Hi all,
The new german regulations for recreational drones include the need of having a label in your drone with your contact information in case something goes wrong. However, the law also says that the label must be fire resistant.

It's my understanding that to achieve such fire resistance the only thing you can do is using some sort of metal engraved label. I've found a shop that sells aluminum engraved labels, and I know that aluminum is a paramagnetic material so it should not be a big deal for the compass, but I still wanted to check with DJI. Is it dangerous to use any kind of paramagnetic labeling on our drones? Will it affect the compass? If so where are they exactly placed / where would it be the best place to stick the label to avoid causing intereferences?


Thanks!

From what i've heard it's best to keep everything metal away from the back, So the front of your AC would be the best location.

K4Unl Posted at 2017-3-9 02:51
From what i've heard it's best to keep everything metal away from the back, So the front of your AC would be the best location.

From that point of view I think there´s a compass in the front and another in the back. I know for sure that not in the top (to avoid blocking the  GPS)

I was thinking in the end about one of the arms. In the end, the motors themselve  create electromagnetic interference, which is not affecting the aircraft as they´re away from the compass... but I´m still not sure. As I´m still not sure with the paramagnetic aluminum interfering or not with the compass...

CuaC Posted at 2017-3-9 10:03
From that point of view I think there´s a compass in the front and another in the back. I know for sure that not in the top (to avoid blocking the  GPS)

I was thinking in the end about one of the arms. In the end, the motors themselve  create electromagnetic interference, which is not affecting the aircraft as they´re away from the compass... but I´m still not sure. As I´m still not sure with the paramagnetic aluminum interfering or not with the compass...

I think way out on an arm would be the best place.  That is where I have mine (it is just on Teflon tape) but that is fire resistant.  I think Avery and DYMO make heat resistant labels.
Regards,
-d.

Hi Cuac,

I was going through the regulations to double check and... nowhere have I found any info about this. From what I can see it's just guesswork - because all marking elements on aircraft parts have to be fire resistant. That's nice. That's why they also state that you need insurance. Nice. It also says that you need to register your aircraft to fly in German airspace or you need registration abroad and Erlaubnis to fly it. This last point is not raised by anyone. Guess why? Because you can't register your drone.

People are making guesswork and talking crap - that's the short of it. No you don't need insurance for your "aircraft". Is it good idea to have one? Yes. That's why I have private Haftpflicht. It says there that this insurance covers air incidents if there is no other obligation to insure your craft. There isn't. That's why it will work ;-)

If you do have the paragraph where it says you need a fire proof label - please do give some details here. Oh - and the regulation is not in force yet. It will be discussed in Bundesrat shortly but nobody knows when. Therefore - it isn't the law yet ;-)

Cheers,

Jakub

Aluminum is the same as FRP as far as earth's magnetic field is concerned: no effect on compass sensing.

rnrnrn Posted at 2017-3-9 10:35
Hi Cuac,

I was going through the regulations to double check and... nowhere have I found any info about this. From what I can see it's just guesswork - because all marking elements on aircraft parts have to be fire resistant. That's nice. That's why they also state that you need insurance. Nice. It also says that you need to register your aircraft to fly in German airspace or you need registration abroad and Erlaubnis to fly it. This last point is not raised by anyone. Guess why? Because you can't register your drone.

The new requirements are still not in place, but I guess will be soon. I don´t know where I read about the fire proof labels, but apparently that´s also the case in Spain (mandatory label, and fines of 4000 € given for non compliance) and as I´m Spanish expat and I go often to Spain I´ll try to do a labeling that matches both regulations at least. If in the end it´s not necessary for the label to be fireproof in Germany... well... no harm anyway.

On the insurance thing I do have the paragraph on the LuftVO:

Luftverkehrs-Zulassungs-Ordnung (LuftVZO)
§ 102 Vertragsinhalt
(1) Der Haftpflichtversicherungsvertrag für Drittschäden muss die sich aus dem Betrieb eines Luftfahrzeugs für den Halter ergebende Haftung decken.
(2) Die Mindesthöhe der Versicherungssumme bestimmt sich bei Luftfahrzeugen nach § 37 Abs. 1 des Luftverkehrsgesetzes.
(3) Für Drachen, Flugmodelle und nichtmotorgetriebene Luftsportgeräte ist Gruppenversicherung zulässig.

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-3-9 10:49
Aluminum is the same as FRP as far as earth's magnetic field is concerned: no effect on compass sensing.

Thanks, that´s what I suspected but I was never sure!

bunny too Posted at 2017-3-9 10:09
I think way out on an arm would be the best place.  That is where I have mine (it is just on Teflon tape) but that is fire resistant.  I think Avery and DYMO make heat resistant labels.
Regards,
-d.

I never thought of the teflon tape, but if it´s fire proof too I will check that too!

Alu has no effect on comp.

Aluminum is non-magnetic, but it reflects radio signal. It will definitely significantly affect the communication between the drone and the remote.

MaviMu Posted at 2017-3-9 12:17
Alu has no effect on comp.
https://youtu.be/_W4FirRFSjs

That's a great test! Thank you!

Supervisor Posted at 2017-3-9 12:24
Aluminum is non-magnetic, but it reflects radio signal. It will definitely significantly affect the communication between the drone and the remote.

As far as i know the antenas on the mavic are placed in the front legs, so as long as the label is not there it shouldn't be much of an issue i guess

How about placing the label in the battery compartment? I cut my FAA registration and phone number out of aluminum vinyl, and stuck it on the blank spot behind the battery.

Supervisor Posted at 2017-3-9 12:55
How about placing the label in the battery compartment? I cut my FAA registration and phone number out of aluminum vinyl, and stuck it on the blank spot behind the battery.

Unfortunately that's not possible, it seems it needs to be visible...

This https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B_0GCoUwBHGCY1dKbllsSU13VzA is how I placed my registration number. TR for TURKEY, IHA0 is for  UAV category 0, 48 is for the province you live and the rest is just numbers. Over here in Turkey you need to be able to become a pilot first ( after a deep past and present life search ) and after you need to register every UAV ( multicopter, helicopter, fixed wing etc.)  one by one. There  is the possibility of your uav not beeing approved too...

You can stick your reg. plate to an arm by double sided tape.

CuaC Posted at 2017-3-9 13:57
Unfortunately that's not possible, it seems it needs to be visible...

It will be visible - after pulling out the battery. Try to find a regulation which states that putting the label under a battery is illegal :-D And btw - visible are registration letters - that needs to be visible "from the ground" or during a fly-by - hence on planes on the side of the craft and the tail fin (and/or wings sometimes).

CuaC Posted at 2017-3-9 12:32
As far as i know the antenas on the mavic are placed in the front legs, so as long as the label is not there it shouldn't be much of an issue i guess

"Aluminum is non-magnetic, but it reflects radio signal. It will definitely significantly affect the communication between the drone and the remote."

I doubt very much that a single strip of aluminum with your contact information will "significantly affect the communication between the drone and the remote".