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Caught by the police in Helsinki
I traveled to Helsinki last week and thought it would be nice to takes photos with my DJI Mini 3 Pro.
I took some time to look up no-fly zones and other local rules, prepared a plan of photos I wanted to take, the usual.
After about 20 minutes of flight, the police arrived and asked to land the drone. I apparently entered the no-fly zone around which I was flying (probably too close). The control told the police they saw me enter the zone.
I explained my flight plan, that I was indeed flying close to the zone but I was avoiding it and never intended to enter it, and demonstrated that I knew the limits of that zone. I presented my ID, drone license (not necessary for the Mini 3 but I passed it thinking it might be useful someday), drone registration... and waited while they recorded everything in their car.
They came back after a few minutes and explained that I clearly knew what I was doing and there was no malicious intent, the control confirmed I was staying at the limit of the zone and never entered more than a few meters into it. They told me they would not give me a fine and that I should better keep my distance.
Lesson learned! I will keep a safe distance from now on.
I am also now wondering: how is ATC able to locate both the drone and me so precisely and quickly? Are they using a radar or simply capturing drone and remote signals and extracting position data? The police car came straight to me, they clearly knew where I was.
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Photo from the spot that was closest to the no-fly zone https://preview.redd.it/8ewasdix6wpb1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=52a55cfabd9b62123351385d756fca97557a0129
source
I traveled to Helsinki last week and thought it would be nice to takes photos with my DJI Mini 3 Pro.
I took some time to look up no-fly zones and other local rules, prepared a plan of photos I wanted to take, the usual.
After about 20 minutes of flight, the police arrived and asked to land the drone. I apparently entered the no-fly zone around which I was flying (probably too close). The control told the police they saw me enter the zone.
I explained my flight plan, that I was indeed flying close to the zone but I was avoiding it and never intended to enter it, and demonstrated that I knew the limits of that zone. I presented my ID, drone license (not necessary for the Mini 3 but I passed it thinking it might be useful someday), drone registration... and waited while they recorded everything in their car.
They came back after a few minutes and explained that I clearly knew what I was doing and there was no malicious intent, the control confirmed I was staying at the limit of the zone and never entered more than a few meters into it. They told me they would not give me a fine and that I should better keep my distance.
Lesson learned! I will keep a safe distance from now on.
I am also now wondering: how is ATC able to locate both the drone and me so precisely and quickly? Are they using a radar or simply capturing drone and remote signals and extracting position data? The police car came straight to me, they clearly knew where I was.
​
Photo from the spot that was closest to the no-fly zone https://preview.redd.it/8ewasdix6wpb1.jpg?width=1920&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=52a55cfabd9b62123351385d756fca97557a0129
source
| 10,000 mlx | |
| 41 | |
| 1 |