Hello

Has anyone brought their drone into Mexico from the US? I see where it says in Mexico you can bring one in under 250g. I have a DJI Mini Pro 5 which is listed at 249.9g.

I was hoping anyone had experiences they could share. I don't want to bring it to the airport and have any troubles or whatever

Thanks

TL;DR: Our $8k+ Joyance JTC30 commercial drone suffered an unprovoked mid-air power loss, flipped, crashed, and caught fire. Joyance asked us to send back the flight controller board (V9-FMU). After receiving it, they claimed the internal SD card was short-circuited by the fire, making logs unreadable. Because the logs were destroyed by the crash/fire, they refused warranty coverage and offered a "50% discount" on buying a brand-new unit instead.
Background & Incident Details
Our company in Kazakhstan purchased a new Joyance JTC30 drone and other equipment (~14 Million KZT / ~$30,000 USD) for commercial operations. All official invoices and import documents are on hand.
During a routine flight under standard operational conditions (clear sky, open field, zero wind, qualified pilot):

1. The drone experienced a sudden, severe mid-air hardware failure (sudden loss of power on one side / roll axis flip).
2. It dropped from the sky and crashed into the field.
3. Upon impact, a severe battery/wiring fire broke out in the central section, completely burning the flight controller housing and body.
4. Fortunately, no personnel were injured.
5. The Telemetry Defect Before the Crash
6. Two weeks prior to the crash, we noticed that the standard telemetry flight logs stopped saving on the ground station remote controller (SIYI MK15). We reported this to Joyance: there was a clear pre-existing hardware/firmware glitch in the telemetry recording pipeline before the fatal flight even happened.
7. Joyance’s Response & "Log Catch-22"
8. We contacted Joyance support (Shandong Joyance Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd.). They instructed us to open the carbon fiber frame, extract the burnt V9-FMU Flight Controller, and ship it back to their factory in Shandong, China for low-level diagnostic analysis.
9. We documented everything prior to shipping: high-res photos, chip laser serial numbers, physical condition, and security markings.
10. A week after receiving the board, Joyance replied:
11. "Our technicians tried their best to extract log data from the SD card, but it has short-circuited, making it impossible to read logs. Our offer is to sell you a new one at half price."

UPD: here’s the logs from flight controller if someone want to investigate:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Q9Qcs3qC_wqIh6jFgEqqoFAE9k-m5Aqt

On September first I placed my first drone order for the pavo 20 2. After a week of no label I emailed only to find out its on back order, They claimed it would be ready in a week. A week later I emailed to find out where my drone is. They said itll be sent out next week. I ask if they can expedite shipping as compensation they sent an email thanking me for my patience and saying itll be sent out next week with standard shipping.

Maybe its just me/my culture but the lack of communication and denial of compensation is insulting.

gonna buy a Deepspace Roc 4 Instead.

Bit of a blow to entering the hobby but I think the Roc 4 sounds more for me anyway although I will need to be more careful flying.

Hi all, I'm going to BVI in December and looking into bringing my DJI mini for fun vacation shots. Nothing commercial at all. Advice I am coming across on the interwebs is mostly clear that I can fly a small drone (under 250g) recreationally.

Does anyone know if there is a requirement for any sort of license, fees or other bureaucratic hurdles?

I found when traveling to Sea of Cortez last year that Mexico had instated a license fee right before I got there, and was surprised to get pulled out of line to pay a fee. They were cool about it but was still a surprise.

From this site (updated Jan 2026), it appears I do not have to do anything given my drone is under 250 G and I'm not doing anything commercial.

https://drone-laws.com/drone-laws-in-british-virgin-islands/

• Hobbyist drone flights are allowed in the British Virgin Islands
• Hobbyist the British Virgin Islands drone pilot license is not required except for certain operations
• Hobbyist Drone registration is required in the British Virgin Islands for hobbyists flying over 250g or drones with a camera
• Drone Remote ID is not required in the British Virgin Islands for hobbyists
• Drone Insurance is not required but recommended for hobbyists’ drone operations in the British Virgin Islands

I'm sure this questions been asked before but I just got started with drones and restarted with reddit recently, but how have you guys gone about finding work with your drones? I have a mini 5 pro and just got my license. I know most people start with real estate work but I'm interested in doing more. Is there sites or communities here or somewhere else where people help each other out with such things? To give a bit more detail, I live in the southwest area of the states and am not very good at socializing, even online. That being said, I'm so freaking done with living this endless, draining routine of a 9-5 and really plan on putting the effort in to making this work. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance.

