Elevated Ground Level

[T|2eV0|2..::]

Good afternoon hope you're doing well. I'll get right to it here. So the city I live in has two different ground levels I'm guessing you could call it. Half of the city lives downtown say and the other half is what the locals call living on the mountain, of course it's not an actual Mountain.. its the escarpment. I thought if I went to a park at the top near the edge I could fly it over the city and keep perfect straight line connection between the Drone and the controller. Now I can get out to about 4000 feet I still have connection but I haven't gone further yet but I noticed the bars do go down. So I'm wondering if the city and all the stuff going on underneath us can still cause interference even though I'm above it? Because I really don't think it will go 7000 10000-15000 like the YouTube videos. Also how does it work for elevation levels if I take off and it says 0 feet altitude technically according to down the escarpment I'm already 400 ft up. Going up to 400 ft would actually make me 800 feet ? But if I were to start Landing away from the escarpment would my altitude numbers then go into the minus? Weird question I hope it makes sense thank you for your time. *** I've included a few pictures just so you could get an idea of what I'm talking about, where i was flying and what possible interference were flying into. To maybe help you understand better. Thank you for your time. Cheers!
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***1st picture is where we stand at the top.

***2nd picture is the mavics view before taking off

***3rd picture is reverse angle of the escarpment where we are standing at the top there

***4th picture is straight ahead where we are going but encounter interference from somewhere.

 

[DanMan32]

Radio interference can come from anywhere, even from below.

Elevation displayed is relative to takeoff point. So if you take off from a 1000' cliff and fly straight out from the cliff, your displayed elevation would be zero.

Legally under FAA hobbyist rules, if the cliff was over 400' you would not be legal, since FAA bases height from ground directly below.

 

[Mossiback]

... So I'm wondering if the city and all the stuff going on underneath us can still cause interference even though I'm above it?...

To answer the interference question we need to know what you are flying.

... I really don't think it will go 7000 10000-15000 like the YouTube videos...

You are supposed to keep it within visual line of sight (VLOS) so you should not be sending it out 15000 feet anyway, especially over a populated area. The advantage of having such a strong connection is not so much for distance but for maintaining a solid connection without dropouts while keeping it in sight.

... Going up to 400 ft would actually make me 800 feet ? But if I were to start Landing away from the escarpment would my altitude numbers then go into the minus? ...

The height display is based on your takeoff point. If you fly out and down a hillside the numbers will show as negative. You have to use your best judgment to keep it within 400 feet of the ground.

 

[T|2eV0|2..::]

Really eh i didnt know that.So nobody up the hill can fly ? Or do you mean legally you just cant fly off the hill over top the city? I used 400 as an example however the escarpment is roughly around 2-300 feet. And i do prefer to keep the drone in sight with a solid connection.On a clear day you can see from there no problem at all at the distance i went. What i meant was just by seeing how the connection was reacting i cant see mavic going as far as a few videos i seen.My initial thought was "i finally found a wide open obstacle free spot to fly" but i dont think ill be returning there so the search continues!!!

Radio interference can come from anywhere, even from below.

Elevation displayed is relative to takeoff point. So if you take off from a 1000' cliff and fly straight out from the cliff, your displayed elevation would be zero.

Legally under FAA hobbyist rules, if the cliff was over 400' you would not be legal, since FAA bases height from ground directly below.

To answer the interference question we need to know what you are flying.

You are supposed to keep it within visual line of sight (VLOS) so you should not be sending it out 15000 feet anyway, especially over a populated area. The advantage of having such a strong connection is not so much for distance but for maintaining a solid connection without dropouts while keeping it in sight.

The height display is based on your takeoff point. If you fly out and down a hillside the numbers will show as negative. You have to use your best judgment to keep it within 400 feet of the ground.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

Really eh i didnt know that.So nobody up the hill can fly ? Or do you mean legally you just cant fly off the hill over top the city? I used 400 as an

Using 120m / 400’ as an example (its the most common altitude limit for drones to fly) . . .

It doesn’t matter where you take off (ASL) or other measure, your DRONE must never be more than 120m (400’) above the ground directly beneath it.

If you take off from the foot of a mountain, you can fly to the summit if you like, following the terrain within 400’ as best you can.

Likewise, if you fly from a peak, you just follow the terrain down as it drops in altitude, keeping at about 400’.
This is harder to keep within a country’s altitude limit than going up.

I find going up a hill you tend to get well under legal altitude, and have to keep purposely raising altitude to ensure you don’t crash.

 

[dronerdave]

Not sure about Canada but in the USA, MAvic_SOuth_Oz explained it well. 107 operators are under slightly different rules in the US so it confuses some Rec people. Always best to read up on the rules of the country you're flying in.

 

[GadgetGuy]

Just follow the slope of the hill down, as you descend over the city below, staying within 400 feet AGL the entire time. On the return, follow the slope of the hill back up. The closer to the ground, the more interesting the video. If you have any cliff drop offs, just descend to within 400 AGL as soon as you pass over the cliff, while maintaining LOS so you don't lose signal. Make sure your RTH elevation is set appropriately. Flying from the top of a hill is the very best place to launch from. Perfect unobstructed LOS. Good luck.