Is there anyway (without reverse engineering the software) to get a setting of more than 500m for the allowable height?

Now before you say "what in the world are you doing?"

I live in a very very hilly area.    The terrain elevation literally changes nearly 1,700ft in places.  There have been times where I have wanted to fly from the valley to the top of the mountain (VLOS) but have been unable to do so because of the restriction not even allowing me to get to the top.

FAA rules require staying below 400ft AGL when flying commercially.  Provided I follow the contour of the mountain, I can easily do a 2,500ft climb in a flight without violating any rules.

FAA 107 Waiver

This is the FAA application in which you can request to exceed the standard 400m height limit.  
The application is FREE, and takes about 7 days to get a response of approval.  

At 500m height flying VLOS, how accurately can you visually judge it's height and position relative to the helicopter that has just flown over the top of the mountain so that you can avoid a collision?

Nigel_ Posted at 2017-8-21 11:51
At 500m height flying VLOS, how accurately can you visually judge it's height and position relative to the helicopter that has just flown over the top of the mountain so that you can avoid a collision?

That is true.
The "exemption" is 400m above the structure surface in which you are flying.  I know people who have tested this by flying above a radio tower, in which the antenna was in itself hundreds of feet tall, and the regulation allows them to fly 400 feet above that.  

Provided I follow the contour of the mountain, I can easily do a 2,500ft climb in a flight without violating any rules.

The drone won't let you do this. The 500m limit is being calculated upon take off point.
Example: You leave your drone at 500m. Climb up that hill in person to 1000m.
Fly the drone up. The most you can achieve is that the drone lands at your feet.

As Eric mentioned, the maximum height is 500m and it is calculated upon the take-off point.

Crashed.. falling down from 499m... suddenly motors off cause "battery cell error"

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-8-21 19:55
As Eric mentioned, the maximum height is 500m and it is calculated upon the take-off point.

Yup so he has to do as I do. You go to a higher part of the range. Maybe you need to hike to the top of a mountain then fly from there. To get this shot I flew from part of my mountain range above my valley then added the 500m max height, flew out about 1.5 miles then took this snap shot. So it does look rather way up there as the village where I live is now over 1200m below or more than 4000 feet.  I want to do this flight again from even higher up the mountain but I would need to take a long slow hike. I also need to be there before sunrise when there is less haze.

There might be times when 400 feet from launch in just not enough to get past the clouds. Sometimes I need 1200 feet to clear them.  Views are worth it though.

fans04f3455c Posted at 2017-8-21 20:11
Crashed.. falling down from 499m... suddenly motors off cause "battery cell error"

Lots of my flights are at 400m - 500m height never had that issue with any of my batteries.

Nigel_ Posted at 2017-8-21 11:51
At 500m height flying VLOS, how accurately can you visually judge it's height and position relative to the helicopter that has just flown over the top of the mountain so that you can avoid a collision?

@Nigel_
Pretty well - considering I'm maybe 25 feet above the ground the entire time.

Kuya Kano Posted at 2017-8-21 11:42
FAA 107 Waiver

This is the FAA application in which you can request to exceed the standard 400m height limit.  

Not looking for a waiver - I'm not flying about 400ft AGL at any time.

DJI Susan Posted at 2017-8-21 19:55
As Eric mentioned, the maximum height is 500m and it is calculated upon the take-off point.

This is too bad.

mhoppes Posted at 2017-8-21 21:00
This is too bad.

A lot of people would simply fly too high and too far away and not have enough power to get back from the distance and heights they would fly at. It's a safety issue. NO way for you to go to higher points of the mountains and fly from there?

mhoppes Posted at 2017-8-21 20:59
@Nigel_
Pretty well - considering I'm maybe 25 feet above the ground the entire time.

If it is flying 25 feet from the ground then you wont be able to see the drone at over 500m distance from the pilot?  Even if it is directly overhead so a black dot against a bright sky in a known place, most people wont be able to see it if they take their eyes off it to check the screen and then look back.

Also you wont be 25 feet above ground if it does an RTH, you will be 500m above ground in a place that other aircraft aren't expecting to encounter you.

The answer is simple, like blackcrusader does, get yourself closer to where you want to fly.  Although take note that his flying laws are different and he does not have to worry about helicopters flying over the top of the mountain.

No way to bypass the 500m limit without some kind of non-DJI approved modification.

Go to the top, fly all the way down, then run the video in reverse. Job done

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-8-21 21:02
A lot of people would simply fly too high and too far away and not have enough power to get back from the distance and heights they would fly at. It's a safety issue. NO way for you to go to higher points of the mountains and fly from there?

Of course I can go "there", but that requires me hiking a sometimes long hike,  I just wanted to see if there were any options.

Nigel_ Posted at 2017-8-22 00:40
If it is flying 25 feet from the ground then you wont be able to see the drone at over 500m distance from the pilot?  Even if it is directly overhead so a black dot against a bright sky in a known place, most people wont be able to see it if they take their eyes off it to check the screen and then look back.

