Probable reason for 500m altitude limit

[Porto]

There was a youtube video of a guy in Australia who did a motor shutdown. The free falling speed was surprisingly(?) slow, only about 16 - 19m/s.

 

[Ping^Spike]

Yeah, that's still a lot faster than I can run though

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

Good to know I won't be any more dead regardless of the height from which it free-fall killed me

Well, it'll sound more dramatic when read in a news story or obituary about drone falling from 30,000ft, vs. the "meh" 200ft.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

I look forward to the "Look! My Mavic actually floats!" video.

Someone good at applying PlastiDip should totally try it!

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

And there's plenty of air for a rotorcraft beyond 30k ft.
Fred North | World Altitude Record – 42,500FT

But this is for a helicopter, and not even just any helicopter.

At 10km, the density of air is only about 1/3rd of at sea level. With the same RPMs as in hover at sea level, at 10km Mavic will have only ~250g of lift.

 

[OzoneVibe]

But this is for a helicopter, and not even just any helicopter.

At 10km, the density of air is only about 1/3rd of at sea level. With the same RPMs as in hover at sea level, at 10km Mavic will have only ~250g of lift.

The MP has capability of >750g at sea level, otherwise ...
a) you'd never fly it any higher,
b) it wouldn't go up, and
c) it wouldn't take any payload ... which it can ... tho I don't know the max payload is. (The Phantom 2 impressed me flying bottles of beer down to the beach at Durdle Door. )

 

[lolo780]

But this is for a helicopter, and not even just any helicopter.

At 10km, the density of air is only about 1/3rd of at sea level. With the same RPMs as in hover at sea level, at 10km Mavic will have only ~250g of lift.

As long as the prop diameter and pitch suit the thin air, 9+ m/s upwards is easily achieved. 9.0km height there, 9.4m/s upwards velocity.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

The MP has capability of >750g at sea level

Yes, Mavic is confirmed to be able to lift extra ~1000g, so ~1750g of total max lift at low altitudes; 1/3rd of that would be less than 600g, while Mavic is 734g. Will need to reduce Mavic's weight by drilling holes like in weight reduction thread in mods forum.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

As long as the prop diameter and pitch suit the thin air, 9+ m/s upwards is easily achieved. 9.0km height there, 9.4m/s upwards velocity.

But... is this Mavic?

 

[OzoneVibe]

Yes, Mavic is confirmed to be able to lift extra ~1000g, so ~1750g of total max lift at low altitudes; 1/3rd of that would be less than 600g, while Mavic is 734g. Will need to reduce Mavic's weight by drilling holes like in weight reduction thread in mods forum.

Next time I'm sat on the top of Everest with nothing better to do ....

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

Next time I'm sat on the top of Everest with nothing better to do ....

If it fails to lift off, you can momentarily increase local air pressure by releasing the remaining oxygen from the bottles...

 

[lolo780]

But... is this Mavic?

No, this guy topped out at 9km. Mavic leaves this in the dust and will climb 10m/s at 9k, firmware limited. [emoji1]

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

No, this guy topped out at 9km. Mavic leaves this in the dust and will climb 10m/s at 9k, firmware limited. [emoji1]

Man, you got me dreaming about doing this stuff! Any practical advice? Does Mavic recover from freefall with 100% reliability or there are some gotchas?

 

[lolo780]

Man, you got me dreaming about doing this stuff! Any practical advice? Does Mavic recover from freefall with 100% reliability or there are some gotchas?

Under 6553.5m should be ok. If you're going to try CSC and are worried, either remove the camera assembly or tape the clear plastic cover over to protect the $$ camera/gimbal. Fly over tall grass and try it a few times to get comfortable.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

Under 6553.5m should be ok. If you're going to try CSC and are worried, either remove the camera assembly or tape the clear plastic cover over to protect the $$ camera/gimbal. Fly over tall grass and try it a few times to get comfortable.

And what happens after 6553m?

I have an additional gimbal cover that has thicker plastic and stronger latches, will use that. Too nervous to remove the camera assembly. Besides, if it's not on video, it didn't happen.

 

[lolo780]

And what happens after 6553m?

I have an additional gimbal cover that has thicker plastic and stronger latches, will use that. Too nervous to remove the camera assembly. Besides, if it's not on video, it didn't happen.

The motors may not restart, and the flight controller height resets to zero.

 

[fiberdude]

Under 6553.5m should be ok. If you're going to try CSC and are worried, either remove the camera assembly or tape the clear plastic cover over to protect the $$ camera/gimbal. Fly over tall grass and try it a few times to get comfortable.

And what happens after 6553m?

I have an additional gimbal cover that has thicker plastic and stronger latches, will use that. Too nervous to remove the camera assembly. Besides, if it's not on video, it didn't happen.

Hi guys, Mavic Pro altitude reading will be reset at 3276m to -3276m ---after that the reading will be negative. I don't know where the number 6552 comes from.

 

[Xtreme Drone Pilot]

Hi guys, Mavic Pro altitude reading will be reset at 3276m to -3276m ---after that the reading will be negative. I don't know where the number 6552 comes from.

3276 - (-3276) = ...

 

[lolo780]

Yeah it counts from -3277 back to zero, then goes positive again. Like most portable altimeters, the Mavic sensor is designed for up to 10,000m.

http://files.microstrain.com/3DM-GQ4-45_Datasheet_(8400-0085).pdf

 

[RayOZ]

ahh... looks like they use signed integers instead of reals, and moved the decimals by one.