GERMAN Drone Laws are VERY Demanding! (3 steps to do it right) - DJI Mini 3 Pro 

Bought one, flew one to a tree. No regulations whatsoever 😄

@@timovehkaoja ahahaha expensive crash

@@ChristianPitcher I didn’t break! Still flying to this day 👍🏻

As long as you have your brain on right place people around feel enjoed and friendly🥳

Here in Finland the rules are plentiful. We have to do all the things you describe and take an exam, even two separate exams if you intend to fly anywhere else than in the countryside. So you’re registered many times over by the authorities. Your flights are also being monitored on a need to bases. DJI sells this monitoring capability to authorities, rest assured we have that also in Finland, probably you too over there in Germany. All of these permits you must get in Finland will cost you money and they are all valid for no more than 5 years. So yes, getting the youth into this hobby is not supported by the authorities and have ended many young enthusiasts from being able to have this hobby. Then again there’s also an age limit in Finland. I’ve been into aviation in different forms from an early age. I’m in my middle age by now. The authorities also closed down the only airfield for light aircraft, the Malmi Airport, so that ended also aviation requiring operations from a real runway in the capital area. Hopefully you’ll be luckier in Germany. Have a nice day and fun with your drone mate!❤

Thank you so much for your feedback! Appreciate it! 🙏 The problem being native Finnish speaker is that no one speaks Finnish so have to manage with the foreign ones like German and English ;)

But you do have to register the drone and display the registration ID… but your right its fairly relaxed compared to Germany. This information shocked me. So many things to have to do.

Oh I can relate! I’m fed up with the wind and snow (!) too! So happy to hear that! Have fun in Darmstadt! 👌🏻

Thank you Jeremy! I really appreciate your feedback, so nice to hear you liked it! 🙏

Happy to hear that! The tricky part is where to fly. There is an app called ”Droniq” which is quite useful. I’m afraid it’s only in German but nevertheless. The thing is, there are so many restricted areas. For example railways, 100m (~300ft) horizontal distance. Unless you are flying lower than the horizontal distance is, like 75ft horizontal distance and 75ft AGL is okay. Unless you have the A2 license and pay €200 for a ”general permit” which allows you to go even closer. So it’s an absolute mess but staying a bit further away from major roads, railways and especially the airports (I think they are at least in the DJI app as well) and using some common sense you should steer clear of problems. The list is pretty exhaustive though… I hope your trip will be great! 😊

Thank you so much Christian! Comment like that is always motivating!

@@leomannisto always bro, can't wait to wait the next one

Thank you so much Matthew, so nice to hear feedback like that! 🙏🙏🙏🙏

Yes indeed, fun those first flights! But as it seems the regulations are pretty much not endorsed if one has a look at the instagram for example. I presume common sense goes a long way (but won’t recommend to fly anywhere where one shouldn’t either). BC would be a dream to visit one day, preferably with a drone!

@@leomannisto photography is my main hobby. Recently started to do video and the drone makes it so easy to capture good quality pictures and video. Your video shows that you are already a good filmmaker so it does not matter where you are😄👍🏼

Thank you so much for your kind words! I hope I am able to produce more soon!

Our liability insurance is at the "Haftpflichtkasse", that is a normal household 3rd party liability insurance which just so happens to cover drone flying too - so check that first. If not you could use something like Check24 to compare various insurances, they have some metrics to analyze which would be a good option. I am happy to hear you found it informative. Greetings from Hamburg too! Nice skies & all the best!

Thank you so much! Really appreciate feedback like that! 🙏🙏🙏

Oh that’s the easy part of getting licensed. Where to fly is a whole other thing to itself. For example, here in Hamburg we have a rather big port. The regulations from the aviation legislation are one thing and the logically the port authority (NOT aviation) has own regulations. There is also a ”pay to fly”-scheme, pay for the authority and you can have a license to fly closer than the regulations normally allows. As pretty much everything in Germany: it’s an absolute mess 😂 Downtown Chicago must really be epic! Thank you so much for your comment and have nice skies! 🙏

@@leomannisto Well it's not a "pay to fly"- scheme, but besides paying, you have to proof your skills and knowledge of the rules and the physics of flying in order to get the license. To optain it, the A2 Drone pilot licence is a must have. That's the way that only quallified pilots can enjoi reduced limitations, where to fly, which makes sense for upholding safety conditions. Same as in normal traffic, i don't want people driving arround without a driving license and without any clue about the rules and trafic signs.

