The reason why some people will be buying drones before 2024 and declassifying (myself included) is that, while hiking in mountains, 120 meters is nothing. If those 120 meters would be from ground and not from take-off point, I wouldn't have any issues, but now I really wish somehow this restriction would be lifted in mountainous areas

Awesome looking building. It's amazing how fast people can actually build a structure that high and strong in little time. I hope you can get permission one day to fly around the top of it. I would really love to see it looking downward. Thanks for sharing Henrik. 👍👍👍

"Clear as snot in oatmeal, as my late father would have put it!" ;-) Thank you for addressing this frequently asked question and taking the time to provide clarification.

Thankyou for your informative and professional advice 👍

This is why im never updating my drone or remote dont want some new rules to bother me

They don't want us to find out that there is a dome over our heads. If there is no constraint, drone would hit the dome....

Hello . I have been following you for a long time and you are a true professional, with clear and concise explanations. I would have a specific question. I'm from the EU and I received a DJI Mini 4 Pro as a gift that I haven't activated yet. If I activate it after 01.01.2024 with the latest firmware, will I have the height limit established by this latest firmware - i.e. 500 m (at least until the next update...)? Thank you in advance !

Another nice and informative EASA rule video. Nice work. Sometimes if You want to do something like making a video like this tall building maybe it is legal to go to the 120 m floor and to send the drone -120m and start from there up to +120 meters which equals to 240M of height.

That’s a big topic since DJI offers a de-classification of the Mini 4 Pro. Without a C0 label and launched before 2024 the M4P and Mini 3 Pro are under the regulation of stock drones. This means they don’t have the hard limit, only the regulation is within the limit of 120 m, but over ground. Lot of people think, a de-classified Mini 4 Pro is regulated exact like a C0-classified drone. This is not 100% correct though there are different opinions around. Personally I would pretend a sub 250g stock drone is allowed to fly till 120m above ground level, but in terms of overflying people there’s a slight difference. They can fly in A1 but are only alloved to overfly people on the shortest possible way. They need to avoid overflying uninvolved people though it’s not prohibited. Other with C0-labeled drones. They are allowed to overfly uninvolved people. Of course only with respecting privacy. I don’t understand why this topic (hard limit 120m) is such a crucial point. On the other hand people are fond of sub 250g drones. The easiest way is to buy a C1-drone. An Air 3 ist in terms of regulation the same like a de-classified Mini 4 Pro. It’s just the A1/A3 which is mandatory. But everyone who flies or owns a drone should in my opinion make this easy certificate anyway.

Hi can you help with EASA study guides? Especially quick reference prints for EASA rules. Im asking as US drone group moderate with EU and US members.

does the dji refresh still work after this?

Hej Henrik! Thank you for touching this indeed hot topic. Do you have idea on how to fly in mountains or fjords? There you can start your C0 drone from a base height of, say 300 meters, and climb extra 120 meters! So far, so good! But what if you fly not up, but horizontally, towards valley (or sea in fjords)? In such case, drone will remain on same height from the starting point, but very fast gain more than allowed 120m of height above surface. And *thus* might pose a risk for other airtrafikkanter. That moment s not really clear in official rules. Do you have your opinion on that? Thank you for you work!

Thank you Henrik for the video with more info on C0 regulations. Here in the US what seems to be coming, 120m would be better than banning DJI all together by putting it in two different bills. One probably won't pass. The second bill might pass. I hear they are wording it to where most people with no drone knowledge would see and vote against it. That worries me big time Henrik. You got room for another drone operator in EU or UK? lol. You don't have to worry about me not complying with the laws. Also thank you for helping me feel a little better today too. Can't wait until your next video I had some ideas on a video you could have fun with can't think of anything at the moment but will comment when it comes back to me. You're awesome Henrik thanks for everything.

Many thanks for the video Henrik. What would happen if you took off from the top of a 190m building or a cliff say will the drone take off but then automatically start to land when its sensors detect the ground much further away than 120m?

