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Dronetrake newsletter · September 2026 — protected areas on the map, rules across Europe, events

Out on 13 September 2026

This is the first edition of the Dronetrake newsletter. Once a month, what changes for people who work with drones: from the data we keep up to date and the news we read every day in several languages.

1. UAS zones and protected areas

In September we checked how some thirty European countries publish their UAS geographical zones: eleven published a usable file, and on 13 September Denmark made it twelve by changing its licence. Unmanned Airspace reported the survey on 9 September. Read the article

Then the second map: do national drone maps show nature reserves and parks? Of 32 countries checked, seven put protected areas in the file, two on the map only, one partly and seventeen not at all. France has announced them, and four could not be verified. The second map

The Dronetrake map now shows the zones of 10 countries, Denmark included.

2. Rules and authorities

3. Events to note

From our directory, between 15 September and 31 October.

Europe

Rest of the world

All events in the directory

4. One country a month: Germany

5. From Dronetrake

Protected areas, with the body that manages each one

The map holds 27,173 Natura 2000 sites and 142,360 nationally designated areas in 38 European countries, on street or satellite imagery. Each area gives its name, its designation, the IUCN category where there is one and the managing authority; bird protection sites also give the breeding period. For 16,003 sites the official data includes the managing body's email: with an account, Dronetrake prepares the authorisation request in that body's language, and you send it from your own mailbox. Open the map

Dronetrake map on satellite imagery: Massif des Albères (FR9112023), Special Protection Area, with its managing body, email address and the Prepare the request link

Massif des Albères, France, on satellite imagery: the designation, the managing body with its email, and the link that prepares the request.

Continuous coverage: how many hours a drone stays in the air

A live stream that runs all afternoon, a search that goes on into the evening, a site to watch for a whole shift: Dronetrake simulates the operation minute by minute, from your drones, batteries, charging slots, cooling and charging times. It shows how long coverage lasts before the first gap, whether the bottleneck is charging or batteries, and what to add. Two drones with six batteries, 25 usable minutes each, 90 minutes per charge and two charging slots: the first gap opens at minute 200 of an eight-hour day, and two more slots close it. When the logbook has flights, each battery's real flight time replaces the rated one, and a plan opened from a mission is saved on the mission. How it works

Continuous coverage simulator on dronetrake.com: 2 drones, 6 batteries of 25 minutes, 90-minute charge, 2 charging slots; 200 minutes of continuous coverage, the bottleneck is charging

The simulator is now on the public page, with no account. With the example above: 200 minutes of continuous coverage, the gaps after that, and what to add.

Flight plans straight into DJI FlightHub 2

A flight plan that is ready in Dronetrake goes with one click into the route library of a FlightHub 2 project, with the drone model declared for Matrice 30/30T, Mavic 3 Enterprise, Matrice 3D/3TD and Matrice 4T. FlightHub 2 then sends its events back to Dronetrake with a signature, and the upload is confirmed when the event arrives. The connection is set once, under Business, with the organisation key.

Dronetrake, Business, FlightHub 2 connection: how to connect with the FlightHub 2 Organization Key, and Send to FlightHub 2 from a flight plan

Business → FlightHub 2 connection: the organisation key goes in once, then “Send to FlightHub 2” works from the plan list or the editor.

Denmark on the map

On 13 September Trafikstyrelsen's zone files carried a new licence: «Data kan frit anvendes med kildeangivelse», free to use with attribution. The Danish zones are now in our public dataset: airports and helicopter pads, security-critical sites, attention areas, and Natura 2000 areas while their protection period is active. They are read again every morning, and each one names Trafikstyrelsen as its source. Pre-flight check

Pre-flight check at Copenhagen Airport: Don't fly; UAS zone EKCH Kastrup from Trafikstyrelsen, aerodrome 1.4 km away, weather and GPS signal

The pre-flight check at Copenhagen Airport: the Kastrup zone from Trafikstyrelsen, next to weather, GPS signal and the nearest aerodrome.

Ten languages

Romanian and Greek arrived on 12 September. The app, the website and the user manual now speak Italian, English, German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian and Greek, and the app follows the language of the organisation, so each team works in its own.

Two directories

323 drone events around the world — fairs, congresses, competitions, agriculture, security — by category, type, area, country and month, each with its dates and organiser. And 3,788 drone schools in 94 countries, country by country. Events · Schools · Our surveys in the press room

Drone schools in Germany on dronetrake.com: 37 schools, each with a preview of its website and a badge when it is in the official register

Drone schools in Germany: each school with a preview of its website, and a badge when it is in the authority's register.

— Dronetrake Press Team

The Dronetrake newsletter

Rules and zones that change, upcoming events, schools and our news. At most one email a week, in your language.