How high have you been with your Mini 2?

New England Droning · Oct 16, 2021

I don't mean being impaired due to intoxicating substances... I know we all know better.

I took mine up to 4,255 feet and before the drone police jump me... that's 4,255 MSL. its only 399 AGL.
But over Mount Equinox in Vermont's southern "Mountains," I arrived at the top on a sunny day and nearly windless. The exact altitude is a guess since it depends on where the measure as the exact highest point. But it is close.
So what is the highest "legal" height have you flown to? I wanted to drive up the Mount Mansfield auto-road but they don't allow drones so I wrote that Mountain off. But Mount Equinox has no posted drone rules. at least as of now... Now that I drove up there, that may change.

RSDonovan · Oct 16, 2021

Salem-Drone said:
I don't mean being impaired due to intoxicating substances... I know we all know better.

I took mine up to 4,255 feet and before the drone police jump me... that's 4,255 MSL. its only 399 AGL.
But over Mount Equinox in Vermont's southern "Mountains," I arrived at the top on a sunny day and nearly windless. The exact altitude is a guess since it depends on where the measure as the exact highest point. But it is close.
So what is the highest "legal" height have you flown to? I wanted to drive up the Mount Mansfield auto-road but they don't allow drones so I wrote that Mountain off. But Mount Equinox has no posted drone rules. at least as of now... Now that I drove up there, that may change.

View attachment 136644

If you think the authorities may change the rules adversely for drone pilots, do you think telling a forum what you did and where you went is a good idea?

New England Droning · Oct 16, 2021

RSDonovan said:
If you think the authorities may change the rules adversely for drone pilots, do you think telling a forum what you did and where you went is a good idea?

Well, I don't think "authorities" are worrying as this was completely legal and by the book. This park has no rules governing drones and I'm sharing that with those here. Do you think we should keep legal flying under wraps? I followed VLOS although it is a dot to me at 399' above me and it was not over people and winds were negligible so a safe and legal flight.
I was just wondering how high (legally) others have gone. To me, it's a matter of taking off from a higher-than-average location. Probably those out west have an easier time of it as they have real mountains out there and much higher than the paltry 3,800 - 6,000 "mountains we have here. Although our 6,000+ footer is Mount Washington and that is off-limits to drones.
I follow the rules if they say no drones, I don't fly, simple... Questions?

bmcelya · Oct 16, 2021

As a novice pilot not having studied for 107, this brings to mind a scenario: I launch at the top of a 10k mountain, gain 390’ legally, cruise laterally a ways, then drop all the way to sea level, losing 10,390’ in altitude, then gain it back to land at the point of takeoff. Is this legal? If not at what point in the flight does it break rules? My aircraft are not capable of this, but others might be.

Deleted member 103366 · Oct 16, 2021

bmcelya said:
I launch at the top of a 10k mountain, gain 390’ legally, cruise laterally a ways, then drop all the way to sea level, losing 10,390’ in altitude, then gain it back to land at the point of takeoff. Is this legal?

I suspect such a flight would be legal PROVIDING you followed the terrain and descended as it did, imagine flying so as to keep a "390ft" long string, dangling from the bottom of the drone, in contact with the ground.
Flying out horizontally from the mountain top until you are over the sea and then descnding vertically would, I suspect, NOT be legal nor would a vertical ascent to 10,000ft followed by a horizontal return home.
HOWEVER a necessary 10,000ft climb to end of the flight might NOT be a good choice from the perspective of the battery

bmcelya · Oct 16, 2021

Thanks Mr. Fogg. That clears things up some. Your right, no way a battery of mine could manage 20,000 vertical feet. Tell me if I’m wrong: It’s okay to take off at 10k AGL, fly latterlaly far enough to look straight down at the ocean, then fly back to home-point and land? Haleakala in HI comes to mind. It’s a National Park no-fly zone, so that’s just an example.

Deleted member 103366 · Oct 16, 2021

bmcelya said:
It’s okay to take off at 10k ~~AGL~~, above sea level, fly latterlaly far enough to look straight down at the ocean, then fly back to home-point and land? Haleakala in HI comes to mind. It’s a National Park no-fly zone, so that’s just an example.

Not being awkward but you can answer that yourself, ask yourself if that 390ft piece of string, dangling from the drone, would be in contact with the ground/sea? If your answer is no then the answer to your question is.............you are too high.

Your legal maximum height over the sea is likely to be 400ft or your 390ft.

New England Droning · Oct 16, 2021

bmcelya said:
Thanks Mr. Fogg. That clears things up some. Your right, no way a battery of mine could manage 20,000 vertical feet. Tell me if I’m wrong: It’s okay to take off at 10k AGL, fly latterlaly far enough to look straight down at the ocean, then fly back to home-point and land? Haleakala in HI comes to mind. It’s a National Park no-fly zone, so that’s just an example.