@@ExHanseat ye i got the a2 certificate so i can fly in cities with the 2s and mav 3, but you still have to stay 50 meters from people so makes it hard considering cities are always full of people. i like to shoot in golden hour so less people around but still a fair few so i just the mini 3 mainly

comparing german rules with the strict US FAA ">250g" rules, most European countries have much more lenient rules. NO mandatory DroneID transponders etc. Pilot license, A1 or A2, liability insurance, a sticker on the drone and your good to go. For DIY drones, there is also an open class and you can register as many drones as you want or if you have several of the same model, use the same ID. The 50m safety distance rule to people makes a LOT of sense for inexperienced pilots and larger drones, an 250g droe or a mavic pro or even a large octocopter with A2 license can be flown closer, provided it has some safety features like collision warning, redundant batteries and can saferly land if one of the props is damaged. The whole FPV part is mostly unregulated, since moving below 30m over ground outside of residiential areas is not even considered flying. tbh, most pilots that fly outside of the city don give a damn about regulations except a safety distance anyways. Just dont annoy people with low passes over their garden and noone will care

I’m glad to hear that! 🙏

That is more or less a must to have here in Germany. Luckily some of them covers pretty much anything where one might be held liable.

Yes, 249g is absolutely correct. BUT the Mini 3 Pro has a ”sensor for colleting personal data” i.e. a camera so that makes the registration compulsory. 249g and no camera = no registration.

@@leomannisto Ahhh... good to know! My Mini 3 Pro arrives tomorrow... I'll make sure to register before I fly it. Thanks!

Happy to help! 🙏

I really appreciate your lenghty comment! Very good thoughts! I really can’t tell if FAA license is valid. Technically you don’t need a license but an insurance, that’s a German anomality I think. But maybe your travel insurance or liability insurance (I don’t know if it’s a German anomality too) covers drone flying? Or if someone offers for travellers. But that’s the thing with Ze Germans, why complicated when impossible is possible! ;)

@@leomannisto Thanks very much again Leo, and yes..... I am long-winded! 🙄;-)

that is absolutely correct. you do NOT need an A1/A3 for Mini 3 Pro or anything under 250g MTOW. but as the Germans love all kinds of licenses and documents it doesn’t hurt to have one and it takes about 15 minutes to get one so why not.

Yes but you don t need the certificate from LBA. The certificate is actually issued by EASA and if you go there you can take it in many languages, while LBA only provides english and german!

@@mobilelegendsmoskov893 yes, you do not need it (for Mini 3/4/whatever) but it is so easy to obtain that it won’t hurt. And the stuff is good general knowledge over drone ops 👌🏻

I have something similar too! I didn’t even know that they cover drones and thought I need a separate one but that seems not to be the case. Which saves some money!

I had hunting insurance,, I don't remember what It was called... here you can insure anything ,, as long as you specify what it is,, like my scuba gear.. gear must be defined as what....

Thank you! Hamburg is a slightly tricky place to fly (legally) but not impossible. I’d recommend downloading the ”Droniq” app on your phone. It allows you to input the specifics like A1 or A3 and the starting weight and flight parameters and shows you the restricted areas on the map.

@@leomannisto yes, thanks for reply. I use droniq app. But A3 hard to find actually. Are there aeroclubs or dedicate places you know?

not that I knew... I have heard there are FPV-activity at Öjendorfer Park but that is more on a rumour base and don't know if it's reliable =) maybe instagram search with fpv and Hamburg would connect you with like minded FPV-pilots?

Maybe 15 minutes. It’s not hard! Remember, if your drone is under 250g you don’t _have_ to get the licence. But it ain’t hard and doesn’t hurt in any way!

Thank you so much for the feedback! No, they are not complicated but a bit of a hassle :)

Thank you! So happy to hear that! 🙏 As far as I know the insurance is different, for example in Germany a must have and in Denmark it’s ”highly recommended” but not obligatory. (The 3rd party liability insurance in Germany is anyway a must have kind of a thing, I mean for all other things as drones as well like washing machines causing a flooding etc etc.)

@@leomannisto That makes sense, I guess I have insurance anyway and maybe if I’d not put the details in it would have gone through anyway in Malta.

oh dear, that was so nicely written that I’m missing the words to reply. thank you so much! really appreciate. yes, ze Germans like to over-regulate ”a bit”, I might have a video about it coming soon-ish. ;) nice skies and all the best!!!!

I am glad if it was helpful! No, sorry, I have no idea about commercial flying. Pretty sure it is one hell of a mess regarding to liability/insurance kind of things… but not impossible, I am sure!

If you use 15 minutes to obtain the A1/A3 license it’s not a problem. Germany being Germany there might be someone with a scale if something happens so… 😂

Indeed! The German airspace regulations are another chapter and it would take 10 videos to explain where you are allowed to fly. Luckily they have a rather good app, otherwise it would be impossible to fly.

