Thinking of getting my first drone. But one thing is holding me back..

[jmichael99]

The limit of going to 400feet is holding me back. I have read that it will hard stop you at 400 feet and then others that it stop you at 1500 feet. Not sure which is true. The 1500 feet is better but what i want to do is going to around 2500.

Now before you say "you don't need to go that high" etc, Where I'm flying nothing is in the way, its flying up the side of a mountain, not near any aircraft or anything. Pretty remote area with nice views.

So I'm looking for some expert advice with the hard limits on flight altitude and how it works. Is there other software i can use if needed?

 

[jwt873]

The limit is 500 meters (or 1640 feet) above your takeoff point.

U.S. law states that you can't be over 400 feet above the ground. There are different rules for other countries.

 

[AeroMirage]

400 feet above take off point. So, if you take off at the top of the mountain, you can go up 400" from there. Descent is unlimited.

 

[jwt873]

It's 400 feet above the ground..

From: Fact Sheet – Small Unmanned Aircraft Regulations (Part 107)

"The maximum allowable altitude is 400 feet above the ground, and
higher if your drone remains within 400 feet of a structure".

 

[jwmcgrath]

400' is only the preset limit in the app, which can be acknowledged and overridden and then 500M or 1,640' is the firmware limit.

Those are the physical limitations of a DJI Phantom. The "law" is a different question.

 

[DroneGuyEd]

400 feet above take off point. So, if you take off at the top of the mountain, you can go up 400" from there. Descent is unlimited.

Decent is not unlimited in the USA. FAA says 400 foot altitude from take off point. It also references taking off from structures (land and mountains included) that are already above the surrounding area. In that case you are limited to 400 feet outward from take off point.

So if you take off from a 1000 foot tall building, you can go up to 1400 feet in a cone 400 feet wide around take off point. Flying within the cone doesnt seem to have an restrictions, so you fly out 300 and all the way down it seems.

 

[WV. Rootman]

Decent is not unlimited in the USA. FAA says 400 foot altitude from take off point. It also references taking off from structures (land and mountains included) that are already above the surrounding area. In that case you are limited to 400 feet outward from take off point.

So if you take off from a 1000 foot tall building, you can go up to 1400 feet in a cone 400 feet wide around take off point. Flying within the cone doesnt seem to have an restrictions, so you fly out 300 and all the way down it seems.

I've had a post like this before. FAA does state you can fly to the top of a building and 400 ft. more. You have to be always be within 400 ft. of the building.

 

[Jayfdee]

If you want to fly at 2500 ft AGL, then this hobby is not for you.

 

[DroneGuyEd]

I've had a post like this before. FAA does state you can fly to the top of a building and 400 ft. more. You have to be always be within 400 ft. of the building.

If you take off from the ground, the 400 foot limit of the app will still kick in. So you would not be able to get to the top of anything taller than 400 foot. Taking off from the top and descending will likely work.

 

[Atpedersen]

Can't wait for the "High winds"(can'remember what it's called) to take your drone away. You will SEE IT drift slowly away Even if you try to Get It back home..

 

[jmichael99]

I've had a post like this before. FAA does state you can fly to the top of a building and 400 ft. more. You have to be always be within 400 ft. of the building.

Where in Wv are you? Just wondering. I'm in the eastern panhandle

 

[rockydog]

If you take off from the ground, the 400 foot limit of the app will still kick in. So you would not be able to get to the top of anything taller than 400 foot. Taking off from the top and descending will likely work.

That's not correct,,, the basic setting in the app is 400 feet (120 meters), but you can override that by setting any height up to 500 meters. That involves ticking a box to say that you accept responsibility for the new setting. The FAA limit of 400 feet above ground still applies, but obviously if you're flying towards a hill which is 600 feet high you're going to need to go more than 400 feet above your launch point.

 

[jwmcgrath]

It comes down to the intent of the OP's question...

If the question is "how high can I get a Phantom to fly out of the box", then the answer is 1,640 feet.

The Phantom, out of the box, will stop once at 400' and when that height limit is achieved, the operator will have to acknowledge liability for his actions with a check in a box to go higher.

Then, the Phantom is firmware limited to 1,640'.

If you want to know about laws and restrictions and common sense and thrust limits and air density limitations based on sea level atmospheric conditions, there are enough threads on that here that by the time you're done reading them, drones will be banned anyway.

 

[Sprtbkryder]

That guy is totally cornfused by now for sure.

 

[DroneGuyEd]

That's not correct,,, the basic setting in the app is 400 feet (120 meters), but you can override that by setting any height up to 500 meters. That involves ticking a box to say that you accept responsibility for the new setting. The FAA limit of 400 feet above ground still applies, but obviously if you're flying towards a hill which is 600 feet high you're going to need to go more than 400 feet above your launch point.

I am talking about what the FAA says you can and cant do legally in the US. There may be ways to make the drone go around that, but its not FAA approved.

The more that folks do outside of existing drone laws will contribute to legal folks making more restrictive drone laws. As a point of interest, look up the most recent ideas of Diane Feinstein for California.

Feinstein’s “Drone Federalism Act” Would Give States Sweeping Powers Over Drones

 

[jmichael99]

That guy is totally cornfused by now for sure.

Nah. Not yet. Just disappointed that it's limited. I completely get not being able to go 6 miles straight up. But if I want to go up the edge of a mountain I don't see the danger other than you drone getting hit my a falling rock or clipping a tree because you have no idea what you're doing

 

[jwmcgrath]

I am talking about what the FAA says you can and cant do legally in the US. There may be ways to make the drone go around that, but its not FAA approved.

The more that folks do outside of existing drone laws will contribute to legal folks making more restrictive drone laws. As a point of interest, look up the most recent ideas of Diane Feinstein for California.

Feinstein’s “Drone Federalism Act” Would Give States Sweeping Powers Over Drones

I hear you, and support you, especially in regard to your last paragraph... but that's not what he was asking.

That's like someone asking what the muzzle velocity of a bullet is and replying that it's illegal to shoot someone.

You're absolutely right but I think he was just looking for the mechanical limitations of the hardware.

 

[Meta4]

400 feet above take off point.

FAA says 400 foot altitude from take off point.

The FAA don't say anything like that.
They understand that the world isn't pancake flat.
Where you launch is irrelevant and there is no regulation regarding how high you can fly above the launch point.
What matters is how high your Phantom is above the ground (directly below it).
If you live on the prairies that might be the same number but there are plenty of places where it's not.

If you take off from the ground, the 400 foot limit of the app will still kick in. So you would not be able to get to the top of anything taller than 400 foot. Taking off from the top and descending will likely work.

The 400 ft limit you are talking about is the default value for the user configurable software limit.
There is no hard limit of 400 ft.

 

[ShaunMac]

Take off from the top of the mountain.

 

[rpercifield]

I am talking about what the FAA says you can and cant do legally in the US. There may be ways to make the drone go around that, but its not FAA approved.

The more that folks do outside of existing drone laws will contribute to legal folks making more restrictive drone laws. As a point of interest, look up the most recent ideas of Diane Feinstein for California.

Feinstein’s “Drone Federalism Act” Would Give States Sweeping Powers Over Drones

Well this is the first "Federalism" that I have seen Feinstein support.....