This new geofencing kept us grounded for a  full day while on a shoot in  a very remote location.  We were no where  near a no fly zone according  to charts and the FAA app.  We finally got  inspire to fly by  downloading beta on a very slow internet  connection.  We were  lucky.  Next time we might be days away from an  internet connection or  have to bring an extremely costly BGAN unit and  even then it might not  fly. This was not only extremely embarrassing,  but it cost us time,  money and reputation.  I am not very happy that  after spending around  $15,000 to become fully FAA compliant and then be  grounded by the  manufacturer.  I now cannot trust the DJI Inspire 1 Pro  for shoots if  they have any control of where I fly.  
  
  I would like to recommend the following solution for  professional  user.  Allow users to enter their Section 333 number, Tail  Number and  Pilot Certificate number for totally unrestricted  flight.  We already  have to deal with FAA and cumbersome COA...  asking  permission from DJI after that is completely absurd.  For  recreational  users, I feel your pain too.  You should at least be able  to fly up to  200' and everyone should be able to return their devices  if they cant fly them.  If you plan on using the Inspire 1 or pro for  business, think again and wait it out.  

I totally agree with you points above except...... You didn't check your flight plan against DJI's NFZ map before you set out to location!???!!!

Where about did this occur?  Its funny, I live and have my practice location within a 5 mile radius of a Class Delta airport and I haven't been grounded once, nor have I felt it limit me.  I hear people complain about it a lot but I have yet to, luckily I suppose, have to deal with it.  I think in time an idea like yours will in fact be put in place or a competitor to DJI will make a better option, forcing the hand of them.  It is a pure business move on DJI and I can't really blame them.  They are pretty much the face of this emerging industry and the last thing they want is some video of a Phantom 3 flying into an airliner.

Myself, being a CFI/CFII Fixed Wing and CFI Rotorcraft pilot, can also appreciate that the 12 year olds that got for Christmas are not flying into areas where I would have little margin for recovery should something go wrong.  

Tharg (from the Posted at 2016-1-23 12:29
I totally agree with you points above except...... You didn't check your flight plan against DJI's N ...

I'm not so sure you can do that.  I tried to look at all of the NFZ's  on my App yesterday and the ONLY ones that would show up were ones that were within about a 100 mile radius of where I was in New jersey.  The huge NFZ around Washington DC did not even show up!
Not sure how to check NFZ's that are than 100 miles or so distance away.
Does anyone know how to do this?

In my opinion you shouldn't have to deal with yellow zones period....  The red zones I can understand and a solution such as the one you recommend would be acceptable.  Yellow zones are horse manure ...

If you are after a truly professional platform (with the requisite features and support) then DJI 's Inspire and Phantom are just not appropriate.
This is purely due to DJI's strategy of 'dumbing down' and restricting the aircraft's features and performance to cater to the lowest common denominator.

This isn't going to change - Pros need to shop elsewhere.

Farnk666 Posted at 2016-1-23 17:02
If you are after a truly professional platform (with the requisite features and support) then DJI 's ...

Unfortunantly I 100% agree with this statement.  With the implementation of  GEO in its current form.. DJI has chosen to manufacture  toy's  & not tools.  

Ultimately  you can only avoid upgrading for so long. The main  reason is because most  of us that bought inspires did so with the intention of upgrading the camera's ..... I for one wanted an FLIR Camera. I also wanted a platform that was modular and could be upgraded by third party hardware.

However without the ability of upgrading my firmware I can never add support for this new equipment.

If I do upgrade my firmware , then the  exact places I'm trying to use the equipment for inspection such as power plants and oil processing stations are NFZ zoned that cannot be unlocked.  

So basically not upgrading is not an option for any serious commercial user....  and using this equipment in an industrial environment is also a no go.  

I have not even looked into the insurance requirements yet but you can bet that if your using a mass produced Drone,,,  then keeping  the latest firmware  up to date will almost certainly be in fine print.

In fact when i submitted my 333 unfortunantly I comitted to keeping the firmware up to date as part of the safety precautions and on my check list  as this would be done before use on any commercial operations.  

Thus legally according to my currently submitted 333 not upgrading the firmware will not be an optional thing for me.

Unfortunately  if this isn't resolved soon, then  I'm going to have to find another platform for commercial uses.  

That sucks because when I originally submitted my exemption, the Inspire 1 and the Matrice were the obvious choice's  for long term platform's.

