Altitude

[Meta4]

Is that sarcastic?

It's plain simple English.

 

[superstarpup]

It's plain simple English.

I’m not questioning that. Just trying to figure out if it’s sarcastic or stupid. I think you helped clear that up though.

 

[jason38]

How far do you think planes need to stay from cliffs? Also, your own rule is non-sense.



You don’t seem to know what an unsafe height is.

Yes there is a way for some to do it legally-

Part 107 Waiver

www.faa.gov

Yep I agree. However, How do you react facing a non-sense rule/situation? Most people will just make their own rule. Some will just give a s..t to it, some other will strictly apply...
Planes must stay as far from a Cliff as possible (except in some restricted airspaces, like if there's a airport down a Cliff / valley for example) because of gliders and other recreational hobbies around most mointains. I don't know exactly the distance an powered plane must stay, but, as a glider student, my teacher told me that fact: "dont worry avoir planes, they dont have to be here, just watch out for other gliders, paragliders or birds around.."

 

[jason38]

This winter I saw a plane (cesna) coming less than 20 meters above ground around a little village....
Was he fully respect regulations?? Let me have a doubt....

Just wanting to know if you meant that as a joke. The FAA regulations apply to everyone. You can't just pick and choose and "make up your own rules".

Edit: after that I watched on the government map showing max flight altitude or restrictions for drones, and it was a 150m max (no restrictions) flight zone...

 

[OnTheRopes]

Well in the UK this is how it works and this is from the CAA themselves

 

[BigAl07]

..... Planes must stay as far from a Cliff as possible (except in some restricted airspaces, like if there's a airport down a Cliff / valley for example) because of gliders and other recreational hobbies around most mointains. I don't know exactly the distance an powered plane must stay, but, as a glider student, my teacher told me that fact: "dont worry avoir planes, they dont have to be here, just watch out for other gliders, paragliders or birds around.."

As far away as possible? That's not how this works my friend.

 

[BigAl07]

Well in the UK this is how it works and this is from the CAA themselves
View attachment 81627

That's also how the "Easy Stuff" works in the US/FAA.

 

[superstarpup]

Well in the UK this is how it works and this is from the CAA themselves
View attachment 81627

Same in the states. Agl is straight forward.

 

[superstarpup]

Planes must stay as far from a Cliff as possible (except in some restricted airspaces, like if there's a airport down a Cliff / valley for example) because of gliders and other recreational hobbies around most mointains. I don't know exactly the distance an powered plane must stay, but, as a glider student, my teacher told me that fact: "dont worry avoir planes, they dont have to be here, just watch out for other gliders, paragliders or birds around.."

That’s simply not true. Tuesday I watched a helicopter flying for hours working alongside ridge lines and cliffs with external loads. There is no far (nor icao equivalent I’m aware of) requiring any sort of min distance from cliffs.

Sorry for the terrible picture, zoomed in, taken with a phone-

 

[dronerdave]

Well in the UK this is how it works and this is from the CAA themselves
View attachment 81627

That's also how the "Easy Stuff" works in the US/FAA.

I've been led to believe it's vertical AGL distance only for hobby fliers in the USA. I do wish a hobby flier had a 400' horizontally buffer away from a cliff face. Seems reasonable that the FAA should consider this but I don't think it's allowed for hobbyist's.
I asked this question some time back when the FAA solidified the rules. I was told directly below the aircraft. Wrong?


So in this picture I'd be OK at the 150 mark but not the 800 mark.

 

[Lets Fly]

You might want to reconsider that.
No air safety authority anywhere has a rule relating to height above your launch point ... only how high you fly above the ground below it.
If that seems wrong, perhaps this hypothetical example will clarify it for you:

Thats true, but, if the drone AGL is set at 400' you will barely make it to the mountain top. If you fly from the top down then your drone will read -400'.

 

[BigAl07]

I've been led to believe it's vertical AGL distance only for hobby fliers in the USA. I do wish a hobby flier had a 400' horizontally buffer away from a cliff face. Seems reasonable that the FAA should consider this but I don't think it's allowed for hobbyist's.
I asked this question some time back when the FAA solidified the rules. I was told directly below the aircraft. Wrong?
View attachment 81644

So in this picture I'd be OK at the 150 mark but not the 800 mark.

