Upon seeing the Notice from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology on Soliciting Public Opinions on the “Interim Regulations on Flight Management of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Exposure Draft)", it indicates that restrictions on the management of micro drones will be relaxed in the future. This is truly great news.

The specific classification of drones is as follows:

Based on the level of operational risk, civil drones are categorized into Micro, Light, Small, Medium, and Large. Wherein: A **Micro drone** refers to a remotely piloted aircraft with an empty weight of less than 0.25 kg and design performance that simultaneously meets the following: true altitude does not exceed 50 meters, maximum flight speed does not exceed 40 km/h, and the radio transmission equipment complies with the technical requirements for micro-power short-distance radio transmission equipment. A **Light drone** refers to a remotely piloted aircraft that simultaneously meets the following: empty weight does not exceed 4 kg, maximum takeoff weight does not exceed 7 kg, maximum flight speed does not exceed 100 km/h, and possesses airspace retention capability and reliable surveillability that comply with airspace management requirements, but excludes Micro drones. A **Small drone** refers to a drone with an empty weight not exceeding 15 kg or a maximum takeoff weight not exceeding 25 kg, but excludes Micro and Light drones. A **Medium drone** refers to a drone with a maximum takeoff weight exceeding 25 kg but not exceeding 150 kg, and an empty weight exceeding 15 kg. A **Large drone** refers to a drone with a maximum takeoff weight exceeding 150 kg.

Note: Empty weight refers to the sum of the solid device weights such as the drone body, battery, and fuel containers, excluding the weight of filled fuel and mission payload.

The management regulations related to Micro drones are as follows: You can see that real-name authentication and registration are not required; As long as it is not a restricted area, basically free flight is allowed below 50 meters (is that about the height of a dozen floors of a typical residential building?)!

Sales units and individuals selling civil drones (excluding Micro drones) must file records with public security organs, verify and record relevant information about the purchasing units and individuals, and report to public security organs periodically. Units and individuals purchasing civil drones (excluding Micro drones) must undergo real-name authentication and cooperate with relevant information verification. Civil drones (excluding Micro drones) must be registered with real names at the civil aviation management authority and undergo nationality registration according to relevant rules. The flight of civil drones (excluding Micro drones) must automatically report identity encoding or other identity identifiers as required.

Without approval, Micro drones are prohibited from flying in the following airspace: (1) Airspace with a true height of more than 50 meters; (2) Air prohibition zones and a 2000-meter range around them; (3) Air danger zones and a 1000-meter range around them; (4) Above airports, temporary takeoff and landing points within their boundaries, and a 2000-meter range around them; (5) Up to 2000 meters on our side from the national boundary line and border line; (6) Above military prohibition zones and a 500-meter range around them; above military management zones, party and government organs at the municipal level or above, custodial sites, and a 100-meter range around them; (7) Above radio astronomy observatories and a 3000-meter range around them; above satellite ground stations (including tracking, telemetry, receiving, and navigation stations) and other facilities requiring special electromagnetic environment protection and a 1000-meter range around them; above meteorological radar stations and a 500-meter range around them; (8) Above large enterprises producing and storing flammable and explosive dangerous goods and large warehouses and bases storing important combustible materials and a 100-meter range around them; above power plants, substations, gas stations, large stations, wharves, ports, large event sites and a 50-meter range around them; above high-speed railways and a 100-meter range on both sides; above ordinary railways and highways at provincial level or above and a 50-meter range on both sides; (9) Military ultra-low altitude flight airspace. The specific scope of the above prohibited flight airspace for Micro drones shall be determined by provincial people’s governments in conjunction with theater commands, and warning signs shall be set up or the corresponding scope shall be made public by municipal people’s governments. The design of warning signs is the responsibility of the civil aviation competent department of the State Council.

Airspace content for Light drones

The following airspace is designated as controlled airspace for Light drones: (1) Airspace with a true height of more than 120 meters; (2) Air prohibition zones and a 5000-meter range around them; (3) Air danger zones and a 2000-meter range around them; (4) Above airside protection zones for military airports and the horizontal projection range of the obstacle limitation surfaces for civil airports; (5) Above temporary takeoff and landing points for manned aircraft and a 2000-meter range around them; (6) Up to 5000 meters on our side from the national boundary line, and up to 2000 meters on our side from the border line; (7) Above military prohibition zones and a 1000-meter range around them; above military management zones, party and government organs at the municipal level (inclusive) or above, nuclear power plants, custodial sites, and a 200-meter range around them; (8) Above radio astronomy observatories and a 5000-meter range around them; above satellite ground stations (including tracking, telemetry, receiving, and navigation stations) and other facilities requiring special electromagnetic environment protection and a 2000-meter range around them; above meteorological radar stations and a 1000-meter range around them; (9) Above large enterprises producing and storing flammable and explosive dangerous goods and large warehouses and bases storing important combustible materials and a 150-meter range around them; above power plants, substations, gas stations, medium-to-large stations, wharves, ports, large event sites and a 100-meter range around them; above high-speed railways and a 200-meter range on both sides; above ordinary railways and national highways and a 100-meter range on both sides; (10) Military low-altitude and ultra-low altitude flight airspace; (11) Controlled airspace determined by provincial people's governments in conjunction with theater commands. Without approval, Light drones are prohibited from flying in the above controlled airspace. Outside of controlled airspace, unless there are special circumstances, it is designated as flyable airspace for Light drones. The flyable airspace for plant protection drones is located within the flyable airspace for Light drones, with a true height not exceeding 30 meters, and above agricultural, forestry, and pastoral areas.

Regarding flight operations, the fact that there is no need to apply for a flight plan is truly wonderful.

Micro drones flying outside prohibited flight airspace do not need to apply for a flight plan. Light and plant protection drones flying in corresponding flyable airspace do not need to apply for a flight plan but must report dynamic information to the comprehensive supervision platform in real-time.