TL;DR
- DJI declared specific RPAs for Advanced Operations in Controlled Airspace under the new RPAS regulations coming into force on June 1st.
- This does NOT apply to using these DJI models for any commercial operations prior to June 1st, 2019; everyone stills need to follow the laws (i.e. get an SFOC to do commercial work in controlled airspace).
- DJI states that they continue to assess for declaration for near and over people operations.
The Canadian RPAS operators are breathing a huge sigh of relief today as DJI has announced the initial set of RPAs that are being declared for use in controlled airspace.
Note that the Press Release talks about compliant aircraft, which is another term entirely and is likely misused in this case. If you read the DJI PR carefully, this only relates to RPAS operating in Advanced Operations in Controlled Airspace in Canada.
For months now, Canadian RPAS Operators have been waiting for this Declaration from DJI to find out which DJI products would be useable in controlled airspace in Canada. This would effectively all for operations similar to that being done today under current Complex Standing SFOCs.
DJI declared that the following RPAs would be declared for Advanced Operations in Controlled Airspace under the new RPAS regulations coming into force on June 1st. These do not apply to any operations prior to that date.
- M600 Series
- M200 Series
- M200 V2 Series
- Inspire 2
- Mavic 2 series
- Mavic Pro
- Mavic Air
- Phantom 4 series
- Spark
Interestingly enough, the Inspire 1 RPA, which on the basis of the the AC922 GPS tolerances for Controlled Airspace and the published DJI specs seems to meet the requirements is not on the list.
DJI states that they continue to assess for declaration for near and over people operations.
You can read the DJI press release here for more details.