Unlike my normal flights where I would fly all over the place and then yes I would have to be in a descent to maintain my AGL as less than 400".
I actually was a bit nervous and was worried that the winds aloft my be higher then what I felt on top of the mountain so I only went straight up and did the 360 pano and came back down.
I'm not like the young guns who are brave to wing it from up there.
As for bmcelya asking about maintaining that 400 (or less) AGL, it's not easy because our drones have no device for determining their AGL (above ground level) altitude. I have gone and raised the limit on my mini2 to about 700' and I use this when climbing up a slope and I have to judge visually how high about the treetops I am. I feel after a year of flying I can make a good value judgement and If the FAA or the drone police question me, I can say honestly I'm making a good attempt to stay under the 400' AGL limit and I think I'm close.

If you are flying DJI I think you'll find you can only move that level to about 1600' above take off home point. You don't have an option to fly over that unless you mod the code and I don't see a need to do that. (I have a mini 2 and other drones may have different max altitudes)

I hope this answers the questions that I brought up with my question...

dirkclod · Oct 16, 2021

Philius told you right. Don’t matter if you take off at 10,000’.
Use the string at 400’ and never let it not touch the ground.
Flying back up is the same.
Edit..Never let It not touch the ground.

Deleted member 103366 · Oct 16, 2021

You do need to watch a Mavic Mini very carefully in the wind, mine once got caught in a gust and took off, down wind, like a Greyhound coming out of a trap. Fortunately the gust lasted only a second or two and then control was regained.

eyeonwings · Oct 16, 2021

dirkclod said:
Philius told you right. Don’t matter if you take off at 10,000’.
Use the string at 400’ and never let it not touch the ground.
Flying back up is the same.

Not exactly. I think you meant to make sure the 400' string is always touching the ground?

MAvic_South_Oz · Oct 16, 2021

eyeonwings said:
Not exactly. I think you meant to make sure the 400' string is always touching the ground?

Quoted right if read carefully, double negative.

eyeonwings · Oct 16, 2021

MAvic_South_Oz said:
Quoted right if read carefully, double negative.

You are correct. I missed the double negative. Sped redding gets me again.

dirkclod · Oct 16, 2021

eyeonwings said:
Not exactly. I think you meant to make sure the 400' string is always touching the ground?

Yes I was typing to fast

MAvic_South_Oz · Oct 17, 2021

Speed reading, speed typing . . . you fellas need to slow down, more cinematic forum use required, lol.

dirkclod · Oct 17, 2021

MAvic_South_Oz said:
Speed reading, speed typing . . . you fellas need to slow down, more cinematic forum use required, lol.

Altanore · Oct 17, 2021

122 Meters/400 Feet since that is the max height I'm allowed to go in Canada. Just never risked going higher lol.

MAvic_South_Oz · Oct 17, 2021

Altanore said:
122 Meters/400 Feet since that is the max height I'm allowed to go in Canada. Just never risked going higher lol.

Think the OP means AMSL, not so much above take off point.

Here in Oz we have our highest peak 2228m or 7310', so no altitude records done here.

@Karlewski . . . think he had a mini or mini 2 (in the past ?), and does some high peaks around Colorado 13,000' or more.

Altanore · Oct 17, 2021

MAvic_South_Oz said:
Think the OP means AMSL, not so much above take off point.

Here in Oz we have our highest peak 2228m or 7310', so no altitude records done here.

@Karlewski . . . think he had a mini or mini 2 (in the past ?), and does some high peaks around Colorado 13,000' or more.

Oh, well in that case, 1627 m (5338 ft.) at Kicking Horse Pass.

Karlewski · Oct 17, 2021

14'000+ actually with the mini 2 and close to 15k with an air2 on Colorados tallest 14,400ish" Mt. Elbert, it was winter so did have density altitude on my side, cold dense air, for tate one but I felt zero performance anomalies.
Here arethe Mini 2 videos:
and here:

I do think for true 107 rules there is a bit of a nuance. . . .the 400' AGL is not the only criteria, I think it is for rec. pilots, as I understand it, you can fly above 400' AGL IF you are within 400' laterally of the ground or object being inspected. . . Honestly I'm not completely sure, the examples on the 107 test I've seen discuss inspecting tall structures, taller then 400' and then being allowed to fly inside a 400' radius cylinder around that object. For certain the spirit of the rule is to make darn sure your drone is in a place where no manned aircraft pilot has any business being and everyone is safe. I have had a few instances where, on very tall mountain peaks, manned aircraft are operating outside of their rule set and operating inside of 400' of the terrain while outside of controlled airspace. . . .oops. A couple of times it was acro planes, ie Red Bull types! It was SUPER COOL seeing acro while they bobbed in and out of the Red Rock Canyon NV mountains!
Personally, any time I detect any manned aircraft anywhere near, by: sound, app, visual, I ALWAY dive at the nearest terrain until I am very close to it, somewhere a manned craft would be crazy to go. . . The rules are all good and nice and need to be followed but the guys in the skies will bend them and having a plan to protect them anyway is wise. . . . I wasn't fling when I saw the acro. . . we were deep in a wilderness area but, wow, just flying the front faces of those mountains from outside of the wilderness was SWEET, beautiful mountains! Some of my personal favorites!