You're correct in that hobbyists are not given the 400' from the structure/mountain allowance. It's as noted above the "String from the drone 400' long must touch the ground at any given time.

 

[TheWolfen]

You're correct in that hobbyists are not given the 400' from the structure/mountain allowance. It's as noted above the "String from the drone 400' long must tough the ground at any given time.

Yes but can you count dragging the string as it is caught in the terrain to help you when the ground elevation changes? [emoji6] Just get said string stuck in a bush (or caught by a kitten) and you can fly straight out from the cliff! [emoji12]

Seriously, though, the FAA needs to enhance the rule for hobbyist flights because they make it technically illegal to fly out from a tall cliff face at all. I had thought there was an allowance for that but apparently not!

 

[OnTheRopes]

One problem is of course that as a UAV will only inform how far above take off point you are, how can you possibly judge your height above ground level if you fly out from a slope?

I've been led to believe it's vertical AGL distance only for hobby fliers in the USA. I do wish a hobby flier had a 400' horizontally buffer away from a cliff face. Seems reasonable that the FAA should consider this but I don't think it's allowed for hobbyist's.
I asked this question some time back when the FAA solidified the rules. I was told directly below the aircraft. Wrong?
View attachment 81644

So in this picture I'd be OK at the 150 mark but not the 800 mark.

 

[Barnes_de]

... is there a way to do it legally?

Venture to Germany to a model plane club. Some of their airfields habe very high altitude limits..,,

 

[dronerdave]

One problem is of course that as a UAV will only inform how far above take off point you are, how can you possibly judge your height above ground level if you fly out from a slope?

It's fairly easy for me. I watch the quad and use the screen to stay above the tree line. My altitude height is set to the max altitude so I can travel up a slope and never climb above 100-200'AGL even if I've gone up the hill 800'.

Sometimes I use the home point altitude info if I want to capture video of a short hill top. I fly to the hilltop and drop to my (safe) video altitude I want to do the fly by at, then check the altitude. I can then back off and fly at the hilltop w/o fear of hitting it because I know its height in reference to the home point altitude. At a fast pace flying speed, skirting over the top of the hill at 20 feet or so is interesting video. Obviously I know the terrain and know if it will cause me to violate the 400' AGL rule. Since the FAA took the gray areas out of the rules I avoid tall sheer cliffs.

I think where people get confused is that hobby fliers must follow slightly different rules than 107 pilots. It's also different from country to country.

 

[deleted member 877]

Obviously I know the terrain and know if it will cause me to violate the 400' AGL rule. Since the FAA took the gray areas out of the rules I avoid tall sheer cliffs.

Very well said. There are plenty of places you can fly where you can be confident that you're not breaking the rules. It's not as if being prevented from flying out from a high cliff is going to ruin anyone's life.

 

[Meta4]

Thats true, but, if the drone AGL is set at 400' you will barely make it to the mountain top. If you fly from the top down then your drone will read -400'.

You do realise that the Max Altitude limit is user-configurable up to 1640 feet?
You can set it to whatever you like.

One problem is of course that as a UAV will only inform how far above take off point you are, how can you possibly judge your height above ground level if you fly out from a slope?

It's called estimating.
And to help, you have a sensor that tells you how much higher than the launch point your drone is.
It's not really difficult at all.

 

[DanMan32]

I realize the law says no higher than 400ft AGL, but there's a practical side to enforcement. If you're off by say 200ft because of encountering a hill not that far off, I can't see being penalized.

It's like going 5mph over speed limit to pass a slow or dangerous driver, or deviating +/- 5 mph from speed limit due to human error.

 

[deleted member 877]

I realize the law says no higher than 400ft AGL, but there's a practical side to enforcement. If you're off by say 200ft because of encountering a hill not that far off, I can't see being penalized.

It's like going 5mph over speed limit to pass a slow or dangerous driver, or deviating +/- 5 mph from speed limit due to human error.

If you do the math then your comparison should be more like going 25 mph over a 50 mph speed limit but, in any case, it shouldn't be about whether or not law enforcement becomes involved. It should be about people acting responsibly by adhering to the regulations.

It's fair to suggest that most law enforcement officers are not going to go all gung ho over minor breaches but I believe it's also fair to suggest that they would in fact have a problem with someone going 200 ft higher than a 400 ft limit regardless of the reason for doing so.