Regarding flying a drone there, I believe it is still so that youre not allowed to fly any drone equipped with a camera AT ALL in "Restriction-Sweden". :-/

Hi! I live in Lund just up the road from Malmö. Shame we could not meet up. Some Malmö isues that you addressed that need clarification ... 1. There are no flight restrictions for sub 250g drones in most of Malmö because most of the city is far enough away from Kastrup, the Copenhagen airport. There are no jails or nuclear power plants in the city either... 2. Some years, during parts of August, air space in central Malmö is shut for all drones because of the big "Malmöfestivalen" that lasts like 7-10 days. 2. I have flown my mini 2 near and around the Turning Torso at about max 80 meters but you cannot fly around it while you yourself are staying stationary because the radio signal gets cut (personal experience.) 3. A few weeks ago the thought struck my mind, if I take off with my drone from the 7th floor roof where I work and go up to 120 meters and then fly a bit away (still VLOS) then I am flying, legally, above 120. And so I did that. Given that it is a university, the ceiling heights on some floors are much more than normal so my take off was ca 35-40 meters above street level. No warnings or complaints from the drone while I the drone was in flight at about 150+ meters above the street... And so then a new thought popped into my mind....

I bought M4P two weeks ago, I had no idea about the declassification from DJI and got lucky. My drone is declassified. A0 ftw

The reason for the 120 meters is probably this one, so you have a window of 30 meters of margin. But keep in mind every airport has his own rules. This is the rule in the Netherlands. So the question is: Are there minimum flight altitudes in place? Departing jet traffic (non-propeller) follows a departure procedure (fixed routes with instructions from LVNL). Enforcement of these routes is the responsibility of the Inspectorate for Living Environment and Transport (ILT). The policy rule states the following: The altitudes up to which the departure procedures are enforced by the Inspectorate are: Flight Level 60 at Eelde Airport; Flight Level 60 for jet traffic and 3500 feet for propeller traffic at Maastricht Airport; 3000 feet at Rotterdam Airport. In addition, the following article is relevant: The Inspectorate supervises compliance by aircraft commanders with the departure procedures assigned to them at Eelde, Maastricht, or Rotterdam airports and takes enforcement action if the aircraft commander has exceeded the outer boundary of the tolerance area associated with the respective departure procedure. The Inspectorate does not take enforcement action if an exceedance is the result of an instruction from LVNL or if the deviation was necessary in the interest of flight safety. For other air traffic, a minimum flight altitude of 1000 feet (about 300 meters) above the highest point above built-up areas and 500 feet (about 150 meters) above open areas applies. Certain types of flights are exempt from this rule, either permanently (e.g., trauma and police helicopters) or incidentally (e.g., research or photography flights). A code of conduct, "Responsible Flying," has also been established for recreational general aviation. Source www.cro-rotterdam.nl

The point is that a building is not considered to be ground. So flying close to it higher than 120 does not fall into above ground rule. That's not a new rule coming. it's already in force.

So I'm going to CH in Jan and have a Mini 4 Pro with Plus batteries, I assume I need to do the unlocking but what will the plus batteries mean for that?

Tak!

Just launch it from the penthouse 🥳

So flying above a 120 meter high building calls for permission. Let's assume starting from a 120 meter high hill. You can't possibly need permission to take off there. What about C1, C2 drones combined with A1/A2/A3 certificate?

Did EASA really conduct their own research or they just copied 250g limit from US low?

but what about those declassified drones ?

Kunne være fedt at du lavede den video på dansk . 😊

Henrik, I'm a little confused as to the remote ID part of what you stated... such that C0 drones are exempt... On the EASA website, one can read this: "From 1 January 2024, all drones operating in the specific category and all drones with class marks operating in the open category will be required to operate with an active and up-to-date remote identification system" ...so in my interpretation, that clearly says "all drones with class marks". Which of course must also include C0 drones (sub 250g). Then, on that same page, EASA states the following: "Drones with class identification label C1, C2, C3, C5 and C6 are already equipped with a remote identification system. The Open Category page explains classifications further. Also, all drones operated in the specific category will be required to be equipped with remote identification system. The drone operator may purchase a remote identification module to be attached to the drone." So, what do you make of this? They just state which C classed drones already will have remote ID... but they don't explicitly say that C0 drones are exempt from the remote ID requirement... So I am confused! Care to help me untangle the convoluted EASA wording here? Good video, thanks ❤ Link to the page I'm referring to: www.easa.europa.eu/en/document-library/general-publications/remote-identification-will-become-mandatory-drones-across

But - if you take of at a high point, you break the 120 hight limit and dont even realise it! I of course don't want to break it, I would hate to cause suffering to any aircraft. We need a sort of TCAS lets face it!

In the "Open" category, obstacles higher than 120 meters can be flown over by 15 m With C0 drones. Only with the A2 operations exam. Of course, many things can be done with an operating permit, but it is expensive and complicated.

Rules are all about freedoms lost. I wouldn't own a drone that told the world what I was doing or where I was flying it. Hang glider pilots, paraglider pilots, powered and unpowered, fly without any notification or in some countries, any qualification. Avoid the rules and make your own.