Drone rule changes make microdrones most valuable

Microdrones might be the most valuable drone to date, as the FAA opens up a world of creative possibilities thanks to the changes in Part 107 and flight over people.

With the recent changes to Part 107, the FAA just boosted the value of microdrones exponentially.  The world of creative possibilities expands astronomically when microdrones can fly over people, and other drones need permission.

Everyone wants the most valuable drone for today and for the future. Drones should be able to capture incredible video, high resolution photos and even map.  The aircraft becomes a platform, able to solve numerous problems, similar to applications on a phone.

The most valuable drones today offer pilots the ability to take extremely smooth video, digitize the world and take incredibly colorful photos.  What is the most valuable drone for the money today?  Many would argue there are different platforms for the best drone for the money.  Frankly, we would argue that the Inspire 2 offers the most bang for the buck.  The Inspire 2 offers dual pilot functionality, super 35 mm full frame camera, autonomous capability and safety redundancy.  Albeit, traveling with the Inspire 2 isn’t for the weak, but GPC Cases has always had a solution to this problem.

Why argue for the I2 over all the other aircraft? The drone opens up the most opportunities to drone pilots. No, we’re not talking about filming real estate, but sure, you could do that too.  The Inspire 2’s various payloads take videography to the next level. Shooting with the X7 in 2.44:1 offers the ability for pilots to work on set.  Drone pilots can serve the production houses, and movie sets.

While the Inspire 2 opens up high level production to pilots, this drone also allows pilots to take advantage of many technical jobs as well.  While the Phantom drone is a more economical option for technical jobs, the Inspire 2 offers more flexibility.  The large camera sensor also opens up a world of advanced 3d modeling jobs.  Historical preservation, high end 3D modeling and VFX production is much more practical with a full frame sensor.

With the recent changes to Part 107, the FAA just boosted the value of microdrones exponentially.  The world of creative possibilities expands astronomically when microdrones can fly over people, and other drones need permission.

Everyone wants the most valuable drone for today and for the future. Drones should be able to capture incredible video, high-resolution photos, and even maps.  The aircraft becomes a platform, able to solve numerous problems, similar to applications on a phone.

The most valuable drones today offer pilots the ability to take extremely smooth video, digitize the world and take incredibly colorful photos.  

What Is The Most Valuable Drone for The Money Today?  

Many would argue there are different platforms for the best drone for the money. 

Frankly, we would argue the Inspire 2 offers the most bang for the buck.  

The Inspire 2 offers Dual pilot functionality, super 35 mm full-frame camera, autonomous capability, and safety redundancy.

However, traveling with the Inspire 2 can be cumbersome at best. Fortunately, there are resources like GPC Cases that offer solutions to this challenge.

The Inspire 2 Opens up The Most Opportunities to Drone Pilots

• We’re NOT talking about filming real estate – while you could do that too, the Inspire 2’s various payloads take videography to the next level. 
• Shooting with the X7 in 2.44:1 offers the ability for pilots to work on set.  Drone pilots can serve the production houses and movie sets.
• Take up Advanced 3D Modeling Jobs  – While Inspire 2 opens up high-level production to pilots, the large sensor on the drone allows pilots to take advantage of many technical jobs as well.  

While the Phantom drone is a more economical option for technical jobs, the Inspire 2 offers more flexibility.   

Historical preservation, high-end 3D modeling, and VFX production are much more practical with a full-frame sensor.

Part 107 Update Aims to CHANGE the value proposition for drones

With the new updates to Part 107, the world of drone possibilities expands rapidly.  

In the future, the most valuable drone is likely to be some sort of microdrone.  The ability to fly over people without FAA permission will open up a world of creative possibilities.  

And at low price points, these creative opportunities are available to a wide array of drone pilots.

As a drone pilot, it is nearly impossible to count how many times I’ve been asked to film a concert, parade, protest and even processions.  While it is possible to film all of these venues right now, it is extremely difficult to legally fly over people and get amazing shots.

The most valuable drone of the future will be the drone you can pick up from the local electronics store, and go fly and film over people. Those of us who are intimately involved in the drone industry know drones are incredibly safe. But the masses are still not so sure.

The FAA just acknowledged the relative safety of drones by allowing micro drones to fly over people beginning in April 2021 (albeit with some restrictions).

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Once the Operations Over People Rule goes into effect on 4/21/21, Category 1 drones will be able to fly over people without a waiver. 

And, any Part 107 pilot shall be able to fly under these new OOP rules even if they have not taken the new recurrent, online training.

