Should I be afraid to fly my Mavic Air up high ?

[Isaac94]

Might be a newbie / no brainer question, but still I would love to ask and put up a discussion here since I reckon there's no such topic.

So as per topic, should I be afraid to fly my MA up to high altitudes ? I have got my MA for a week now and been practicing on and off whenever I can, I'm a serious flyer and really keen to know every single thing about MA, been watching every single videos I could on Youtube before I even got it. But, the highest I've flown is about 50ft off the ground, and it already seems quite high, or at least to me at that point, here begs my question, should I be afraid to fly high or just be daring to fly as high ? ( at least above 100ft ? ) Should I be worried about birds or anything in the air while on high altitude ? Definitely will be clear of lamp post / power lines / trees etc tho. Would love some advice.

 

[flightsimulation]

Hi

I would say higher is safer in my opinion the only real worry would be wind but Uav forecast app can help with that.

I too was afraid at first but the views higher up are awesome on my 3rd flight i took it to 400ft 120m . I also get much better reception the higher i am.

Hope it helps btw im a newbie as well.

Might be a newbie / no brainer question, but still I would love to ask and put up a discussion here since I reckon there's no such topic.

So as per topic, should I be afraid to fly my MA up to high altitudes ? I have got my MA for a week now and been practicing on and off whenever I can, I'm a serious flyer and really keen to know every single thing about MA, been watching every single videos I could on Youtube before I even got it. But, the highest I've flown is about 50ft off the ground, and it already seems quite high, or at least to me at that point, here begs my question, should I be afraid to fly high or just be daring to fly as high ? ( at least above 100ft ? ) Should I be worried about birds or anything in the air while on high altitude ? Definitely will be clear of lamp post / power lines / trees etc tho. Would love some advice.

 

[AnzacJack]

Not really safety issues provided you stay within guidelines (400ft max). 100ft you are talking about is no issue at all. Birds can be an issue at any height really so it’s no more dangerous up high.
The biggest thing is situational awareness and understanding where you are in relation to everything that may effect your flight.
Take your time to gain your confidence and you’ll be fine
Enjoy and good luck

 

[kaitokid535]

I have no issues with my MA flying up high, but one thing you should keep in mind is to respect the rules/laws by the government where ever you are, you purchased a high grade drone so it should work as expected (unless it's a product defect -- Read the manual to know the limitations of your drone).
BUT it's up to the drone pilot to be responsible on flying the drone, always be aware of your surroundings when flying.
But yeah, you should also build up your confidence, just keep practicing and soon you'll understand flying your drone.


Another tip I could give is to practice on your simulator, try to get your drone as high as it can and simulate the wind speed to understand how strong your drone can handle.

 

[Isaac94]

Thank you very very much for all your replies, I will slowly build up my confidence now that knowing it's definitely 100% not a problem to fly above 100ft. Also yes, I heard that the reception is better in high altitude than in fairly low altitude. Not sure how true is this but since one of the reply above mentioned it, so I guess it's valid !

 

[flightsimulation]

Ill try to clarify as to why but the primary reason is the position of the antennas to your drone. Away from interferences, further away from trees and powerlines as well as being further away from wifi routers. Having said that, if you are away from all this with your remote controller the better the signal.

I personally fly in a very congested wifi area but will easily get a good distance within visual line of sight. The range is great on this drone more than we are allowed. Hence why the air was a great purchase for the right price.
Happy flights!

Thank you very very much for all your replies, I will slowly build up my confidence now that knowing it's definitely 100% not a problem to fly above 100ft. Also yes, I heard that the reception is better in high altitude than in fairly low altitude. Not sure how true is this but since one of the reply above mentioned it, so I guess it's valid !

 

[Isaac94]

Ill try to clarify as to why but the primary reason is the position of the antennas to your drone. Away from interferences, further away from trees and powerlines as well as being further away from wifi routers. Having said that, if you are away from all this with your remote controller the better the signal.

