Can request permission to go over 500m agl from the FAA?

[Verdrone]

I actually I don't even want to I'm just trying to fly the profile of a mountain

 

[BigAl07]

Not as a hobbyist and if you're flying the contour of the mountain surely you can maintain <400'AGL.

 

[Verdrone]

Y

Not as a hobbyist and if you're flying the contour of the mountain surely you can maintain <400'AGL.

Yes but the drone does not recognize that. It figures it is completely flat

 

[Deleted member 103366]

Assuming this is a DJI drone I think you will find the 500m ceiling thing is software in the drone. If there is an FAA thing relating to it it will have no effect of the ceiling in the drone even if you can get FAA permission

 

[BigAl07]

Y

Yes but the drone does not recognize that. It figures it is completely flat

The drone has no way to know anything except the "Estimated" height from Home Point (which is 0'AGL). Everything else is an estimation from the barometer.

It's up to you to make the estimated changes to fly within 400' AGL. You can change the Max Height in the DJI app to allow over 400' but that puts all the responsibility on you to make sure you are not flying over 400'AGL at any time.

 

[old man mavic]

the 400ft is AGL and it is up to you to stay in that area as you fly up the mountain so as long as you are at say 150 ft from the surface as you climb then you will be in compliance
the problem arises when you try to fly straight up from the home point and then fly towards the peak then you would be outside the rules for recreational flying

 

[Verdrone]

I use to able to fly to top, now it stops at 1640 feet, I am only 300 feet AGL.

 

[Deleted member 103366]

I use to able to fly to top, now it stops at 1640 feet, I am only 300 feet AGL

That will be at a guess 500m above the takeoff point, which is from where DJI measures everything.
The drone does not know how high it is above the ground nor is it bothered about how high it is above the ground UNLESS it is close enough to the ground for any downward looking sensors to see the ground

 

[old man mavic]

sounds like a recent geofence limit above the homepoint ,go in the app and see what the max height limit goes up too

 

[Verdrone]

sounds like a recent geofence limit above the homepoint ,go in the app and see what the max height limit goes up too

Yeah I think so, it's was changed awhile back, I hoped there was a way to get around it.

 

[old man mavic]

Yeah I think so, it's was changed awhile back, I hoped there was a way to get around it.

you might be able to go back to an earlier app ,i think it depends on which drone you have

 

[vindibona1]

the 400ft is AGL and it is up to you to stay in that area as you fly up the mountain so as long as you are at say 150 ft from the surface as you climb then you will be in compliance
the problem arises when you try to fly straight up from the home point and then fly towards the peak then you would be outside the rules for recreational flying

Clarification needed and check for understanding: It is my understanding, and I want you to correct me if I am wrong, one can fly 400' above the structure level, assuming a building of sorts, if you are within 400' of that structure, no? If so, how would a mountain differ?

 

[old man mavic]

Clarification needed and check for understanding: It is my understanding, and I want you to correct me if I am wrong, one can fly 400' above the structure level, assuming a building of sorts, if you are within 400' of that structure, no? If so, how would a mountain differ?

i believe that rule is for part 107 commercial pilots in the US ,not sure if it is for recreational as well but in the UK that rule does not apply its 400ft AGL no matter where you are, and for commercial you need permission to fly above that from the CAA
but after reading your post again yes you could fly up the mountain as long as you stayed within 400 ft of the surface directly below the drone

 

[BigAl07]

Clarification needed and check for understanding: It is my understanding, and I want you to correct me if I am wrong, one can fly 400' above the structure level, assuming a building of sorts, if you are within 400' of that structure, no? If so, how would a mountain differ?

That is only for Part 107 operations and only in G airspace.

Hobby operations are 400' AGL with no allowance for a building/structure.

 

[vindibona1]

@old man mavic ... I keep forgetting that this is an international forum with a lot of folks from UK and EU.

That is only for Part 107 operations and only in G airspace.

Hobby operations are 400' AGL with no allowance for a building/structure.

Thanks for the clarification. So, is mountain or hill contour considered "the ground". How is that figured in?

 

[sdold]

That is only for Part 107 operations and only in G airspace.

Hobby operations are 400' AGL with no allowance for a building/structure.

Are you sure about the Class G part? I inspect radio towers and some of them poke up into Class E airspace, or are high enough that I might enter Class E only a couple of hundred feet above the top.

 

[BigAl07]

Are you sure about the Class G part? I inspect radio towers and some of them poke up into Class E airspace, or are high enough that I might enter Class E only a couple of hundred feet above the top.

I was trying to keep it simple for the sake of the topic at hand.

Yes you are correct there are other situations but IIRC Class "E" only. You can't penetrate into another other class airspace via the "Structure" allowance but I don't think it's an issue in any other as well.

 

[BigAl07]

@old man mavic ... I keep forgetting that this is an international forum with a lot of folks from UK and EU.


Thanks for the clarification. So, is mountain or hill contour considered "the ground". How is that figured in?

Imagine there is a 399.9' rope/string hanging directly below your aircraft. At any point in time that <400' rope/string must always be touching the ground directly under the aircraft regardless how far it is laterally (in the USA) from the mountain.

 

[old man mavic]

@old man mavic ... I keep forgetting that this is an international forum with a lot of folks from UK and EU.


Thanks for the clarification. So, is mountain or hill contour considered "the ground". How is that figured in?

yes the 400 ft rule applies to the distance from the drone to wherever the ground is directly below it, imagine a 400 ft length of line from the drone to the ground so as you flew up the hill, to comply all you would need to do is keep the end of the line touching the ground ,and you would still be in compliance at the top of the hill ,as long as the string was still in contact with the ground below the drone same thing in reverse if you flew from the top of the hill you would just keep the line touching the ground on the way down

 

[old man mavic]

@BigAl07 ,sorry we both posted at the same time ,a case of great minds think alike i guess