Re: Mav Mini negative altitude travel max?

[Kingridger]

Example. Launching off 3000ft hillside and flying downwards in valley. To about 1000 ft elevation etc. Thx. AL

 

[slup]

No special limitation for that, just think of your RC-AC connection, keep the antenna flat side pointed at the AC. Also be aware of that if failsafe RTH is initiated due to connection loss (or manually initiated) the AC will ascend to your set altitude that most probably is ABOVE your HP ... meaning it will go up your 2000ft + RTH altitude before it starts it's way home, severely breaking max 400ft AGL regulation + nasty wind situations.

I myself would never take me on that example ...

 

[old man mavic]

apart from it being a rule breaker,its a good way to put your drone on a one way mission never to be seen again

 

[ajkm]

apart from it being a rule breaker,its a good way to put your drone on a one way mission never to be seen again

Not sure I see the flying itself here as a rule breaker - flying from the top of a hill is fine, as would be then flying down the hill as long as the RPA is lower than 400ft AGL at all times - I think that can be achieved by flying close to the hillside.
I can see that the VLOS might be hard to maintain in that situation, though there are others where it would be perfectly possible for a distance (though still unlikely to be 2000ft from where you’re standing at the top) - I’m thinking of an English fellside, where the scree falls down the slope and there aren’t any outcrops to get in the way.
RTH is of course going to be a problem as, if set at a legal 200ft AGL when taking off at the top of the hill (ie 3200ft MSL), ascending to that before returning to home will take the RPA way over a 400ft AGL limit lower down.

 

[old man mavic]

Not sure I see the flying itself here as a rule breaker - flying from the top of a hill is fine, as would be then flying down the hill as long as the RPA is lower than 400ft AGL at all times - I think that can be achieved by flying close to the hillside.
I can see that the VLOS might be hard to maintain in that situation, though there are others where it would be perfectly possible for a distance (though still unlikely to be 2000ft from where you’re standing at the top) - I’m thinking of an English fellside, where the scree falls down the slope and there aren’t any outcrops to get in the way.
RTH is of course going to be a problem as, if set at a legal 200ft AGL when taking off at the top of the hill (ie 3200ft MSL), ascending to that before returning to home will take the RPA way over a 400ft AGL limit lower down.

that's the issue flying close to the hillside, the first problem would be the updraft, and keeping a good signal between the controller and drone ,we are talking about a MM,which would struggle in the scenario as stated by the OP

 

[ajkm]

Or the downdraft! But I agree with you, it’s certainly not ideal with the MM.

 

[Dbez1]

These are just my initial thoughtsI and I have way less experience than most of these pilots, but that sounds like a dangerous trip for your MM to me. If the $ factor is insignificant for you, why not buy a drone that will better handle that type of flying? But then, there’s also the legal question. ? Best wishes!