Official Drone Guidance

[Saxondale]

I'm looking to buy a DJI Phantom 3 soon but struggling to find any official guidance on the rules and regulations for flying drones in Beijing. I know it was prohibited to fly within the 5th ring road but i believe this has now changed - DJI have just updated the firmware to stop you from flying in restricted areas but i was hoping to find published documents about the restricted areas before dropping a ton of money.  Any links (Chinese or English) would be much appreciated.

 

Thanks

 

Mikey

[ChTTay]

Shocking that no one seems to have experience flying drones around Beijing!

Please just buy one and tell us how It goes :-)

[Saxondale]

Bad news...

 

 

Dear Michael,

Please think twice before your purchase the drone if you live in Beijing.

Because the No-Fly Zones include a 30km radius centered in BJ (Tian An Men Square)

FYI.

Kind regards,

DJI Product Application Technical Support

 

Straight from DJI.  

[Mouseneb]

As I recall Trey Radcliffe had quite the experience flying his drone on Beijing:

http://www.stuckincustoms.com/2014/06/19/dji-quadcopter-china-detention/

[anonymoose]

Some amazing footage he has there. The only thing that's a little disappointing is that most is just going vertically up and down. I wonder if it is a lot harder to control in other directions.

I'd be tempted to get one too, but carrying it around must be quite a nuisance.

[danroc]

So, did you get it in the end?

 

A friend got a Phantom 3 last week and was very disappointed when he realized he'd have to go past the 5th or 6th ring in order to even try it out.

 

I was about to get one this week and I am reconsidering... can't even fly it low in my backyard just cos I live in Beijing. Funny that other major Chinese cities like Shanghai or Shenzhen and even HK do not have such strong restrictions (no fly zones are mostly around airport).

[889]

" . . . even HK do not have such strong restrictions (no fly zones are mostly around airport)."

 

Just in case anyone reading that thinks it's alright to send their drone zooming over Central or Mongkok, think again.

 

In addition to flight paths, you cannot -- among other areas -- operate "over populated and congested areas" or "Victoria Harbour and its coastal areas," which covers much of Hong Kong.

 

As well, there are plenty of other restrictions, such as daylight operation only.

 

http://www.cad.gov.hk/english/model_aircraft.html

 

(Drones 7kg and under, without fuel, are considered model aircraft by the CAD.)

[danroc]

sorry for the bad information...

I was just looking at the DJI app's no-fly zones.... of course, it does not include extra local regulations applied to other zones....

[Saxondale]

@danroc

 

I got the DJI Phantom 4 in the end.  You'll have to be outside the 6th ring road for it to take off - there's a good drone community in Beijing that often do trips over the weekend to scenic spots outside the 6th ring road but you normally need a car.  I've been offered a ride a few times but haven't had to chance to join them yet.  I've flown in Shunyi, Miyun and Chengdu so far, but even if you're outside the 6th ring road you need to be careful of the added restrictions 889 mentioned.

[danroc]

have you posted your videos/photos anywhere on the web we could see??

 

any regrets buying such a nice device that you can't use that often? or you totally recommend it?

[Saxondale]

Not ready to put anything up since i'm still learning, but i'll let you know when i do.  The majority of people crash their drones because they launch it into the air with no knowledge of how to control it.  I've been taking my time watching tutorials, flying at low heights in beginner mode and understanding how it flies in different conditions.

 

No regrets - if i had saved for months and months, bought it, then realised I couldn't fly within the 6th then i would be kicking myself, but that wasn't the case. 

[danroc]

yeah I guess that would also be my case. I am very tempted to get one.

the sad thing is that even to practice you have to plan and go out of the city! might be good excuses though, right?

 

how about this community you mentioned, how to find them?

[Saxondale]

Yeah it is a good excuse to escape the city! There's actually a lot of beautiful places outside the 6th ring road that are worth exploring.

 

There's a drone group on WeChat (around 140 people) that organise biweekly trips on the weekends - they don't speak English though!

[danroc]

yeah i decided, will get a P4 within the next week!

 

as soon as I get it, I would love to join the group... I can do some Mandarin, no problem... I'll PM you my Wechat contact, if that's ok?

[Saxondale]

Sure go ahead.  There's actually a trip planned for May 14 to Tangshan, so it would be good for you to join and practice your P4 - I would recommend getting an extra 2 batteries for these longer trips and a drone backpack.

[Nitas]

Hey. guys could you add me to any drone groups in Beijing? I can PM you my wechat ID. Also, any suggestions for locations to fly outside the sixth ring?