As is DJI, with the January 1 imposition of a hard ceiling of 120m in the UK on the Mini 5 Pro as a C0 class drone.
It’s not a DJI rule, it’s a EASA and CAA rule that to be a C0 a drone must have a hard limit of 120m. These certifications are the only reason that the overweight Mini 5 Pro is allowed to fly under C0. They allow it through on the understanding that the target manufactured weight is 249.9 and there are certified accessories you are allowed to use, which doesn’t include aftermarket batteries and propellors.
What ?Perhaps OP means 500 ft above take off point rather than AGL ? If that was the case, then it is possible to be in this situation without having done anything wrong !
Flying from the bottom of a hill to the top of one, through some low-lying cloud is not in and of itself problematic if you can find gaps in the fog to ascend and descend through, as is often the case, certainly at the biggest hill near me. There are always gaps, usually big enough to allow VLoS throughout.
Separate to that is the wisdom (or not) of placing your craft where it is going to encounter a lot of moisture even if you don't actually get in the main body of the fog. And I can imagine that freezing onto props or motors if it is cold enough, although it has never happened to me. Lucky directional control returned hey ?
Well, if you're taking off from 300 ft below the top of a hill, then over here you would be legally able to fly to the top of that hill, and then 400 ft above its apex, as long as you follow the contour of it and are never more than 400 ft above the ground under the drone. Perhaps that is only the case for us in the UK tho - but I was fairly sure the States had that rule too ?
