A couple of my grandkids were over when I took it for it's first flight, and they must have felt as if it was a big flying bug, they didn't like it much. The thing would just sit there in midair staring at us.

Anyway, I mentioned in the linked thread that I was concerned about being in a restricted zone and whether or not those published zone maps are right on the money or just general. The map showed that my house was in a less restrictive zone, but the adjacent property I want to overfly is just inside the restricted zone by a matter of 50 feet or so. I was hopeful the zone shown on the map was larger than the actual area, as the DJI Mini 2 would not fly in a restricted zone.

After charging it, I couldn't get it to fly even at my home, just outside the mapped restricted zone. It wouldn't even spin the propellers, the display told me I was in the restricted zone and needed permission. So, after researching that for awhile, I filled out a form to obtain permission to fly in a restricted zone. I got through the application process, entering all the info they wanted, drawing a polygon on the map of the area I wanted to fly, the length of time permission was sought (I put in 12 months), the maximum altitude I would fly (200') and all my contact info. The last section was for me to upload supporting documents and written authorization from the entity that was causing the area to be restricted. In my case, a regional airport a couple of miles away. It would not let me continue and make the application without uploading a document in that final field.

Great, I could find nothing from the regional airport about how to go about getting written permission. All the federal stuff was for much larger drones and commercial use and licensing.

Then I saw a link to get your free drone pilot certificate by clicking through an online 'test' (which is extremely simple and allows you to change your answers until you choose the correct one). I went through the test in about 10 minutes, which resulted in a .pdf download of my pilot certificate.

I uploaded that as my supporting documentation for permission to fly in the restricted authorization website and clicked submit. Within 5 minutes, I was notified that my request had been granted and a link to 'unlock' the drone to fly. This was about midnight last night, nobody looked at anything I submitted.

So, if you find yourself in a situation where you'd like to fly in restricted airspace, which is the highest restriction level for drones, fill out the application and upload a copy of your hoopty drone pilot certificate.