@@leomannisto could you share the name of the app?

Hello Jaffar! The app is called ”Droniq”. Not the most intuitive user experience but it works to some extent.

For example company called ”Helden” advertises Drone insurance for €39 per annum. www.helden.de

Oh I live in Hamburg and here it is already Autumn! Spend the last week in the Finnish Lapland and even there it was warmer and more sun than in Hamburg 😂😂😂 Let’s see, I have to go to Hanover next week, i’ll try and let my umbrella at home 👍

@@leomannisto There is an unusual ancient monument near the zoo, and Herrenhausen is good too.

I pass through Hanover usually 2-4 times a week (I drive trains as a ”9-5”) but it’s kind of a city one never goes to. Should take the time at some point, it has kind of a laid back vibe, doesn’t it?

Hamburg is a bit problematic (considering it from the regulations point of view) due to airports and whatnot. One good spot might be Moorburg? Oberfeuer Moorburg maps.app.goo.gl/XpjvVjCcq38y966u5?g_st=ic It’s not so crammed with a harbour view. The Air2s is nice! Nice Skies Sandeep!

@@leomannisto Thank you Leo for the suggestions!

well.. Hamburg is tricky due to the two airports. and countless helipads, embassies and and and and. One good spot to do some practice could be Moorburg, something to see (the port), legal spot and some space to fly.

Oh that sounds easy! I think you are covered, when you are registered in one country within the EU. Free movement and so on (somehow it works with other topics better than others 😉) . I am interested how it works with some ex-EU countries though…

@@leomannisto Thank you for your feedback Leo.

@@A_Fortunate_Traveler I can confirm that it is enough to register in one country. Interesting thing is that in Germany and in Belgium you have an insurance. In Poland it is not something that is obligatory but of course it is always good to have it :) BTW @leomannisto thanks for that movie it really helps, I wish you more not windy days...

Thank you! 🙏 I film with Sony ZV-1 and Canon EOS R with 17-40. So nothing special, cheap used equipment.

The registration and the pilot’s licence are two different things. If you have a drone with less than 250g (w/ camera) you don’t need a pilot’s licence but you still have to tell the aviation authorities that ”hey, I have a drone with a camera which is less than 250g.” In short : 249g w/camera - no pilot’s licence, yes registration at the aviation authority. Doesn’t hurt to have a license though, easy to obtain and as ze germans love all kind of licenses and documents you can whip out one in a pinch and you look more professional 😉😉😉. Fun aside, doesn’t hurt to know a bit of the legislation either. I obtained one although I don’t absolutely need one, took about 15 minutes. And I have one if I some day buy/loan a heavier drone.

Yes they charge later. I did mine in February and still don’t have the invoice, it takes months. No, you just print a sticker or write it with a Sharpie on your drone or order a small aluminium plate (amazon have plenty of them!) :)

Oh, that was just a warm up. Regulations _where_ to fly it’s where ot gets complicated ;)

I was surprised at how little red tape there is for the sub 250gram category here given how fond our various governments are of regulation. I've not got expectations of making money from my M3P but did the accreditation and registration anyway in case I happen to get something special. All free and online at the moment.

This one popped up in my feed today. Not a bad summary of the sub 250gram rules for Australia. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-C4n-Iu1siAw.html

_mostly_ the same. The insurance seems to vary as does the ”where”. The German Drone laws regarding the where to fly is such a can of worms. Would be content for the years to come but they are so horror to even remotely understand. 😂

mostly in Rahlstedt and Berne.

Haha a good one! I am so sorry to disappoint you but I’m actually Finnish and the Honda is my Danish girlfriend’s car! 😂😂😂

Thank you so much Randy! 🙏 I really can’t answer your question. I understood the law as the registration should be done in some European Union country but… I am pretty sure that the lawmaker never once made a thought that there might be someone from for example USA visiting Germany and wants to fly drones. I don’t know how the FAR regulations regarding drones are but if you bring some kind of licencing number on your drone itself that can’t harm. Regarding to _where_ to fly it gets really messy and vague and I have to triple check if I am allowed to fly somewhere - all the information is of course in German. I can try to find information about your issue but can’t promise to find anything, those laws are good guarded secrets ;)

@@leomannisto Understood. Maybe, and I just say maybe, it is the same as a private pilot. I am allowed to fly a manned plane in any country as long as I have a pilots license from my home country. Maybe this will be the same for drones because it is the same agency that will license both in the USA. Please don't go to any trouble, I will ask our FAA their opinion.

