With the advent of all Governments putting more and more regulation upon hobbyists flying for recreation I would venture a guess that there well not be further upgrades to the Phantom line. DJI seems to be moving into the more professional application realm where pilots are getting their part 107 licensing and having to pass private pilot like licensing instruction and tests. They are systematically taking the hobbyists out of the equation with restrictions and fear tactics of exorbitant fines. I know there are people out there that support the idea of the “ average citizen “ not being able to acquire drones due to misuse and safety concerns due to a few mindless idiots that have caused issues over the last few years. My view is there are many more things that can cause safety issues if someone is intent on creating havoc! It seems the Government always create rules and regulations to the lowest common denominator and punish the entire population rather than punishing the handful of perpetrators who wish to cause issues. So I see DJI spending their resources on the more “professional” areas and leaving the casual UAV pilots to toys that won’t fly above 30 feet vertically and horizontally and tiny FPV drones under 250 grams. Because, you know, the Government officials think the average person is too stupid and selfish to be trusted!! So we need to be stringently regulated!
Several valid points and worthy concerns too!
Although I doubt the Recreational flyer will be totally ended... it will definitely change and have new regulations applied, hopefully if an individual is abusing FAA the applied "focused attention" is on the Individual and not a wide blanket control.
Currently too many recreational flyers to cease, but adding a few additional knowledge gates is a certainty... that's already started. I think you'll also eventually see different categories beyond the 2 current and the additional for the new BVLOS (most likely out of reach for small shops). I can easily see 2-3 Recreational Levels and 3 or more PT107 type levels. The highest level Recreational would have shown similar knowledge of the PT107 but not pursuing Income source. The middle level might have permission to fly within City's FAA Controlled airspace using LAANC system, the lowest level being Amateur not allowed in any controlled airspace.
The Owner/Flyer needs to have minimal understanding of the aerial responsibility, understand the possibly penalties, safety guidelines, and understand the legal possibilities. The aircrafts should also be individually registered & tagged. Actually, I'm not against the Aircraft when it's "Purchased" needs to have some sort of accountability associated to serial number and not sold as an unaccountable toy. Any other craft: Car, Bike, Boat, etc have a little paper work to indicate who purchased... and the ability to transfer Ownership.
Currently the two classifications are defined simplistically by "potential income source or business benefit". A "yes" means PT107, a "no" is Recreational. I feel that's lacking in scope, responsibilities and separation of skills. Even the definition of "potential income" is arguable and easily challenged, especially when the PT107 could declare prior to flight it was a recreational flight and falls under the Recreational category.
Not to stray too far into the above diversionary discussion... that's a whole new subject.
I feel the Recreational will continue, but they'll have more responsibility on their actions both FAA & Legal.
Regarding the Mavic Mini @ 249g. It is not released of any of the FAA responsibilities or legal. It's simply not required to be FAA Registered...IF it remains 249g. If it goes above 250g it is required to be registered. The DJI trim stickers, installing the FlyMore Prop Cages, landing leg extenders, body wrap, new 3rd party props(?), anything over 1 gram pushes it into required FAA Registration; It's based on Flight weight, not original weight.