Please clarify 120m height restriction when outside the EU

[Pinyoro]

My original query was that if I was to fly this drone in a non EU or UK country will it be able to fly above 120m?

 

[slup]

My original query was that if I was to fly this drone in a non EU or UK country will it be able to fly above 120m?

Very, very likely yes (& the reason for my not 100% answer is that I don't own a Mini 4P & haven't tried it myself)...

Most of the different limitations that change depending on where you fly (FCC/CE, NFZ) are & have in the past been triggered by the GPS position, and not by different hardware versions of the drones, I can't see any valid reason for it to be different this time (& it's kind of validated by those that say that the 500m setting is possible when the drone doesn't have a GPS lock, but gets limited to 120m once locked).

And without going into such thing's as "when & how"... the "why" is known, & have been discussed both in this forum & others already.

It's all about the EASA regulations for C0 class drones...
Delegated regulation - 2019/945 - EN - EUR-Lex

Below from the present regulation regarding heights for a C0 compared to a C1-4...

This is for C0:



...and here for C1-4:



This could mean that you may violate some regulation by just using a future hack to again give you the possibility to set heights above 120m relative take-off point in the app... even though you don't breach the max 120m AGL, are flying within VLOS & remain sub-250g. You may need to consider your Mini 4 Pro to be a "legacy drone" when it comes to licenses/registrations & flights near uninvolved people & buildings.

 

[Pinyoro]

Very, very likely yes (& the reason for my not 100% answer is that I don't own a Mini 4P & haven't tried it myself)...

Most of the different limitations that change depending on where you fly (FCC/CE, NFZ) are & have in the past been triggered by the GPS position, and not by different hardware versions of the drones, I can't see any valid reason for it to be different this time (& it's kind of validated by those that say that the 500m setting is possible when the drone doesn't have a GPS lock, but gets limited to 120m once locked).

And without going into such thing's as "when & how"... the "why" is known, & have been discussed both in this forum & others already.

It's all about the EASA regulations for C0 class drones...
Delegated regulation - 2019/945 - EN - EUR-Lex

Below from the present regulation regarding heights for a C0 compared to a C1-4...

This is for C0:

View attachment 173326

...and here for C1-4:

View attachment 173327

This could mean that you may violate some regulation by just using a future hack to again give you the possibility to set heights above 120m relative take-off point in the app... even though you don't breach the max 120m AGL, are flying within VLOS & remain sub-250g. You may need to consider your Mini 4 Pro to be a "legacy drone" when it comes to licenses/registrations & flights near uninvolved people & buildings.

Thank you very much for the clarification that in theory it will be the case. I will give feedback once I have travelled and confirmed. Thanks once again.

 

[Droning on and on...]

The controller has a map, the controller knows which part of the map the drone is above, the map (hopefully) has elevation details. All that needs to happen is that as part of the protocol, the controller tells the drone what the ground altitude is, the drone works out what it's actual altitude is AGL because it can calculate that using its take off point as a reference. Or the controller does the calculation and tells the drone.

This doesn't seem like rocket science to me.

It's not. There are pretty accurate topo maps for most parts of the world. Since this data doesn't change much over time, it could conceivably be stored in flash on the drone.

 

[waynorth]

My original query was that if I was to fly this drone in a non EU or UK country will it be able to fly above 120m?

There are some countries that are not members in the EU, but are full members of the EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency). Among them are Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Iceland. UK is not a full member of EASA.
As far as I understand the 120m above take-off point restriction applies to all EASA countries, not just EU countries. But I may be wrong, hope somebody can clarify this.

 

[ylmavicpro]

There are some countries that are not members in the EU, but are full members of the EASA (European Union Aviation Safety Agency). Among them are Norway, Iceland, Switzerland and Iceland. UK is not a full member of EASA.
As far as I understand the 120m above take-off point restriction applies to all EASA countries, not just EU countries. But I may be wrong, hope somebody can clarify this.

