NewbieNewbie
New Member
Greetings to all the experienced members
I am totally new and was hoping to ask for some advice please?
Is it true that all drones in South Africa/Europe are automatically restricted to 500 metres of flight range, irrespective of the actual range on paper of the drone? In other words, does the drone automatically pick up via GPS that one is in South Africa, and then it automatically electronically reduces the actual flight range/distance to 500 metres OR does this only apply to DJI drones? (I have heard that South Africa follows Europe in this regard, but the USA/FAA does not have this 500 metre restriction).
I have heard that DJI is very strict compared to other drones. Not sure if true.
In other words, is there any point in spending money on a drone for example that has a flight range on paper of 1200 metres, if it is in any case automatically electronically limited to 500 metres when in South Africa? OR is it only DJI who implements this automatic restriction?
If I may ask a last question please? Bear in mind that my farm is massive and vast, and there are lots of killings on farms in South Africa (for those not from South Africa, and not aware of this fact).
Am I correct that the automatic restriction is implemented when it detects one's location via GPS at the beginning when switching on the drone for the very first time when taking it out of the box for the first time?
In other words if one switches to the other mode (non GPS) for flying, then does this mean that the restriction is lifted temporarily because the GPS is switched off?
Is there a way to over ride this automatic flight range restriction for my farm? I don’t want to go commercial (I am old and my memory is not suited to exams now LOL).
Has anyone brought in a drone from another country where they already opened it and discovered (by chance on a farm/private property) in South Africa that the range is more than 500 metres OR perhaps that there are other drone brands that are not so rigid to automatically implement this range restriction (I have heard that with DJI it is not possible to over ride it).
Thank you to everyone for all your advice and sorry for the long post (I hope I can get advice from those inside and outside the country).
Thank you again
Best wishes
Justin
I am totally new and was hoping to ask for some advice please?
Is it true that all drones in South Africa/Europe are automatically restricted to 500 metres of flight range, irrespective of the actual range on paper of the drone? In other words, does the drone automatically pick up via GPS that one is in South Africa, and then it automatically electronically reduces the actual flight range/distance to 500 metres OR does this only apply to DJI drones? (I have heard that South Africa follows Europe in this regard, but the USA/FAA does not have this 500 metre restriction).
I have heard that DJI is very strict compared to other drones. Not sure if true.
In other words, is there any point in spending money on a drone for example that has a flight range on paper of 1200 metres, if it is in any case automatically electronically limited to 500 metres when in South Africa? OR is it only DJI who implements this automatic restriction?
If I may ask a last question please? Bear in mind that my farm is massive and vast, and there are lots of killings on farms in South Africa (for those not from South Africa, and not aware of this fact).
Am I correct that the automatic restriction is implemented when it detects one's location via GPS at the beginning when switching on the drone for the very first time when taking it out of the box for the first time?
In other words if one switches to the other mode (non GPS) for flying, then does this mean that the restriction is lifted temporarily because the GPS is switched off?
Is there a way to over ride this automatic flight range restriction for my farm? I don’t want to go commercial (I am old and my memory is not suited to exams now LOL).
Has anyone brought in a drone from another country where they already opened it and discovered (by chance on a farm/private property) in South Africa that the range is more than 500 metres OR perhaps that there are other drone brands that are not so rigid to automatically implement this range restriction (I have heard that with DJI it is not possible to over ride it).
Thank you to everyone for all your advice and sorry for the long post (I hope I can get advice from those inside and outside the country).
Thank you again
Best wishes
Justin