Disclaimer:

We have been assured by the FAA that they intend to stick to this April date. On 4/6/2021, FAA will be publishing their updated training on the FAASafety website. The effective for those who get through the training is April 21, 2021. 

It Does Not Appear that the DJI Mavic Mini and Mini 2 Make the Cut

Unfortunately, the Mavic Mini and Mini 2 DO NOT currently qualify for Category 1 operations.

To qualify for Category 1 operations, the drone must be under 250 grams, and have no rotating parts that will “lacerate human skin”. 

If you add prop guards to a DJI Mini, it no longer weighs less than 250 grams.

There are efforts being made to change this, such as with a lighter battery, but we have not seen those in action up to this point. At least not on a large scale.

So, Are There Any DJI Drones That Satisfy FAA’s Criteria? – DJI Drones That You Can Use to Fly Over People WITHOUT a Waiver

• The DJI Tello with prop guards – The DJI Tello with props guard still weighs under 250 grams
• The DJI Mini 2 with prop guards and Japanese Battery – The Japanese version of the DJI Mavic Mini 2 just weighs 199 grams. This is because of a smaller, lighter battery. So, a DJI Mavic Mini 2 with a Japanese battery and prop guards still qualifies for Category 1 Operations.

Buying a Japanese battery in the US is expensive right now as they are not approved for import (yet). However, as per our sources, DJI is working on this.

Also, as per our sources, DJI may come out with an update that kills the motors based on accelerometer readings (if it’s falling for example), but for now, that’s not confirmed. But it’s likely. 

How About Flying Over Concerts? Will You Be Able to Fly the DJI Mini 2 Over Concerts without a Waiver?

Unfortunately, no.

In order to fly over “open-air assemblies”, the drone must also be compliant with RID, as well as satisfy the other two aspects of Category 1 operations:

• Must be under 250 grams and,
• No rotating parts that will “lacerate human skin”. 

This means you will have to add a RID module to a DJI Mavic Min 2 with prop guards and a Japanese battery. And this will push your weight to over 250 grams.

Now, DJI might come out with a firmware update to meet these RID requirements. But this is not going to happen any time soon.

So, don’t get your hopes high for now.

Are There Any Other Drones that Can Be Flown OOP Without a Waiver?

There are some small cinewhoops that make the cut.

A BetaFPV 95X v2 & v3 with a de-cased GoPro HERO 6, battery, and ducted props weighs just 190 grams – thus meeting all the weight and safety criteria for Category 1 operations.

And because there are still 60 grams to play with, a RID module can be attached and still remain under the 250-gram limit. 

But these RID modules will not be available before Q1 2022 (at the earliest).

What Does the Future Hold for Micro Drones?

If we can move towards a more progressive legislature regarding drones, and eliminate red tape, the potential of micro-drones skyrockets exponentially.

Let’s take the example of Canada. Canada has done exactly that with its micro-drone laws.

And, as a result, Canadian journalists are buying up micro drones at a record rate.

The ability to fly over people and capture events greatly expand creative possibilities. The number of potential shots from the air skyrockets.  The ability to serve clients in events…opens up new possibilities.

Microdrones, while small and portable, are also very affordable.  The barrier to entry to becoming a creative drone pilot goes down significantly.   

Journalists are already taking advantage of these micro drones in other countries. And, more progressive drone laws will ensure that US drone pilots can be a part of this emerging trend as well.

Ultimate Drone of the Future.

Drone manufacturers have already pushed the boundaries of highly compact drones. DJI is far ahead of any other manufacturer.  DJI already produces the Mini 2 drone.  The drone offers reliable video transmission, is easy to fly and captures great 4k video.  The Mini 2 drone has Occusync 2.0, which was the remote control system that was used to demonstrate RID to the FAA, via DJI.  While the Occusync system isn’t technically RID capable right now, we believe by 2023, the drone would be RID compatible.

Let’s imagine it is 2023, and some drone manufacturer gives us the “perfect” micro drone.  The perfect micro drone would offer:

1. Large enough sensor for decent photos (1″ CMOS)
2. Ultra-wide video (2.35:1 or 2.44:1)
3. Raw capability
4. Built-in prop cages

This perfect drone would now be able to:

1. Capture video over crowds, opening up a vast array of new engaging media.
2. Be able to travel to other countries and avoid regulatory scrutiny
3. Offer portability and keep 1 or 2 drones in your camera bag
4. Be able to film broadcast video, live stream

We who are participants in this industry continue to be excited by these new products and developments.  Microdrones will continue to expand the drone market, and might just become the most popular drones on the market.  Let us know how you plan on taking advantage of these opportunities.