Hopefully, DJI in their beta testing will also consider user satisfaction with GEO and not just the technical issues.  This latest implementation is marketing suicide.

My guess, and I may be wrong, is that this GEO system is less about safety and more about defending themselves in court.  By the way, perhaps you did not notice that by agreeing to the terms of the user agreement, you gave up your right to a jury trial, the case will be arbitrated in China, and all presentations and documents shall be in Chinese language.  And this was the user agreement for the US.

Regards,

Mike

Alaskan, I empathise with your situation - mine is exactly the same.

However - your contention "That sucks because when I originally submitted my exemption, the Inspire 1 and the Matrice were the obvious choice's  for long term platform's. " isn't quite accurate.
There are/were many other choices for professional flight platforms, sure they are pricey but they exist. So many folks have the belief that the UAV world begins and ends with DJI. Ludricous!

The costs and potential revenue streams associated with inspections and industrial work make investment in much higher end platforms certainly viable. Plenty of firms out there using higher end gear such as Ascending Technologies, Microdrones and Aerialtronics with great success. Depending upon a craft such as the Inspire (and DJI for support) as your source of income is a sure path to failure.

The Inspire is a great toy, it had potential early on as a usable tool, but DJI has done everything possible to make it irrelevant and incompatible with a professional and commercial context.

Farnk666 Posted at 2016-1-23 19:24
Alaskan, I empathise with your situation - mine is exactly the same.

However - your contention "Tha ...

I agree 100 percent.... when i chose those 2 it was ( pre-geo) and those 2 could effectively handle my needs, it was a sound decision from a cost effective standpoint at that time....  If I could have seen the future  I obviousley would have made a different decision.However at this time with upwards 11k (of my own money)  invested in DJI equipment. The biggest cost  to me by far,  will be in time... if I have to re-submit my 333,  I'm going to wait a bit before I make a rash decision. However  if DJI does not remedy the issue soon theres going to be some good deals on Ebay.
I'll also make sure that everyone on all forums I visit and everyone I wok with gets an accurate account of my experience with DJI.

This thing is so far over the top that it is ridiculous,  All of this registration and restrictions is total crap there hasn't been a credible incident involving "drones" other than government drones killing people and spying on you. Congress passed laws in 2012 involving model aircraft, The commercial aspect though seemed to be left to faa they incorporated about 20 corporations including DJI wal mart and best buy to make regs in our country to set  and access you fines with the faa claiming jurisdiction over the 400 ft of airspace above your property and placing toy aircraft under their control is just the beginning of the end. of the hobby and your business. Do you have a pilots license? Dont you have to, to do anything commercially or for the government?  Everyone figure it out it is over , and most of this was set up by false flag events,  I called the sheriff and police departments in the two largest cities in the state and not one incident has been reported in the state involving a so called "drone"  other than the drone crashes by Google they have since pulled their drone program from the state Its all total crap.
Pilots have more of chance of striking a bird, getting hit by lighting, or dying from a bee sting in the canopy than they do hitting a toy quadcopter. The phantom 4 will weigh .55 lbs and be sold only at wal mart and best buy.  I have a friend at one of the local hobby shops Xmas was off big and they even had returns on quads and airplanes before and after xmas by parents, and will likely quit handling anything that flies that weighs over 8 oz. Roll back to 1.5 and get the litchi app. and fly the damn thing until they come arrest you, or shut them off. Its going to get worse before it gets worse.

As of now I'm currently working on getting my pilots license. (I should have done it long ago anyways) In Alaska a private pilots is pretty common because its a mainstay of transportation in this state. literally where I work the number is 70% of the guys have a pilots license.... This is convienant for me  because  finding a PIC until my license is finalized, is really easy.  

Not me personally but others In my field have been using these things for quite awhile anyways.  I honestly don't think any of us even knew it was illegal to do until a few years ago. 99% of what we use these for takes place at less then 150'. There were never any incidents.  

Nowadays however with the camera technology where it as and the advancements in things like computer processing power for  photogrammetry  these things are becoming serious tools.
With the rising interest  we need some control for commercial purposes. ( I personally am not ready for drones Everywhere)  certain things like pizza delivery or Amazon packages can wait for better technology and airspace controls in my opinion.
Nowadays people have changed their perception and stopped looking at these things as toy helicopters and now the official the official term is drones.
I don't agree with the current requirements of the FAA regarding requiring a pilots license. But i do believe something along the lines of a written test is coming soon.
Within 50 years I do see these things in common use.  and something akin to a drivers license will be mandatory.