DJI Mavic 3 becomes the first drone in the world with C1 marking, even retroactive

DJI Mavic 3 is the first drone in the world to obtain the C1 marking of the European regulation. DJI announced it a little while ago, underlining its determination to work hard to adapt to the European drone regulation as soon as possible.

In fact, when it was presented, in November 2021, after the first tests we realized that the Mavic 3 was already ready to obtain the class C1 marking of the European regulation. Shortly after we also discovered that the Mavic 3 also transmitted the EASA electronic ID intended for drones above C0.

In Italy, (pay attention to any additional provisions of other countries such as France) The Mavic 3 marked C1 can be conducted today and forever in the A1 subcategory of the Open Category, i.e. in a way in which people are not reasonably expected to fly over do not inform. If this happens it is necessary to minimize overflight times. The A1 / A3 certificate that can be obtained online is sufficient for the pilot.

The Mavic 3 without class marking , on the other hand, can be driven in A3 today and forever with rules that require you to maintain a distance of at least 150m from residential, industrial areas etc. Or it can be conducted in A2 limited until 31 December 2023 keeping at least 50m away from uninformed people and with A2 certificate for the pilot. After 31 December 2023 it can only be conducted in A3.

From this brief summary we understand the importance of the C1 marking which in practice allows operations to be carried out even in urban scenarios (if the UAS geographical area is not prohibited) by carefully studying what to do to reasonably avoid overflight by uninformed people.

The C1 certification for the Mavic 3 came through the notified body TÜV Rheinland , the following changes were made to obtain it:

• The Mavic 3 series meets the new 83db noise reduction level.
• When using ActiveTrack Intelligent Flight Mode to shoot people or objects, the distance to the person / object will be limited to 50m. Beyond 50m, ActiveTrack will be disabled.
• the auxiliary LEDs turn on or off automatically during use, based on the actual environment, e
• the LEDs on the drone's front arms will flash by default for as long as the UAV is turned on.

Free retroactive C1 marking for all

To get the C1 it was enough to change the firmware . For this reason DJI has said that it will be possible to carry out the retroactive marking for free for all those who own an unmarked Mavic 3. Who decides for the C1 marking will have to indicate the serial number of the drone and perform a firmware update . The procedure will be activated in the last quarter of this year, further details will be communicated shortly. Once marked C1 via firmware update it will no longer be possible to go back. All subsequent firmware updates will be C1 compliant and therefore those who decide not to join will not have to update their drone. DJI plans to get the marking for other current and of course future drones as well.

source: quadricottero.com