Even with GEO deleted in the U.S., we still have a 1000m altitude limit on the Mavic 4 Pro, Mavic 3 Series, and Air 3S. All others are still limited to 500m.
I had no idea there was a limit; I try and keep it under 400' to remain compliant. If I took off from the side or top of a high mountain to look around the valley, I may have to ignore the AGL limit since I may effectively be a short height above, with respect to my position; I see a lot of videos being shot that way.
Just so you understand, if you fly out from the top of a mountain and get more than 400ft AGL it will be just as illegal as if you launch and fly upward 450 feet (whatever). So there is that. The drones that can't fly over 500m are still limited by that - at least that is my understanding from a variety of sources. I have not yet tested it. I have a nearby hillside (well..not that nearby...) that I have broken that 500m limit on with my Mav 3 and Mav 3 Pro by "climbing" up the side, remaining 400ft AGL (at least with my best guess of it). I -think- that limit has not changed. That has been said by several people so I'm reasonably confident that is the case. I'll have to give it a try next time I'm at my fav hillside. If you're in a position to fly out from a mountain you probably have a good view and know there are no planes anywhere near and odds are there are no houses or people nearby. You can fly safely in such a case but it may still be illegal. That, for me, is the biggest issue I have with the FAA rules. There are no exceptions for breaking the basic rules when it is 100% guaranteed safe. Oh well. I figure in a few years this will be considered the "golden age" of droning before even further restrictions are implemented and drones are no longer even sold to commoners like myself
.For clarity, whatever the max altitude of your drone is, it cannot be bypassed by merely staying within 400 feet AGL when climbing a mountain. It is absolute, and relative to your launch altitude being considered 0. You can't "break it." You can work around it, though, by flying from higher up the mountain, and descending down as far as you like, and then ascending along the slope above you to the 500m or 1000m maximum, like was done with the recent Mt Everest video where they documented a 2000m ascent with the Mavic 4 Pro without maxing out the 1000m ascent limitation from the takeoff point.Just so you understand, if you fly out from the top of a mountain and get more than 400ft AGL it will be just as illegal as if you launch and fly upward 450 feet (whatever). So there is that. The drones that can't fly over 500m are still limited by that - at least that is my understanding from a variety of sources. I have not yet tested it. I have a nearby hillside (well..not that nearby...) that I have broken that 500m limit on with my Mav 3 and Mav 3 Pro by "climbing" up the side, remaining 400ft AGL (at least with my best guess of it). I -think- that limit has not changed. That has been said by several people so I'm reasonably confident that is the case. I'll have to give it a try next time I'm at my fav hillside. If you're in a position to fly out from a mountain you probably have a good view and know there are no planes anywhere near and odds are there are no houses or people nearby. You can fly safely in such a case but it may still be illegal. That, for me, is the biggest issue I have with the FAA rules. There are no exceptions for breaking the basic rules when it is 100% guaranteed safe. Oh well. I figure in a few years this will be considered the "golden age" of droning before even further restrictions are implemented and drones are no longer even sold to commoners like myself
I understand that; my concern was more about the legal limit of being above actual AGL while actually being effectively at 0 then flying away above the valley below that may be 2000m below your zero position.
As long as you fly lower than 400 feet above the descending slope and never exceed 400 feet above the ground below your drone, you are within FAA regs.