I personally fly in a very congested wifi area but will easily get a good distance within visual line of sight. The range is great on this drone more than we are allowed. Hence why the air was a great purchase for the right price.
Happy flights!

I see, so I would reckon the Mavic Air as I know, is a drone that is SUPPOSE to fly far and high, because it's definitely not a toy, as stated by DJI. It's just that I have to build up my confidence after every flight and then go further and higher. Thank you so much !

 

[ABHIII]

I've taken my mavic air at 500m few times already. It holds itself very well. Just keep in mind to fly it up at remote locations.

 

[Manty]

Where do you live to legally fly that height? or are you talking distance?

 

[ABHIII]

I'm from India. The maximum altitude i can fly it up here is 500M but the maximum altitude i've achieved on this drone is 3174 meters. I recently took it on my road trip to Bhutan. I flew it on the top of a mountain in very windy conditions. I wouldn't recommended that to anyone but i tend to push this drone to the limits at times. So far it has not let me down.

 

[The Editor]

I'm from India. The maximum altitude i can fly it up here is 500M but the maximum altitude i've achieved on this drone is 3174 meters. I recently took it on my road trip to Bhutan. I flew it on the top of a mountain in very windy conditions. I wouldn't recommended that to anyone but i tend to push this drone to the limits at times. So far it has not let me down.

View attachment 78268

That must be why the law in India is the same as most of the rest of the world and limited to 400ft agl then.


General Rules for Flying a Drone in India

• All drones except those in the Nano category must be registered and issued a Unique Identification Number (UIN).
• A permit is required for commercial drone operations (except for those in the Nano category flown below 50 feet and those in the Micro category flown below 200 feet).
• Drone pilots must maintain a direct visual line of sight at all times while flying.
• Drones cannot be flown more than 400 feet vertically.
• Drones cannot be flown in areas specified as “No Fly Zones”, which include areas near airports, international borders, Vijay Chowk in Delhi, State Secretariat Complex in State Capitals, strategic locations, and military installations.
• Permission to fly in controlled airspace can be obtained by filing a flight plan and obtaining a unique Air Defense Clearance (ADC)/Flight Information Center (FIC) number.

 

[L&P Arch Angel]

I took my MVP2 up to about 390 ft before it started to give me a warning. I was out in the country, in the middle of about 180 acres, with no power lines, cell phone towers, very clear skies and not a lot of wind. Here is a picture at about 350ft.

 

[Leon_Bryant]

One thing I've noticed is that at a certain height, video is not as interestind and looks more like Goofle Earth. In US, altitude limit is 400 feet.

 

[cmac2173]

I'm a newbie as well and I'm in the same boat but I took a chance in an isolated location just to see what I could do with her I was scared but just wanted to see her worth.

 

[Isaac94]

I'm a newbie as well and I'm in the same boat but I took a chance in an isolated location just to see what I could do with her I was scared but just wanted to see her worth.View attachment 78279

Nice height ! I was wondering, just this afternoon I didn't even get too high, and then a crow was right beside my drone and about to attack my drone but flew away. This got me thinking, do crow or any sort of birds automatically avoid the drone ? Or will they come near the drone ? Because I had a sudden unsafe feeling of flying up high if there's birds up in the sky.

 

[spamgnome]

That must be why the law in India is the same as most of the rest of the world and limited to 400ft agl then.


General Rules for Flying a Drone in India

• All drones except those in the Nano category must be registered and issued a Unique Identification Number (UIN).
• A permit is required for commercial drone operations (except for those in the Nano category flown below 50 feet and those in the Micro category flown below 200 feet).
• Drone pilots must maintain a direct visual line of sight at all times while flying.
• Drones cannot be flown more than 400 feet vertically.
• Drones cannot be flown in areas specified as “No Fly Zones”, which include areas near airports, international borders, Vijay Chowk in Delhi, State Secretariat Complex in State Capitals, strategic locations, and military installations.
• Permission to fly in controlled airspace can be obtained by filing a flight plan and obtaining a unique Air Defense Clearance (ADC)/Flight Information Center (FIC) number.

