Flying height

[arjuna44]

I plan on flying out over the Hudson River in nys. I will lift of at a height of approximately 200 Feet. However I will be going over a cliff with an approximate 700 to 1000 foot drop. What will the results be? Will my MA2 catastrophically drop down over the cliff?

 

[old man mavic]

I plan on flying out over the Hudson River in nys. I will lift of at a height of approximately 200 Feet. However I will be going over a cliff with an approximate 700 to 1000 foot drop. What will the results be? Will my MA2 catastrophically drop down over the cliff?

no it will not drop down but after you go over the cliff edge you will be in breach of the 400 ft AGL and you will have to drop down ,this will require you to have your antennas pointing down towards the drone otherwise it will lose connection and do a RTH

 

[DanMan32]

The AC calculates height relative to altitude at takeoff. It can't really determine actual AGL unless you're within range of the vision position sensors.

 

[Motorcycle Rider]

I flew from the top of a tall river bank a couple weeks ago, i flew out probably 40 feet from the bank, and descended at approximately the same slope as the bank was, till I estimated my drone to be about 300 feet above the river, and then flew along. Even if an aircraft was to fly low level up the valley, they would not be that close to the bank. This valley had to be over 5 kms wide, so a plane/helicopter wouldn't be within 40 feet of the bank is my reasoning. I had to stand right at the edge, and pointed the antenna out to get a good signal.

 

[arjuna44]

I flew from the top of a tall river bank a couple weeks ago, i flew out probably 40 feet from the bank, and descended at approximately the same slope as the bank was, till I estimated my drone to be about 300 feet above the river, and then flew along. Even if an aircraft was to fly low level up the valley, they would not be that close to the bank. This valley had to be over 5 kms wide, so a plane/helicopter wouldn't be within 40 feet of the bank is my reasoning. I had to stand right at the edge, and pointed the antenna out to get a good signal.

Thank you MOTORCYCLE rider. This gives the confidence in my idea. I would stand at the end of the cliff and point my antenna down towards my drone.
I happen to drive a 2015 as in chief as well as a Kawasaki Vulcan as well as A Triumph Bonniville 750i been a rider for the past 35 years

 

[arjuna44]

no it will not drop down but after you go over the cliff edge you will be in breach of the 400 ft AGL and you will have to drop down ,this will require you to have your antennas pointing down towards the drone otherwise it will lose connection and do a RTH

Thank you for the info Old man Mavic. I will be mindful of the 400 foot max height. I will be at the end of the cliff pointing my antenna down.

 

[arjuna44]

The AC calculates height relative to altitude at takeoff. It can't really determine actual AGL unless you're within range of the vision position sensors.

Thanks for your info.

 

[Motorcycle Rider]

Thank you MOTORCYCLE rider. This gives the confidence in my idea. I would stand at the end of the cliff and point my antenna down towards my drone.
I happen to drive a 2015 as in chief as well as a Kawasaki Vulcan as well as A Triumph Bonniville 750i been a rider for the past 35 years

Nice to have a fellow rider on the forum, I love bikes.
The back, aka flat side of the antenna is what gets the signal, so always just beware of that. If it were straight overhead, again point them out, instead of the usual up position. It's nice that dji built the controller with antenna that can be swiveled. Keep in mind as well, that standing hundreds of feet higher than your drone, will make it harder to judge its height above the ground accurately. So keep a good distance above anything, so you don't accidentally hit it.

 

[arjuna44]

Nice to have a fellow rider on the forum, I love bikes.
The back, aka flat side of the antenna is what gets the signal, so always just beware of that. If it were straight overhead, again point them out, instead of the usual up position. It's nice that dji built the controller with antenna that can be swiveled. Keep in mind as well, that standing hundreds of feet higher than your drone, will make it harder to judge its height above the ground accurately. So keep a good distance above anything, so you don't accidentally hit it.

Btw, that was a 2015 Indian chief

 

[Motorcycle Rider]

Btw, that was a 2015 Indian chief

I read typos well, after all I make many myself.