Hello,
Has anyone tried taking off from a balcony on a high-rise buillding floor, and then flying out? Does the sudden leap in distance to the ground confuse Spark?
And how about coming in for a landing in the same situation?
Can Spark's visual system cope with the sudden change in ground proximity?

Thanks.

You make sure your compass is calibrated and you have good GPS locks.  Lots of metal is bad.  Consider possible wind hazards.  Scary thinking about it.  But I'm new.

Similar to my question about flying out of a window.
I would expect problems during landing from the collision sensor when approaching the wall behind the balcony. Maybe its better to land sideways then. I had a problem lately taking off from a concrete floor. The metal rods inside it caused compass errors that vanished when I picked it up and reappeared when putting down.

It’s never going to be easy, is it worth the risk?

Seems like when he took it out to the balcony, things went well with takeoff...
That's what I was asking about.
And the balcony I'm thinking of flying from has no roof, it's open to the sky (it's the penthouse floor) so there shouldn't be a problem with GPS loss.

djiuser_Kf4iPA3 Posted at 2017-10-7 11:34
Seems like when he took it out to the balcony, things went well with takeoff...
That's what I was asking about.
And the balcony I'm thinking of flying from has no roof, it's open to the sky (it's the penthouse floor) so there shouldn't be a problem with GPS loss.

Just take care there’s not to much metal or rebar concrete about on the balcony or you could have compass problems.

Flying out of a window and taking off from an open terrace are two completely different things. Taking off from a high rise roof terrace surrounded by high rise buildings I have dared this week as described in another post with pictures attached and it has worked very well. However I first had to find the best spot with little interference and sufficient satellites.
Flying out of a high rise window I would never consider. And whoever considers to do it, please do not post a crash or "fly away" report in this forum afterwards. This would be simply pathetic...

Hi,
you will not have any problems if you don't have strong wind. The ground doesn't confuse your spark. It will hold his altitude without any problems. If you fly lower the dji app will show you negative meter counting like -20meters. I would recommend you to switch to the gesture control if you want to come back and land the spark on your hand by palm landing.

Interesting flight, but it's doable this is where experience comes in.

Thanks to everyone for your insights.

We don't recommend doing so. When the drone flying outside, it can not finish searching the satellites immediately, the drone might drift a lot, and if there are concretes around, it might cause compass error. We do suggest flying the drone in a wide place with fine GPS signal and less interference.

I never take off without good GPS signal, or without "Normal" indication for compass and IMU in the initial checklist..
The balcony I intend to fly from is a big, open balcony, no roof on top, open to most of the celestial hemisphere. I don't expect issues with acquiring GPS. If there are issues, I won't fly.
I'd also have good distance from any walls etc. when I take off.

What if you launch it from your palm outstretched from your balcony, and then when you bring it back in, have some good landing gear on it so you can catch it and turn it real quick to shut it down?  I feel like that would be the easiest way.  I am going to go on a vacation soon where theres a balcony on our condo about 11 stories up, overlooking the beach and ocean.  I wanna fly it right off that balcony so I have thought about the balcony launch a lot lately.

Interesting notion, but seems very unsafe to me... no way am I going to extend the drone beyond the edge of the balcony prior to actual takeoff, just in case I drop it.
Even if the motors are running, I have no idea what will happen if I drop it before actual takeoff. And if they aren't running, the drone falls 5 stories down... and then, the GOOD scenario is the drone kills only itself....

djiuser_Kf4iPA3 Posted at 2017-10-9 06:11
Interesting notion, but seems very unsafe to me... no way am I going to extend the drone beyond the edge of the balcony prior to actual takeoff, just in case I drop it.
Even if the motors are running, I have no idea what will happen if I drop it before actual takeoff. And if they aren't running, the drone falls 5 stories down... and then, the GOOD scenario is the drone kills only itself....

you need to practice first.  a hand takeoff can be done by letting go the spark yourself. Just don't wait to long. Practice my friend. And it will not hurt to get some finger guards if you plan on catching it/Palm landing, all the time.  they are like one dollar from China. I got some because after about 100 palm landings my timing was a little off and my Thumb took a wack and damaged my Prop. a sudden gust of wind may send your Spark into a wall, etc.... then straight to the Ground! Be careful!!!!!!!!
PS. Practice on the Ground.... not way up on a Balcony.

yes you can, but make sure you are experience enough.. if you flying from open balcony, it's ok when the gps lock already, but if you are  Flying out of a window make sure your drone have insurance LOL... instead you can turn off the VPS sensor or the drone fill felldown because when you don't have a good gps the spark only can fly 5 meters above the ground.. but you need a good skills to fly it manual first to make sure the gps lock

I do not intend to fly out of a window.

And thanks for all your advice. Palm landing and takeoff could be an option, but not beyond the edge of the balcony. Just the thought of that gives me the creeps.

Landing back is definitely harder than taking off

No problem flying off from a Balcony, no issue with altitude change. Just ensure you have strong GPS, sufficient locked satellites and ensure you get the Home Point updated message. Just remember coming back and landing on the balcony is tricky,,requires some skill..