Switzerland is not in EU, but it has taken over the EU drone rules completely and it comes in effect since 01.01.2024.

 

[waynorth]

Switzerland is not in EU, but it has taken over the EU drone rules completely and it comes in effect since 01.01.2024.

Thank you. The same has happened in Norway.

 

[Feek]

I'm in the UK which (as we all know) isn't part of the EU now but I had assumed this 120m hard ceiling would be applied to us as well.

My Mini 4 Pro arrived earlier this week and I've now had a chance to get it all set up and update the firmware in both the controller and the drone. I was surprised to see that it will allow me to set the Max Altitude slider above 120m. I have no intentions of flying higher than 120m but it's good to know it's not been locked.

 

[mavic3usa]

I'm in the UK which (as we all know) isn't part of the EU now but I had assumed this 120m hard ceiling would be applied to us as well.

My Mini 4 Pro arrived earlier this week and I've now had a chance to get it all set up and update the firmware in both the controller and the drone. I was surprised to see that it will allow me to set the Max Altitude slider above 120m. I have no intentions of flying higher than 120m but it's good to know it's not been locked.

I don't live in teh UK but isn't this sw dependent? Meaning older sw is ok but the newest latest has the restriction?

 

[Pinyoro]

I'm in the UK which (as we all know) isn't part of the EU now but I had assumed this 120m hard ceiling would be applied to us as well.

My Mini 4 Pro arrived earlier this week and I've now had a chance to get it all set up and update the firmware in both the controller and the drone. I was surprised to see that it will allow me to set the Max Altitude slider above 120m. I have no intentions of flying higher than 120m but it's good to know it's not been locked.

I know you do not intend to but did you try going past 120. Recently I noticed that I can set the slider to above 120m but when I try to pass 120m

I'm in the UK which (as we all know) isn't part of the EU now but I had assumed this 120m hard ceiling would be applied to us as well.

My Mini 4 Pro arrived earlier this week and I've now had a chance to get it all set up and update the firmware in both the controller and the drone. I was surprised to see that it will allow me to set the Max Altitude slider above 120m. I have no intentions of flying higher than 120m but it's good to know it's not been locked.

You can change to a higher number but if you try to fly above 120m it limits your height to 120m.

 

[Feek]

I don't live in teh UK but isn't this sw dependent? Meaning older sw is ok but the newest latest has the restriction?

You can change to a higher number but if you try to fly above 120m it limits your height to 120m.

According to the DJI website here, if it's limited to 120m, the slider maxes out at 120m.

I know you do not intend to but did you try going past 120.

No, I've not flown it yet. I'll set it to 130 and give it a very quick try at the weekend when the weather should be a bit better.

 

[Pinyoro]

According to the DJI website here, if it's limited to 120m, the slider maxes out at 120m.


No, I've not flown it yet. I'll set it to 130 and give it a very quick try at the weekend when the weather should be a bit better.

I am in the UK. Aircraft is firmware 01.00.0310, RC Firmware is 02.00.500. When there is no GPS signal it is maxed out at 500. If there is a signal it can only fly 120m irrespective of whether the slider said 500 or not.

There is another thread that describes the same with the mini 2.

 

[WNYBill]

I am in the USA. Does the 120m altitude above the ground limit mean the altitude of the controller or the altitude of the drone? Where I want to fly there is almost a cliff. If I set the limit at 120m will the drone stay 120 m above the actual ground or the ground where the controller is?

 

[Meta4]

If I set the limit at 120m will the drone stay 120 m above the actual ground or the ground where the controller is?

Your drone has no way to measure it's height above the ground.
All heights are relative to the launch point.

 

[mavic3usa]

I am in the USA. Does the 120m altitude above the ground limit mean the altitude of the controller or the altitude of the drone? Where I want to fly there is almost a cliff. If I set the limit at 120m will the drone stay 120 m above the actual ground or the ground where the controller is?

