I’ve been getting permission to fly in an authorisation zone locally and using the DJI Fly app which prompts me to confirm and agree to rules etc pre flight. How does this work using the litchi app. If I pre plan a flight for this area will Litchi also prompt me or do I have to set something up in litchi first.
Jerry
I may be wrong on this but I suspect that Litchi leaves flight restriction matters to the judicious discretion of individual drone operators, in contrast with the paternalistic collar and leash approach deployed by DJI Go and DJI Fly to the silent dismay of many.
@Jerbear ,
Here are a couple of topics on that subject.
and
Sam_G is right on target with his second reference.
One more task I always perform after using the DJI Fly app to unlock the authorization zone is to kill the DJI Fly app before starting Litchi.
I’ve been chatting with DJI support regarding my Air2s, no fly zones, the DJI app and authorisation zones because I was having issues using the DJI Fly app even after getting authorisation. They have now created an authorisation for me which will last for 1 year. But here’s the problem. Litchi does not recognize the authorisation. I ran up the DJI app and loaded the authorisation they created for me and it was confirmed that it was uploaded to the drone. Closed the DJI App and ran up Litchi and loaded my flight plan which started outside of the authorisation zone and ended inside the A.Zone. However, once it reached the A.Zone it refused to go any further. Now some might say don’t close the DJI App. Leave it running in the background.! Nope! Can’t do that either. I had gone to a local football pitch and tried keeping the DJI App open while asking Litchi to fly a mission. The drone took off and hovered at the default 2/3 meter height as set in the DJI Fly app and would not even attempt to fly the mission. So can we now assume that when it comes to no fly zones or authorisation zones Litchi is not the app to use. Or maybe someone else knows another way round this problem.
Yes : apply to No Limit Dronez.
I do the following process which has worked for me:
(1) On a PC, I go to https://fly-safe.dji.com/unlock/unlock-request/listUnlock - DJI FlySafe, and make sure I’m logged in with my DJI account. Then I select “New Unlock Request” and follow the instructions. Basically you select a zone you want to unlock, enter your drone info, pilot info, reason for flying and the date you want to fly. Authorization seems to be automatic, and you are presented with a list of authorizations, with the new one on top.
(2) I then connect my drone to the RC and open the DJI Fly app. I hit the < icon in the upper left corner until I see “Profile” on the bottom of the screen, select it, and scroll down the right side of the screen until I see “Settings”. I select Settings, then scroll down the left side of the screen and select "Unlock GEO Zone. You should see the authorization you created in step one. Hit “Import to Aircraft”.
(3) Hit the < icon (upper left of screen) until you see “Go Fly”. I make a test hover at this point in DJI Fly.
(4) I then close DJI Fly and open Litchi and make a test hover to verify I’m good to go.
Hope this helps. I have used this on my iPhone and my son has used this on Android.
Did all of that numerous times and eventually gave up. I use DJI fly now when it comes to authorisation zones…
One nuance on Step (4): to truly close an app running on an iPhone, just swiping up on an open app does NOT close it. Rather it just puts it in the background still running. You must swipe up to mid screen, release it, and miniature versions of all open apps appear. Place finger on the still-open DJI Fly icon and swipe IT up.
If your on Android 14, you cant open the DJI Fly app, there for cant update, cant acquire the unlocked zones made on DJI unlock site.
This app would be great if it was standalone. But its completely dependent on the Fly app in many situations. I downloaded the app connected real easy, but cant take off because i cant import the unlock licenses (android 14)
The Litchi app extends the capabilities of your drone over what can be done using DJI Fly (or Go). However, it is not a total replacement for the DJI app and some functions are not implemented in Litchi. This is often due to one of two reasons:
What refunds are you referring to?
Rr1. Why does that matter? He’s on here to help and from what I see he does that pretty well. Maybe I’m wrong, and if I am I apologise, but your response is coming across a little rude.
Here is a list of functions for which the DJI software is required because they are not implemented in Litchi.
