Hi All,

Today I did my first test flight at altitude. Takeoff was a roughly 1200m above sea level and then I took her up in the clouds another 300m.
I must say I was a little nervous when it disapeared through the clouds and all I saw was white including through the camera, then came the gorgeous scene above the cloud layer!! The Inspire 1 held it position perfectly!!





When I landed I noticed we even had a little icing on the blades.... it was pretty cold!





Next step is to go higher, I am aiming for a test flight starting at roughly 3000m ASL. Cant recall if there is an imposed altitude limit, idealy I am aiming for a flight at over 4000m ASL.

Happy flying,
Serge

Very cool!!
Did it take a long period of time for the inspire  to heat up or was it ready to fly .

WOW!!! Amazing shot.... can't believe the icing

What was the ground temp? Pretty impressive view! For sure, I'm not sure I could have done that. Not sure what the temp was up that high as the inspire has limits.....

Absolutely amazing.

I wonder if a silicone or a airplane wax in the winter on the props may be a good idea may help with lift and decrease possible icing ,not like everyone will be in this extreme environment ,but most note worthy.
Pushing the Inspire 1 in such conditions is very reassuring to us all as we access this machine.

I Applaud the OP very brave !

It's stupid, not brave. Do you want to kill someone? How could you tell there was no Cessna flying above these clouds? General aviation planes frequently fly at this attitude. Is it even legal in your country to perform UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle) without VLOS (visual line of sight)?

Did you contact air traffic control before doing this flight?  Did they clear a block of airspace for you?  Do you know what could happen when you fly the Inspire One into icing conditions?

If you did not do this and you are in the U.S. or Canada, you are in serious violation of the air regulations.

PLEASE, PLEASE...understand that without these clearances, you are endangering air traffic.  THIS IS VERY DANGEROUS.  In addition you could cause the Air Regulators in your country to come down hard on all of us.

I am an retired Electronics Engineer, a Commercial Pilot, and a very experienced R/C pilot.  I have flown full scale, and R/C equipment in movies and TV commercials.  PLEASE don't do this again without full clearance from the Air Regulators.

When I learned to fly my instructor told me that safe flying is 10% flying ability and 90% good judgement.  Please be a responsible pilot and use good judgement.
When you fly through clouds, you cannot see if there are maned aircraft flying in or above the cloud.  Very dangerous!

Please don't fly your Inspire above 400 ft. above the ground.

Oops! All documented and tied up with a bow for the authorities - complete with detailed confession. I'm guessing they scan these forums regularly looking for people who have neglected to read the regs.

Hi All,

Just be be very clear, this is the Swiss Alps. The surrounding mountain ranges are at heights of 3300m, I took off at 1200m ASL and climbed 300m just above the low cloud layer. I can guarantee with 100% certainty that there were no Cessna's flying 300m above the ground slaloming through the mountain range!

Now if we cant share our experiences here without immediately being judged then whats the point ??  Please dont judge other people without knowing the facts first.

Happy flying,
Serge

serge.email Posted at 2015-1-25 01:20
Hi All,

Just be be very clear, this is the Swiss Alps. The surrounding mountain ranges are at heigh ...

I am sorry Serge, but you absolutely cannot say with 100% certainty that there is no air traffic above the clouds unless you can see your aircraft at all times.  You must have line of sight to know who else is there.  I happen to know friends of mine who fly gliders in the Swiss Alps and could have been near by.  Also the Swiss military fly aircraft close to the mountains.  Have you heard of Air Glacier?  They fly rescue helicopters all over the Alps.  I have gone for a ride with those people.  You have shown very poor judgement and insist on defending it.
Say you are sorry and that you won't do it again.  Then fly safely and enjoy your new machine without endangering anyone and our wonderfull hobby and profession.  Yes, some people make a living doing this and they do it in a professional way,  with full compliance with all rules.

Please, you are going to cause an accident and ruin everything for all of us.

Fly line of sight!
Do NOT fly into or through clouds.

Do not fly more than 400 ft above the ground!

Thanks,

Ray

shocking flying and you should know better.

irresponsible & utterly dangerous

Very cool photo!  My first reaction was "Holy crap - he's in the clouds" but then saw how close you were to the mountain range.  Very pretty shot.   Please be careful though - GPS is sorta freaky with the latest firmware.  LOS is your best bet if don't want to take any risks with your investment.  

Again - Beautiful shot. Thanks for sharing.

cyber111 Posted at 2015-2-12 01:49
You are all a bunch of dumba**ses. Did you clearly read the drone operator post? "The surrounding m ...

youre off to a good start around here , 4 posts in and calling people names like dumba**es and Idiots.

id advise you to edit your post while you still can ....

cyber111 Posted at 2015-2-12 01:49
You are all a bunch of dumba**ses. Did you clearly read the drone operator post? "The surrounding m ...

just so long as you realize that when the FAA or whatever the regulating body is in your country comes down on you with hard regulations and stiff penalties it will be because of people doing exactly this and flying through clouds where they lose line of sight putting pilots in danger.

Just because he's in the alps doesn't mean there's a guarantee there's no air traffic.

Here's a video I took in the Swiss alps at over 9,500ft. Notice how close to the clouds the helicopter pilot is flying?

Certainly it's far less likely that you would encounter a random helicopter at that altitude but it's still really unwise to fly through clouds w/ a UAV as a hobbiest.

Eirlink, go fly and have some fun. FAA does not make laws, congress does.

cyber111 Posted at 2015-2-12 02:59
Eirlink, go fly and have some fun. FAA does not make laws, congress does.

Tell that to the EPA, IRS,....

Wow amazing shot

AegisFC Posted at 2015-2-12 05:43
Tell that to the EPA, IRS,....

ha! that made me laugh!

I don't condone it but, great photo.

Amazing shot man!!! I took mine up to 360m, approx. 580ASL. I was scared as it disappeared.

But careful with the battery time. at those highest the battery will drain faster because of the cold. Make sure you have more battery to land than it takes to fly that high. I guess it took like 5m to reach that height, about 30-35% of the battery.. Am I right?

cyber111 Posted at 2015-2-12 02:59
Eirlink, go fly and have some fun. FAA does not make laws, congress does.

not in my country they dont.