@@leomannisto I think that's correct. You need to register with the aviation authority of the country you're travelling to and do the online test. I think you should be able to do all of it online but I don't know how they check your identity online in practice if you don't have citizenship of the local country

Oh yes, especially in Hamburg it either rains or is windy 😂

Good point! I was a bit scared of them and they were there in the middle of the pond. Didn’t want to scare and/or bother them so overflew a puddle instead 😂

I would say yes, your drone is registered in an EU country. No problem with that. However, the insurance here is the interesting part. I really can’t say how that works when someone is visiting Germany with an ”foreign” drone. That’s something that interests me as well. I don’t know if you have and/or your insurance is valid when abroad. BTW, most drone schools here in Germany offer Dutch pilot licenses. Maybe it’s more straightforward process there.

100%. But have the license from easa, not from dutch gov

Well the process could be more streamlined, don’t you think? It takes a week minimum for something which should take minutes. As a non-native German speaker it is not always so easy to find the relevant information - either in English or in German not written for lawyers ;)

Actually, Germany is the worst when it comes to finding the information, waiting for every damn thing to be processed by the slowest system of the world and even if you think you do everything right, someone still might find something wrong.

I can imagine their bureaucracy is a nightmare too! :)

yes, you are absolutely right. The Mini 3 Pro does not require the A1/A3 license due to MTOW

@@leomannisto i know that the insurance is required only for drones above 2kg i think...or above 25... Te EU regulation doesn't oblige you to have insurance fir smaller drones. I have mavic air 2 and don't need insurance.

In Germany you need an insurance for also less than 250g MTOW if it’s equipped with a camera. I really can’t say what happens if a foreign pilot / registered drone causes 3rd party damage and flies without insurance but that might get rather expensive. And as I said in the video you will not get the eID before you provide the insurance number to the aviation agency. So this seems to vary a bit by country, for example Denmark recommends an insurance but it is not compulsory. And exactly this is the problem of the unified regulations. Every country slaps 1000 national regulations on top and they are written in a way that leaves room for interpretation. And to add insult to the injury the German Federal Aviation Agency only provides the regulations in German. In English there is a checklist provided by the Deutsche Flugsicherung, the ATS provider in Germany: www.dfs.de/homepage/en/drone-flight/checklist-for-drone-pilots/

@@leomannisto that kinda sucks. But also makes sense. If you make some damage, to be able to pay by insurance like on the car. But it sucks that if i come there, how do i do that? I have to register the drone under german legislation?!? I'm already registered in my country. And in the EU regulation, says something like, you need to register under the regulation of residency country, and the you can fly in all the EU countries, complying to the EU regulation. No?

That’s a really good question too! I was thinking it on the other way round one day, does my German insurance cover me abroad. And yes. If something sucks, it is the German bureaucracy. For example: you are not allowed to fly closer than 100m to water, which is declared as a ”federal waterway”. But in the federal state of Hamburg you are allowed to fly over federal waterway. And if you want to fly closer than 1500m to a HEMS helicopter landing site you can do that by paying 200e for a ”general permit” - BUT you have to have A2 license even when flying

I don’t know about the USA laws, but can imagine they are not easy to understand either! Add ”earn $” and everybody is interested! ;)

still a beginner with youtube! 😂 I’m so glad to hear you found it useful. 🙏

Hello! Oh I can understand what you are talking about! I’ve been here for 14 years now and feel pretty much the same way. You indeed have a point and I have to admit that some of the overcomplicated rules indeed make sense - to some extent. But regulating everything to death doesn’t leave any room for common sense in my opinion. Where to fly would be a good theme for video but it just is such a can of worms… 😂 Thank you so much for your comment, have a Merry Christmas, nice skies and A Happy New Year! All the best!

@@leomannisto "But regulating everything to death doesn’t leave any room for common sense" ; I agree wholeheartedly, normal people would probably not misuse or fly without due care...but there's always that one reckless fool. We could have a much longer conversation about regulations eating away at common sense and personal responsibility where the bar has to be constantly raised to keep up with the erosion of those things.It's a real 'catch 22'. buuut that's not a conversation for a youtube comments section ;) I'm in Schleswig Holstein as well and if I see you out and about flying i'll buy you a coffee and we can solve this issue once and for all :)

@@MrRespectable-gw2xd Oh cool! Who knows, maybe we indeed can have a coffee (or rather tea to be honest ;) ) I have to fly more in the S-H then ;)

Yes! Really can’t say how the insurance works when you are visiting from another country ( I am sure this has not crossed the legislators mind even once) but… Have fun and safe flying! 👍

@@leomannisto do you know any trustworthy insurance company by any chance?

blog.flykit.app/best-drone-insurance-providers-in-germany/amp/ - I found this. Maybe it helps? If you have a travel insurance, maybe that covers drone insurance as well? That is something I never thought of but that could be possible? And interesting in any case.