This has happened to me twice now, Here is my email to Litchi:
"Hi Litchi
This is the second time it has happened. Before with my Air 2S and now with my Air 2, different ipads as well. The drone would not move at all towards the home point but I had full control other than that. I eventually flew laterally and could then fly home. Please see the attahed map. Green is home point and red is the area that blocked me out.
Litchi gave no warning or alerts and you will see on the map that I was not near any restricted zones,
BTW, the Fly app had no issues flying the same area on the same day.
I love Litchi but am now afraid to use it anymore."
First, you should not have been flying there unless you had previously received clearance from the FAA. Your take-off location was inside a “Zero Height LAANC Grid”. I am assuming that you are a recreational flier. As a recreational flier, you cannot obtain this sort of authorization. If you are a Part 107 flier, you would not be asking these questions because you would have learned that you must check your airspace prior to flying and obtain the proper authorzations.
Your take-off location was inside of a “Blue Authorization Zone”. An “Authorization Zone” must be unlocked before your drone is able to take-off. This must be done in the DJI app. You then flew into an “Orange Enhanced Warning Zone”. An “Enhance Warning Zone” requires that you answer “Yes” or “No” to the “Do you take responsibility” question.
How you got your drone in the air is unclear. My best guess is that you launched your drone before it had a chance to establish a GPS lock. Once a GPS lock is established, you would not be able to fly into an “Authorization Zone”. All of this could be confirmed by examining your logs. Seeing the airspace in which you flew and all of the zones in that area strongly suggest this is not a good place to fly especially since you were off the end of an airport runway.
When using Litchi, any attempt to fly into an “Authorization Zone” without previously unlocking the drone will cause the drone to act as if it is trying to fly through an invisible barrier in the air. How you got your drone back to the home point is unclear but again, the logs would help to answer that question.
Thanks, Wes
I don’t see a blue zone at Baylands, just the yellow warning zone on the map I provided?
And I had at least 15 sats locked on the Fly app and Litchi that day and neither app asked anything about auth.
Not sure why LAANC and the Fly app maps disagree but I’m assuming the apps, Fly and Litchi are using DJI’s maps.
Yes, I’m just an old Rec flyer. I ended up flying laterally I think to where Litchi allowed me to return home.
How do I get the log file?
Can you please show me the blue zone on the fly safe map?
thx
bob
If you go to fly-safe.dji.com and then zoom out, you will see the zone over the landing/take-off strip.
Yes, but the question is: “When did you have 15 satellites locked?” Did the GPS icon turn white before you took off? There have been cases where people take off before they have a satellite lock and once the drone determines it is in an authorization zone, it executes a forced landing.
LAANC and DJI’s authorization zones are two different things. Adhering to LAANC is a legal requirement in the USA. Unlocking a DJI Geo-Zone is DJI’s requirement to fly your drone. They are separate and use different boundaries and methods. Here is the LAANC grid where you flew. Notice the “0” (zero):
They are stored on your flying device. You mentioned that you use an iPad. You can use iTunes to download them from the iPad to your computer. My preferred way is through AirData (www.airdata.com) where the logs will auto-sync to your AirData account and you can download them from the AirData web site. Once downloaded, you can view all sorts of parameters using PhantomHelp’s log viewer. It’s all a bit of work but you will learn a lot of details about your flights by doing so.
This isn’t a Litchi issue. Instead, it is an issue about knowing the airspace in which you are flying.
Home point was established so assuming GPS was fully locked?
Thanks for the education on LAANC ,etc but to me the simple question is why didn’t Fly or Litchi squawk at me or at least ask me to confirm like it does at my House. I live near Reid Hillview airport and always have to do the confirm thing in my back yard.
The logs can be used to confirm that.
I cannot answer why DjI Fly didn’t give you a notice. It should have if its GPS coordinates were inside one of the zones that require it. Litchi does not give you a visual warning. With Litchi, the drone will either not take off or will simply stop in the air when trying to fly into an authorization zone.
Examining the logs usually reveals all of the details.