I think he said altitude (MSL) not height (AGL). At least I hope that's what he meant. Otherwise, I don't want to fly in an aircraft anywhere near him!

 

[spamgnome]

I'm a newbie as well and I'm in the same boat but I took a chance in an isolated location just to see what I could do with her I was scared but just wanted to see her worth.View attachment 78279

You don't think airplanes fly in "isolated" locations? As a pilot of an aircraft, I find your experiment irresponsible.

 

[Olav van Gerven]

I started with a self-set limit of 50 meters. Beginning of last week, after a week of intesinv fyling, I dared to go up to 75 meters and just this week, I decided to go up to 100 meters. UNfortunatly, the video I took of that flight landed on a corrupt card, the protocol shows "max altitude 93,7 meters". Due to the light conditions, I still was abel to see the drone, also because it was not that far away horizontally.
During the same flight, I lost sight of the drone for a moment (even I can't look into the sun) and then simply pressed RTH. As soon as I had it in plain sight again, I canceled, but it was a good trick to regain sight.

 

[Isaac94]

I started with a self-set limit of 50 meters. Beginning of last week, after a week of intesinv fyling, I dared to go up to 75 meters and just this week, I decided to go up to 100 meters. UNfortunatly, the video I took of that flight landed on a corrupt card, the protocol shows "max altitude 93,7 meters". Due to the light conditions, I still was abel to see the drone, also because it was not that far away horizontally.
During the same flight, I lost sight of the drone for a moment (even I can't look into the sun) and then simply pressed RTH. As soon as I had it in plain sight again, I canceled, but it was a good trick to regain sight.

I see, that's good info. What do you mean by intensive flying ? What do you do with the drone when you want to practice ? I'm still trying to figure out what can I practice, for the movement i'm pretty much comfortable, trying to practice 180 turn around smoothly, flyover objects, gimbal tilt etc

 

[Olav van Gerven]

I see, that's good info. What do you mean by intensive flying ? What do you do with the drone when you want to practice ? I'm still trying to figure out what can I practice, for the movement i'm pretty much comfortable, trying to practice 180 turn around smoothly, flyover objects, gimbal tilt etc

I'm on holliday in Sweden right now. Just around the town where we stay, there is a lot of free space, open fields etc. I have three batteries and when I leave all are charged. The batteries are numbered so I alway know what is the next to make sure I use them "equal" (not having one with 100 loading cycles and one with only 10).
I started with the simple things, take off, flying forth, back, left, right, turning and so on. Then, as I looked at the video I made, I wanted to change things so I slowly started making a turn while moving forward and so on. I try the different moves again and again untill I am satisfied.
Still a little scaring for me, flying away and then making a slow turn while stiull moving forwards. At a certain point, it becomes hard (for me, maybe general thing) to determin the exact direction. Still "coming back" or in another direction. Important thing for me: If I am not sure what the drone does, leave all the sticks for a moment. The drone will hover and it will give me the chance to re-orientate.
Another thing I printed in my brain: If I feel the drone is drifting, seek height! The risk of hitting the only tree in a kilometer is smaller when at 50 meters then at 10.
One more thing: When I see people in the area I want to fly, I walk up to them and tell them what I intend to do. If they are interested, I show them the maps I use, tell them about the legal issue of getting a permit to publish (here in Sweden for all drone footage requiered, simple procedure, no problems met) and so on. Then I have some nice cards with my name and email on it, tell them to llok for my youtube chanel (my name) to see what I do an if they are interested in the footage of that day, they can send me an email.

EDIT: And I made my first dangerous mistake: Started in OPTI mode because of trees around me and as the drone got GPS it changed. Caused the drone to be drifting for a few seconds but by pulling up, I avoided the trees, regained control and landed.