I for one am very pleased I found this thread and it has made me change my mind in a way. When I first flew a drone I can hardly remember much debate about the risks from flying high, in fact IIRC most threads either consisted of people discussing their personal altitude records or things like techniques for descending at the fastest speed without risking the dreaded vortex ring state.
I only went really high on two occasions as I'm a bit of a scaredy cat at heart but looking back now I realise I was very stupid.
I did not own a drone during the years when the debate about safety really took off when the realisation that drones were not just owned by the odd geek but might well become a mass market product really hit home. I hardly followed this debate at all but did realise that every part of the industry got a wake up call. The legislators felt they risked getting caught with their pants down and those making money from the sale or use of the aircraft also wanted legislative control in case some kind of major disaster happened which triggered a huge backlash.
In hindsight I regret not following this debate because I confess there has been a part of my mindset which is still stuck in the past. This debate about altitude flying and how there appears to be unquestioning support for the 400' rule has exposed some dodgy beliefs I had. I fully accept that it was crass stupidity for me to fly my old drone to a height that actually made me a bit scared. I hardly dare admit that the field I used now falls within one of the cautionary fly zones due to its proximity to our local airport. I'm not stupid enough to have not thought about this but I was arrogant enough to think it felt safe because the spot was never flown over by any aircraft either coming into land or taking off. I also admit to feeling sensible because I was keeping a close watch in the skies all round in case an aircraft appeared. I now realise I had no right to make decisions just because I thought it felt safe.
The thing is though that although I realise I was an idiot then, just a few weeks ago I was up in a really remote area off the west coast of Scotland and an area I have got to know quite well from several visits there each year for the past 30 years or so. There is one region in particular where I have never seen a single over flying aircraft at any altitude and because of this up to an hour or so ago I felt aggrieved that I had lost the right to be able to decide if it was safe for me to see if the
Mini 2 could climb to anywhere near 1k feet. After reading the first couple of posts in this thread I was even thinking of wading in along the lines of that old chestnut 'a law is only a law when it is sensible enough to have the support of all'
I would have never flown my
Mini 2 above 400' even though there might not have been another person within several miles and the only way I could have been caught is if I was stupid enough to post any damming imagery anywhere. I will still never fly to that height but now I realise that by paying a few hundred quid to Amazon I now have to act in the best interests of the wider drone owning community which just can't afford to have self opinionated mavericks going around doing what they think is right.
Also, fwiw, I think I do accept that there is a risk by flying at a thousand feet and above in that area. It doesn't come from overflying jets who for some reason or other have been told to alter their flightpath as they are far too high but light aircraft out on a jolly from a landing strip somewhere presumably have every right to fly more or less wherever they want and providing they keep above 400' also have every right not to encounter a rogue drone in their way. The area I keep referring too also sometimes sees air sea rescue activity and I concede they are a real risk I just had not thought of.
So thanks to all on this thread - I was missing some basic education which was a valuable word used by one of the contributors.