Which drone maps to rely on?

Legal & Privacy
1

Hi, newbie here, I have thus far been using the DJI map to check drone restrictions etc when flying a drone.

I flew a drone at a location in Coventry recently and I remember there were no restrictions, and flying a drone was pretty much wide spread; 1-2 small restrictions at best.

Today I was unable to access DJI’s map (not sure why) whilst in Coventry today, therefore I googled a map related to Coventry ATC, where Coventry ATC map had the majority of Coventry in a red zone! which was a kick in the teeth as I couldnt fly the drone from my locaiton, so it seemed.

Long story short, upon returning home I log online, and checked DJI’s map for drone restricitons at the locations I was today, and it seems in conflict to Coventry ATCs.

What is a reliable drone map; highlighting restricted locations for flying drones?

I’m sure I was using both the DJI map, and the Coventry ATC map correctly.

Any advice would be appreciated, I just don’t want to get into trouble, therefore would like one sole sourced map for the truth- does such exist for drones.

Cheers.

2

Hi @smash and welcome to Grey Arrows.

Unfortunately, DJI’s GEO Zones aren’t worth the paper they’re written on and in some areas they bear absolutely no resemblance to the real world airspace restrictions what so ever.

Most people here use Drone Scene, as it allows you to view multiple map layers from multiple providers, all in the one place:

(You’ll need to be a member to access the map layers)

Here’s how Coventry should look:

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IMG_18772360×1640 1.9 MB

And here’s DJI’s version of it :man_facepalming:t2:

IMG_1878
IMG_18782360×1640 2.06 MB

6 Likes
3

I use Drone Assist on iOS

4

Hi and thanks for the direction on this, as this is what I see using DJI Geo fly safe.

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5

It’s such a shame that DJI enforce height restrictions on their drones in places they’re not needed :confused:

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The only resource you need is DroneScene. The DJI plots are notoriously inaccurate. When they first rolled out their DroneSafe thing they placed a 7km noflyzone around all civilian airports, and in the case of LBA this meant that large areas of Leeds, Bradford, and surrounding areas, it was not possible to arm.

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Even today, with their reduced radius’s’s’s I’m still plagued with annoying pop-ups informing me I’m in a restricted space even though in the real world I’m not.

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7

I have found Coventry ATC are very supportive, and I frequently have permission to fly in an area within the Coventry NFZ.

(You can see one of my ‘permissions’ in the Coventry NFZ …. It’s the almost square area you can see).

You need to apply via their web site, and it needs to be at least 6 days before the date of the flight

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FRZ - official CAA flight restriction zone

Not to be confused with the shitty made up DJI NFZ (no flight zone)

9

Thanks … I’m my head, I know the difference, but when I write them down, they become interchangeable… I’ll have to see if I can find a way to remember which is which