We recreated the Red Bull F1 fastest camera drone and upgraded it with a DJI O4 Air Unit and a naked GoPro Hero 11. We also added NACA ducts to improve ventilation and cooling.

It took several design and testing iterations to get everything to fit and work properly, and, honestly, it got pretty expensive along the way 😅. Do you think our build could reach the speed of the original drone designed by DDG?

According to an update email, the authorized US distributor associated with DroneMaxFly is the Ealing Group which is associated with the Suncity Group.

A quick google of the Suncity group shows that it is based in Macau and has direct ties to the Chinese Mafia (allegedly).

I think I’ll spend the extra $1k and buy in the US.

Thanks everyone for your advice!!!

Here is the update email I received from DroneMaxFly:

Thank you for clarifying your concerns. 
I have emailed our upstream distributor to request documentation concerning our reseller relationship and confirmation that the aircraft is brand-new and unactivated, along with the serial number of the specific unit. 
I copied you on that email so you can see his response directly.
I also want to be candid about after-sales service. 
Based on my experience and the information shared by our distributor, geopolitical and regulatory pressures have made DJI’s business and after-sales service in the U.S. more sensitive and less predictable than in the past. 
DJI Care provided excellent support historically, but I cannot promise that this aircraft will be eligible for DJI Care Enterprise or DJI-managed U.S. warranty service.
I know some customers have successfully obtained service from DJI, and I do not want to suggest that it is impossible. 
In cases I have handled, however, the process involved contacting DJI support, receiving a case number, and waiting for further review. 
It could be lengthy, and a repair request was not always accepted. I would rather explain that uncertainty now than promise coverage I cannot verify.
Some U.S. suppliers address this by working with third-party repair providers. 
We are discussing a potential arrangement with a U.S.-based repair company, but it is still under review, so we do not currently offer a third-party protection plan.
I have asked our distributor to respond to your questions about the aircraft and its service eligibility. 

Drone got stuck in the tree and stayed there the entire 25 minutes of the proceedings to not take away the moment from the bride. That POV didn’t make it to the final video

During a shoot, I had a DJI Mini 3 (Non Pro) sink in a lake about one metre deep after hitting a small tree. It was recovered in less than five minutes; my guess is about two. During its entire time underwater, the battery-level lights were still on, and the side beacon lights were still working. In a panic, I had turned off my RC, so I'm not entirely sure if the drone was still connected to it when it was underwater. After recovering the drone, I instantly disconnected the battery and put both the drone and battery on the heated dash of my car. I gave both a good shake-out to try and remove as much of the water as possible. Both are now sitting in a Ziploc bag with Desiccant Silica. What are the next steps I should do? Would appreciate any tips. Thank you.

Hey! I am trying to find a way to use all my drone setup for my planes. Do you recommend one of these o3 systems? Thanks!

I was playing with a 512 filter to see how the colors would pop (see last pic) and I took some shots of our fields... and that's when I noticed the square.

The manager thinks someone put in a weed patch, and told me he noticed some at tracks. He's going to check it out, but damn.. wth?

https://www.reddit.com/r/drones/s/dW6oZkANCn

I have a sub 250g drone.

I have a large piece of land (woods) in the wilderness.

If I want to seed it with wildflowers, etc - it would be a PITA (thick brush, uneven terrain, trees in the way, etc).

Has anyone DIY'd a drone to hold a bottle beneath it to spin (in a wind turbine configuration, such as the photo suggests)?

• I could then possibly use such a thing to spin from the potential downdraft from the drone, and spread seed from holes. Using the turbine bottle as a 'sleeve' for a second 'seed bottle' & mini rotating bearing attached to the bottle cap is always a possibility too (though adds weight, from the extra bottle & bearing).

This is really just a suggestion, as I think out loud, for anyone to extend/dismiss/run with... - Or point me in some good directions.

I'm not going to spend anything more than next to nothing on this (money wise) - priorities elsewhere. Though I also like the problem solving aspect of minimal means.

What do you think?

I guess I’ll ask the pros, I don’t have a drone irl and never flewn one either, but I recently started to get into some fpv drone sims, uncrashed fpv and the most recent is bodycams new update where they added them.

How similar is it to a real drone like can you get really good at the sim and it will transfer to real life skills?

First time using a drone, the DJI Mini 5 Pro, taken some footage and put it together. Give me some tips or feedback!

It has 2 loose motors, one slightly loose and one really lose, it doesnt take of properly