Drone News: Concerning Congress Bill, AMA Clubs Can Fly Over 400, New DJI Enterprise Accessories, ParaZero Parachute for Matrice 4

First up, Senate Bill 1249 in Congress proposes to change how
navigable airspace is defined, and would give the first 200 feet
above the ground to states and private property owners.


This bill also gives mandatory standoff distances from
structures, including 200' laterally and 50 feet over the top of
structures. Sadly, this is not a new idea. 5 years, we spent a
significant amount of time fighting something similar proposed by
the Uniform Law Commission (or ULC) proposed the same before
being shut down.


This is obviously a terrible idea and is proposed by a US Senator
Mike Lee from Utah, who has a history of proposing bills that
would severely limit UAS operations.


Please reach out to your senators and representatives, as this
affects ALL UAS operators, including drones, model airplanes,
FPV, and helicopters.





Next up this week, some news for recreational flyers who fly at
the Academy of Model Aeronautics, or AMA, club sites. The AMA
announced they've secured a National Authorization that allows
members flying at designated club sites within Class G airspace
to operate above the standard 400-foot Above Ground
Level, or AGL, limit for routine flying. Depending on the
specific site's location and assessment within Class G, the new
authorized altitude limit could be up to 700 feet AGL, or even
1,200 feet AGL.


Third up, DJI has expanded its enterprise payload lineup with two
new accessories aimed at public safety and inspection users.
They've launched the Zenmuse S1 Spotlight and the Zenmuse V1
Speaker. The S1 Spotlight is designed for the Matrice 300 RTK and
Matrice 350 RTK platforms. It's a high-intensity light source
with an effective illumination range of up to 150 meters, or
about 492 feet. It features adjustable brightness levels and can
synchronize its angle with the gimbal's pitch movements, keeping
the light focused where the camera is looking, which is pretty
neat. Then there's the Zenmuse V1 Speaker, which is compatible
with the Matrice 300 and 350 series drones. This isn't your
average Bluetooth speaker; it boasts a maximum volume of 120
decibels and an effective range of about 100 meters, or 328 feet,
at a more typical 75 decibels. It supports text-to-speech
conversion, audio storage, and real-time playback, making it
useful for broadcasting instructions or warnings during
emergencies. These kinds of accessories really enhance the
utility of these enterprise platforms for first responders and
inspection teams.





And finally this week, ParaZero, known for their drone safety
systems, has launched the SafeAir M4 parachute recovery system,
specifically designed for the DJI Matrice 4 series drones.
ParaZero's Press release says the SafeAir M4 meets the
requirements of the ASTM F3322-22 standard for parachutes used in
Operations Over People, or OOP.





https://dronexl.co/2025/04/16/dji-launches-zenmuse-s1-spotlight-and-zenmuse-v1-speaker-for-enterprise-drones/


https://dronexl.co/2025/04/15/parazero-launches-safeair-m4-drone-parachute-system/


https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/senate-bill/1249/text/is?format=txt&overview=closed


https://amablog.modelaircraft.org/amagov/2025/04/15/flying-sites-in-class-g-airspace-granted-higher-altitudes/?_gl=1*1uaan0o*_gcl_au*NzU5NzI5MTc0LjE3NDQ5MDM2MzA.&_ga=2.207238160.221137029.1744903630-1851979334.1744903630