Take off and launch from inside?

[wco81]

Trying to book a vacation apartment overlooking a scenic river. Actually Porto, Portugal.

Flying near the historic center is prohibited. But there are 360 panos shot from drones in Google StreetView and several recent videos circling around major historic monuments, flying low over bridges.

Places I'm looking to stay in have small terraces with views over the city and river. Maybe too narrow to take off from, they're about 3-4 feet wide so I figure when my M2P is in RTH mode, it may not descend within the narrow terrace.

So what if I took off inside and flew out big windows or patio doors?

Only thing is that in RTH, it would hover over the building and try to land through the roof. Otherwise I'd have to try to manually land.

Doesn't sound like a good idea.

WOuldn't be an easy way to take off and land from some public space either because it should be crowded. Never been but the videos show that to be the case.

 

[BigAl07]

If it's a Prohibited Flight Area why in the world would you subject yourself (and whoever might be traveling with you) to that level of danger?

There is a post here where some foreign traveler ( I can't recall the country but it wasn't Portugal) was fined heavily for flying in a restricted area. Also there's another one where a tourist was arrested for the same thing and the family is currently trying to locate him to figure out how to get him out.

Is it really worth all that?

 

[CanadaDrone]

Just because there is existing footage taken in restricted airspace, it doesn't mean it wasn't obtained illegally or the pilot may have had special permission or a permit that you do not have. Especially as a tourist I would suggest obeying the local rules and not flying anywhere near those historic monuments.

If you go on YouTube, you can find drone footage of virtually any place you can think of, but a lot of it is illegal and you don't want to get caught, especially in a foreign country where you likely do not understand the rules and regulations 100%.

My advice is to you is to contact the governing body for Portugal's airspace (the FAA equivalent) and ask what the drone rules are, and follow them exactly. That is what I do before every trip, and I have never had an issue. Forums, as great as they are for other things, are rarely a reliable source for the legalities surrounding drone flights in other countries.

 

[bliksem]

What could go wrong?

 

[BigAl07]

What could go wrong?

Exactly

 

[THE CYBORG]

Drone rules and laws in Portugal - current information and experiences

 

[MaxHam]

Trying to book a vacation apartment overlooking a scenic river. Actually Porto, Portugal.

Flying near the historic center is prohibited. But there are 360 panos shot from drones in Google StreetView and several recent videos circling around major historic monuments, flying low over bridges.

Places I'm looking to stay in have small terraces with views over the city and river. Maybe too narrow to take off from, they're about 3-4 feet wide so I figure when my M2P is in RTH mode, it may not descend within the narrow terrace.

So what if I took off inside and flew out big windows or patio doors?

Only thing is that in RTH, it would hover over the building and try to land through the roof. Otherwise I'd have to try to manually land.

Doesn't sound like a good idea.

WOuldn't be an easy way to take off and land from some public space either because it should be crowded. Never been but the videos show that to be the case.

You can hand-start and hand-catch on the balcony. That'll be easier than flying from indoor through a window.
Also you will have a GPS lock from the beginning.

If you fly from inside -> outside through a window you have to switch off obstacle avoidance unless it's a real big window.
Mandatory will be that you have downward positioning on. Once outside, let the drone hover until it has a solid GPS lock before
you fly up relying on downward positioning system. Because this only reads the ground up to 35ft.

If you need to rely on RTH for getting the drone back it sounds to me you may not have enough routine with flying.
Then I would think twice before I'd pull that stunt.

 

[wco81]

My advice is to you is to contact the governing body for Portugal's airspace (the FAA equivalent) and ask what the drone rules are, and follow them exactly. That is what I do before every trip, and I have never had an issue. Forums, as great as they are for other things, are rarely a reliable source for the legalities surrounding drone flights in other countries.

I am trying to comply with their laws, which include registering the drone with them and asking specific permission to film or take pictures from my M2P.

But it's been almost 3 weeks since I registered and they haven't activated my online profile to ask for permission.

There is also some uncertainty about whether country-specific laws will continue to apply or will be superseded by EU-wide drone regulations expected to take effect in 2020.