Also you should be aware this 120m AGL limit does not apply to us in the USA. Obviously the flyer is able to set his own limit at any reasonable level you desire; however, there is no 120m blocker in the software.

 

[Droning on and on...]

Also you should be aware this 120m AGL limit does not apply to us in the USA. Obviously the flyer is able to set his own limit at any reasonable level you desire; however, there is no 120m blocker in the software.

Well, in the US "reasonable" is ≤400ft, or ~120m.

 

[Feek]

There is another thread that describes the same with the mini 2.

There is, but that appears to be a drone bought in 2024, which ties in with what the DJI site suggests.

My Mini 2 (with the most recent firmware) would go above 120m but it was bought over two years ago which again ties up with what the DJI site suggests in that it's only aircraft sold in 2024 that are restricted.

I am in the UK. Aircraft is firmware 01.00.0310, RC Firmware is 02.00.500. When there is no GPS signal it is maxed out at 500. If there is a signal it can only fly 120m irrespective of whether the slider said 500 or not.

I'll test at the weekend, I didn't have GPS lock when I looked at it yesterday because the drone was indoors.

 

[mavic3usa]

Also you should be aware this 120m AGL limit does not apply to us in the USA. Obviously the flyer is able to set his own limit at any reasonable level you desire; however, there is no 120m blocker in the software.

Well, in the US "reasonable" is ≤400ft, or ~120m.

The setting in the drone is for height above take off point. The US flyer is able to manipulate that setting to whatever they want, there is no rule or regulation telling him what to do with that setting. The rules and regulations say keep your aircraft no more than 400 feet AGL, it doesn't tell you how to manipulate your setting. I know of several instances where you can legally use that setting at 600 or 700 feet. I used the term "reasonable" because I forget the range that DJI allows; I couldn't remember if it's 500m or 1,500m but in any case, it's reasonable because it's not something like 25,000 feet. The DJI FPV drones have pre-set limits that are hardcoded and most of them are above 400 feet. In uncontrolled airspace, I routinely set mine to ~656 feet and I fly legally when as the PIC, I make sure not to exceed 400 feet AGL. But you already know this.

 

[Droning on and on...]

The setting in the drone is for height above take off point. The US flyer is able to manipulate that setting to whatever they want, there is no rule or regulation telling him what to do with that setting.

Semantics.

You spoke of AGL, not height above home point. If you go back and read my response again, I was clearly addressing your statement about AGL in the US.

And the rules are quite clear about what is "reasonable" for AGL in the US, some setting in some drone manufacturers application notwithstanding.

Now if what you meant to discuss height above takeoff and mistakenly said "AGL", no problem... I have no comment on that.

 

[mavic3usa]

Semantics.

You spoke of AGL, not height above home point. If you go back and read my response again, I was clearly addressing your statement about AGL in the US.

And the rules are quite clear about what is "reasonable" for AGL in the US, some setting in some drone manufacturers application notwithstanding.

Now if what you meant to discuss height above takeoff and mistakenly said "AGL", no problem... I have no comment on that.

I know what the regulations say about 400 feet AGL. Not necessary for you to remind me, I've know it for years...literally. You're a smart guy, clearly you didn't honestly believe that anyone thought the flyer gets to set his own AGL and legally fly there as long as it is "reasonable", c'mon.

I am in the USA. Does the 120m altitude above the ground limit mean the altitude of the controller or the altitude of the drone?

Also you should be aware this 120m AGL limit does not apply to us in the USA.

If I set the limit at 120m will the drone stay 120 m above the actual ground or the ground where the controller is?

Obviously the flyer is able to set his own limit at any reasonable level you desire; however, there is no 120m blocker in the software.

Context matters. I stand by my statement, it is still true and accurate. "Set" refers to the setting, users don't ever "set" any regulations; I'll gently remind *you* of that if you don't already know it, just in case. Sorry you misunderstand the context but that is understandable since the conversation wasn't between you and I.