Hi,

I sold my Mavic 2 Pro a couple of months ago because it couldn't fulfill my needs under the new EU rules. Since then I have been waiting for a drone certified under the new EU rules, but I soon need one and there are no certified ones yet.

The problem with the Mini 2 not being certified is that starting on 31st of December 2022 it will be flying under the limited A1 rules which means no flying over people (groups of people being off limited in either case). Not being allowed to briefly fly over people is a big issue for my type of use where I need to fly in cities where I do my best to never fly over people but can't completely avoid individuals.

Have we heard anything about EU cerfitication for any DJI drones? Anything under 900 grams would do the job.

Mini 2 will remain a legacy drone for its entire life, you can happily fly it over people etc. I believe you've read the documentation wrong.  You're thinking of the A1 Transitional subcategory which the Mini 2 does not sit in unless you add extra weight.

A1 would be optimal, you mean A3? So far it's all just speculation. The Minis could remain in A1 from January 1, 2023, but could also be divided into A3. Or EASA comes up with the idea of estimating MTOM and setting it to 350 grams, for example. A future Mini3 with a C0 label would be "safe", this would then be A1 / C0 and thus, so to speak, the drone with the least restrictions even after December 31, 2022. There will almost certainly not be any subsequent certification (for any existing drone).

helidan Posted at 2-28 02:18
Mini 2 will remain a legacy drone for its entire life, you can happily fly it over people etc. I believe you've read the documentation wrong.  You're thinking of the A1 Transitional subcategory which the Mini 2 does not sit in unless you add extra weight.

Well, the government agency in my country states that it will be flying under a limited A1 subcategory between January 4 2021 and December 31 2022. The refer to EU 2019/947 Article 20a.

There may be some confusion on the part of my government here because article 20a says the following:

"UAS types within the meaning of Decision No 768/2008/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (9), which
do not comply with Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and which are not privately-built are allowed to continue to
be operated under the following conditions, when they have been placed on the market before 1 July 2022:
(a) in subcategory A1 as defined in Part A of the Annex"


This article seems to suggest it will fly as a subcategory A1 drone for its entire usable life, however my government says it applies until December 31 2022. But then then also go on to say that it will be limited A1 even going forward in another text.

From what I can tell though the EU rules are clear that it will keep flying unrestricted. I guess I'll have to call my responsible government agency and clear it up since local governments may adapt the rules somewhat.

But I may need something with a better camera soon too so I still hope DJI will release some compliant drones in the A3 and A2 categories.

jonny007 Posted at 2-28 03:38
A1 would be optimal, you mean A3? So far it's all just speculation. The Minis could remain in A1 from January 1, 2023, but could also be divided into A3. Or EASA comes up with the idea of estimating MTOM and setting it to 350 grams, for example. A future Mini3 with a C0 label would be "safe", this would then be A1 / C0 and thus, so to speak, the drone with the least restrictions even after December 31, 2022. There will almost certainly not be any subsequent certification (for any existing drone).

A1 is optimal for my use case in terms of rules, but I really do miss the 1" sensor of my Mavic 2 Pro. Even that was a bit on the small side for my use. Ideally I would have a C0 drone for flying in the central parts of the city and a C2 classed Inspire with low speed mode and an APS-C sensor for actual real photography. Then it would be allowed to fly within 5 meters of people which would make it work for almost all of my work.

It does actually seem like the Mini 2 will be able to keep flying under the A1 subcategory indefinitely but you never know what changes will be made. C0 would as you say mean that it's safe to assume it will keep flying.

Certifying drones already on the market is possible though as long as they have the hardware (which most don't), but I don't think that will happen for consumer level drones. Possibly for the high end stuff ($10K+) with hardware upgrades.

helidan Posted at 2-28 02:18
Mini 2 will remain a legacy drone for its entire life, you can happily fly it over people etc. I believe you've read the documentation wrong.  You're thinking of the A1 Transitional subcategory which the Mini 2 does not sit in unless you add extra weight.

Very good information here