Also you wont be 25 feet above ground if it does an RTH, you will be 500m above ground in a place that other aircraft aren't expecting to encounter you.

Correct, while flying safe at all times, we are in the middle of no where in class G airspace.

As to "can you see it?"  Yes.  I have the video, the map, and visually I've flown model aircraft (without video or map) out to 2-3 miles successfully and turned them around and brought them back.

SPIKE_151 Posted at 2017-8-22 02:35
Go to the top, fly all the way down, then run the video in reverse. Job done

And how does that work with RTH?  If I'm -1,600ft in the valley from where I started and RTH kicks in... what is the end result?

Fly it in atti mode, just plan your flight correctly, look at the terrain and pick out several emergency landing sites on the way down. There is a video on youtube of a guy flying from a mountain in cyprus, 8 km downhill and landing on his apartment patio. It can be done if you think about your options.

mhoppes Posted at 2017-8-22 03:02
And how does that work with RTH?  If I'm -1,600ft in the valley from where I started and RTH kicks in... what is the end result?

The end result is that your drone will stop and climb to it's RTH height as set in the app.  So as long as you have no stick inputs your drone will simply climb to the preset RTH height you set.  I have done this from negative height from about 1 mile distance.  

blackcrusader Posted at 2017-8-22 04:57
The end result is that your drone will stop and climb to it's RTH height as set in the app.  So as long as you have no stick inputs your drone will simply climb to the preset RTH height you set.  I have done this from negative height from about 1 mile distance.

So if I'm at 1,600ft above the bottom of the valley, and I fly down the valley and am at -1,600ft from start and it goes into RTH it will go to 2,000ft on the return to home?

mhoppes Posted at 2017-8-22 10:38
So if I'm at 1,600ft above the bottom of the valley, and I fly down the valley and am at -1,600ft from start and it goes into RTH it will go to 2,000ft on the return to home?

If you set your RTH at 400 ft height from home point then yes, when you initiate RTH, the drone will climb to the RTH height, then once it reaches that height it will begin the return to home point.

NOTE IF you have any stick input before the drone reaches its preset RTH height you will cancel the climb to your preset height and the drone will start to fly back to home point from whatever height it is when you input stick control.

As mentioned, if you wanted to change the altitude limit, or other limits for that matter, there are options if you spend a little time on a search engine. Please always fly safe and responsibly either way. Sounds like you do.

Flying above 500M is a silly move, and often leads to more trouble and rules/regulations for the rest of us.



RedHotPoker

djiuser_55RMcis Posted at 2017-8-23 13:43
Not necessarily.

Well yeah, tha's why I find piloting my dirones, away from society, is always much more relaxing.




RedHotPoker

st pauli Posted at 2017-8-23 06:50
As mentioned, if you wanted to change the altitude limit, or other limits for that matter, there are options if you spend a little time on a search engine. Please always fly safe and responsibly either way. Sounds like you do.

The OP does not need to change the height limit. He is quite capable of walking up the hills to a higher elevation and launching from there.  I'm pretty much known for flying my drone at altitudes of over 10000 feet using max height.  The thing is that even if he had greater height, he still needs to account the time of getting the flight and also time to take photo's and return or land safely somewhere.

The OP could also encounter as I did a high wind condition that pushed the drone to critical low battery status even with 35% or higher battery levels.  It's power consumption and not levels that are important. What saved me was quick thinking and the fact I was hovering but came back at over 50 mph with a tail wind from max height. Full left stick down and full throttle forward to get my drone to home point asap. It was faster arriving at home point from a greater distance than losing the max height.  

G'day,

So I'm trying to get my head around this and want to confirm it with you guys. If I look at the DJI Fly app and click to a place where I'd like to fly from, it's altitude is 529m and says it's a GEO Zones (2) with an altitude zone: 500m. For flight above altitude limit unlocking is required. But reading all your comments it seems that I can take off from this spot and can only go up a further 500m? (although legally I can only fly above 120m from a take off point (and I limit it to a 100m anyway).

Am I reading things right from what you've written previously?

Waldo4280 Posted at 3-20 21:29
G'day,

So I'm trying to get my head around this and want to confirm it with you guys. If I look at the DJI Fly app and click to a place where I'd like to fly from, it's altitude is 529m and says it's a GEO Zones (2) with an altitude zone: 500m. For flight above altitude limit unlocking is required. But reading all your comments it seems that I can take off from this spot and can only go up a further 500m? (although legally I can only fly above 120m from a take off point (and I limit it to a 100m anyway).

Aloha Waldo,

     Every country has different height regulations.  For example, the US calls buildings and mountains "structures" and height limits are measured from structure height (and distance).  So, to complicate things further, as long as I fly within 400 feet of the cliffs next to my house, I am within the regulations.  I regularly fly up the cliffs to 1640 feet and get great shots.

     Australia has a regulatory body for drones.  You should look up their web site and check what their height regulation details are.   They will also answer any of your questions.

     Take care and be safe.

Aloha and Drone On!