such as Parrot and Powervision, and in every case I’ve had a quick response from someone directly involved with the software and/or hardware. With DJI I’ve only ever received an initial copy and paste response and my questions and concerns probably never getting any further than DJI’s castle ramparts.

As I said I still use DJI parts - Naza, Wookong, and A2, flight controllers and the propulsion systems - in my builds,  but I don’t expect any support for these as they are termed legacy systems. But at the time when I was having issues with the Datalink system it was very much a current product in production but I, and many others, were totally ignored by DJI.

This turned out to be overly ranty the more I typed, my apologies for that.

@Nidge - "This turned out to be overly ranty the more I typed, my apologies for that."

Never apologise for having a good rant ;) Could list five off the top of my head that I've had with companies over the last five months, and all because they can't be bothered. I'll not hold my breath on this one, and just see if anything happens.

Does anyone know if i can add own warnzone? My neighbour not allow to flight over his house. So i would add his property to a warnzone for me. Possible?

djiuser_O1XjaYeO7mfp Posted at 6-10 01:03
Does anyone know if i can add own warnzone? My neighbour not allow to flight over his house. So i would add his property to a warnzone for me. Possible?

No, you cannot add your own.