The rules about where to fly is a mess. Yes, rivers - if declared as a federal waterways - are a problem 100m horizontal distance or cross quickly at 100m AGL. BUT for example in Hamburg the river Elbe is an exception and the information about that is to find on the website of the Hamburg Port Authority… I mean the port authority is the first place to look where to _fly_… So every rule has some kind of an exemption to them - which is not showed on the Droniq app (which otherwise is quite good regarding the restricted zones) but the information is so scattered and all over the place. And usually only in German. And you can buy the €200 exemption to the exemptions of course, which requires the ”big” A2 license…

Indeed! It’s a great little machine! Thank you so much, appreciate!

I have a video coming up about _where_ to fly, this one is only about the registration requirements. Droniq is generally speaking rather good!

Thank you so much! 🙏 hope to be able to fly on the Emerald Island one day too!

@@leomannisto Highly recommended! Ireland has no shortage of great photographty spots

To be honest, I’ve never even tried to do a tax declaration in Germany 😂

Oh does it? I’ve never read the Spanish laws regarding to drones. Natural Parks (which there are plenty of!) as well as CTR is no-go in Germany as well (although there are some exceptions to _some_ CTRs, max 50m AGL. Yes, one sees plenty of footage filmed breaching the rules but I kind of want to avoid that, you are kind of uploading the evidence by yourself.

Oh thank you! I have to say though that I am Finnish and just live in Germany. 😉 Oh is it so? That’s a good news, I really would like to visit the US of the A some day and good to know that one can take the drone with. 👌🏻

Oh… where to fly is a bit of a thing… There is an app called ”droniq” - when you open it you can see that pretty much the whole hamburg is forbidden zone. Logically the regulations regarding waterways are to be found at the port authority, not aviation authority… Common sense is not a huge thing here so it’s a bit of over-regulated. It’s not impossible to fly and take all possible regulations into consideration but ain’t simple either. Moorburg is nice and legal place to get harbour shots!

@@leomannisto Thanks, I just need a field for practice. Not planning to fly to much in Germany. More Iceland and Sweden. Lüneburger Heide is probably all forbidden?

Ok, I got the droniq app and its great. Poorly rated probably because you cant fly anywhere. Not the apps fault… How did they have time to forbid everything in such detail😄

I think it is pretty much ”Naturschutzgebiet”. Hmm an open field… Öjendorfer Park, Berner Gutspark..

Yes, because of… pretty much everything. But if you read the fine print, you can fly 50m AGL. There is for example a little corner of Binnenalster, where you are able to fly ;) If you look at the instagram, the drones in central Hamburg seem to be a thing.

Haha! 😂

Generally speaking yes. For example in Denmark the insurance is not mandatory but highly recommended and in Spain the marking must be fireproof. So same unified EU-regulations everywhere…;)

I can only imagine. I recently tried to find information about Portugal and it seemed impossible too 👍

I didn’t find it too extremely complicated to go through that mess. Annoying: yes. Worth it: don’t know BUT: The fines can be up to €50000 so… I have read news about a man who took off before the GPS lock activated on a parking lot of a supermarkt near an airport, flew up to 120cm over the ground before the GPS did a forced landing (so literally lower than the lamp posts on the parking lot) and an very alert pedestrian alarmed the police and the fine was €700… of course it’s to everyone to judge the risk, can’t say what is the probability of being caught while doing something forbidden, but it is possible. And that’s kind of the thing here, I come from a country where people pretty much mind their own business but in Germany it’s… a bit… different. I’d advice to play by the book, but first and foremost use common sense 😉. I am just generally lazy and not that keen to have a conflict or even a discussion with someone, quite like to be left alone ;)

@@leomannisto thanks for an advice. At least know what kind of workarounds would need to do if want to fly in DE for fun in forest;) As occasionally visiting it;)

Fly slow and low and check that the forest is not in an National Park or nature preservation area. 😜. But I think common sense and - if someone gets annoyed - staying cool goes a long way. 👌🏻 Have a good flight and nice skies!

The t(h)rees are ewerywhere!

Not quite true. For example Denmark and Finland does not require an insurance, only recommend. Registration yes. Haha that is true, especially the last days it’s hard to believe it’s June!

Oh yes and the queues. I’d also avoid checked in baggage, might take an hour or two to get yours on arrival. Or weeks. I quite like airports like Helsinki with the new technology, no need to take liquids or electronics out and the 100ml in a 1l bag is also history so BYOB is not a problem there.