How is the 400’ Max altitude determined?

[HiloHawaiian]

Pardon my ignorance, but is it solely based on 400’ above the take-off point? If so, that’s really limiting (and dangerous) in steep mountainous areas. It’s obviously not based on Above Ground Level (AGL) of the XSP/EVO itself. Grrrrrrrrr

Every time I fly around the dozens of mountains north of Phoenix, I max-out altitude quickly — even if I’m barley 10’ off the ground, near a distance hillside.

I’m guessing the first thing many of us instinctively do in a situation where we have any doubts, is gain altitude. If you saw my cactus hit video, I couldn’t climb any higher to come back, even though the XSP was only about 15’ off the ground. The cactus was 16’... Yesterday, I barely made it over the roof of some billionare’s castle up the side of a mtn, trying to come home......really nice house though, LOL

 

[Hawkeye Alaska]

400 ft above takeoff. Mountain top = 3000 ft. and you take off from top then you can fly 3400 ft. legally

 

[rkyleh]

Yes. You can take of from the valley floor as long as you stay within 400 feet from the side of the mountain you can fly to the limits of the EVO. In this shot i stayed within the 400 foot range and climbed to 1000 feet above take of point.

 

[Ansia]

Simple understanding on how it works.

 

[Goober]

Pardon my ignorance, but is it solely based on 400’ above the take-off point? If so, that’s really limiting (and dangerous) in steep mountainous areas.

Yes. This is set on the RC/Starlink app, correct? I have often wondered this about issue, also. I have maxed out before and reset max to 420 feet. (fudge factor) Been wanting to fly up to some cliffs (over 1000' AGL) near me, but have not tried yet. Checking the manual I found this:

4. Altitude Limit
Set a maximum altitude for your flight when Beginner Mode is disabled to protect the aircraft from losing signal or flying out of sight. (default: 120m)

NOTE
When the altitude and distance limits are determined, the aircraft cannot fly outside the preset boundaries under GPS mode. In non-GPS mode, the aircraft is only restricted to the preset altitude limit; the distance limit under non-GPS mode may vary depending on the regulations and laws in different areas and countries.

Settings icon / Flight Control Settings / Altitude Limit

Simple understanding on how it works.

Excellent diagram of the rules, but you first have to have your aircraft enabled to go over the initial 400 feet limit, right? (on the XSP - no idea if EVO is same)

 

[Ansia]

Excellent diagram of the rules, but you first have to have your aircraft enabled to go over the initial 400 feet limit, right? (on the XSP - no idea if EVO is same)

I haven't gotten my EVO yet. I joined here to learn as much as possible, before it arrives. So you are telling me that the XSP has a limiter to 400' that cannot be altered? What if you go to a higher place and land. Does that reset the current height? I can only speak for my Phantom (which is as similar as they come) and it does have a limiter, but it is easy to alter. That being said the maximum height is 500m (1640 ft) from takeoff point, which IMO is more than enough.

 

[Ansia]

Playing wit the Explorer app, I found that you can raise the altitude limit up to 800m (2,625ft), which far outclasses DJI's 500m restriction.

 

[Ansia]

And playing with the Starlink app, I found that you can also switch it to 800m.

 

[rkyleh]

Playing wit the Explorer app, I found that you can raise the altitude limit up to 800m (2,625ft), which far outclasses DJI's 500m restriction.View attachment 3291

Believe me when you climb up the side of a mountain and go for these kind of heights it takes a long time to come back down.

 

[Ansia]

Believe me when you climb up the side of a mountain and go for these kind of heights it takes a long time to come back down.

This is normal. It's designed this way so your drone doesn't flip over and crash. If the drone went too fast, the upwinds would tilt the drone enough for it not to be able to sustain flight. All drones are designed this way.

I beleive the EVO when it first came out had this problem where it went down to fast and it was all over the place. I read it was corrected in firmware updates.

 

[HiloHawaiian]

400 ft above takeoff. Mountain top = 3000 ft. and you take off from top then you can fly 3400 ft. legally

Yea I get that, I flew from 11,000’ in Hawaii to 11,350’, but I could drive the entire way up Mauna Loa. Often times getting to the top is very difficult w/o mountain climbing gear!

 

[HiloHawaiian]

And playing with the Starlink app, I found that you can also switch it to 800m. View attachment 3292

The 400’ “limiter” is an FAA requirement. I think it’s 500’ in the UK. Try actually flying at that setting, it stops at 400’, I guess you must turn-off GPS?

 

[Ansia]

The 400’ “limiter” is an FAA requirement. I think it’s 500’ in the UK. Try actually flying at that setting, it stops at 400’, I guess you must turn-off GPS?

You are correct. The ceiling is 400' here in the US, but as I stated in the picture above, if you are in front of a 900' tower, the FAA allows you to fly up to 400' above and away from that tower. That picture was taken from a review program I purchased, while studying for my Part 107 test. You don't need to turn off GPS to achieve heights above 400'. Just set your Starlink/Explorer app to a greater height before takeoff. I keep my maximum height to 1640' just in case. I only had to go over the 400' "ilegally" once and that was to dodge a bird strike. I say "ilegally" because the FAA does allow you to go beyond the 400' to take evasive maneuvers.

 

[HiloHawaiian]

Yes. You can take of from the valley floor as long as you stay within 400 feet from the side of the mountain you can fly to the limits of the EVO. In this shot i stayed within the 400 foot range and climbed to 1000 feet above take of point.

I’m wondering if the same “bug” applies to this setting on Starlink. Just last month Autel told me of a known bug — to switch the distance setting on and off just after take-off to reset it, since I was distance limited after changing RC’s even though it was turned off. I’ll try doing the same with the altitude limit setting, b/c off or on, set to 400 or 1600’ it stops me at 400’.

 

[rkyleh]

This is normal. It's designed this way so your drone doesn't flip over and crash. If the drone went too fast, the upwinds would tilt the drone enough for it not to be able to sustain flight. All drones are designed this way.

I beleive the EVO when it first came out had this problem where it went down to fast and it was all over the place. I read it was corrected in firmware updates.

I'm not taking about descending vertically. I am talking about flying back down the mountain. Cutting the lift power and keeping the forward momentum going. You have to be careful because this is one way to shut down the motors. Tilt the camera down so you can see how far above the terrain you are and fly home. You can't use the RTH because you will be well above the FFA's 400 Ft. limit when you get to launch position.
I need to say this is only for experienced pilots because you can get into trouble very fast up there. The winds aloft can be much stronger and from a totally different direction than on the ground. Besides when you get up there the chances of seeing your drone are minimal at best so you really need to fly FPV and to do that you need a lot of practice to know how close you can get with out getting orange paint on a rock.

 

[rkyleh]

I’m wondering if the same “bug” applies to this setting on Starlink. Just last month Autel told me of a known bug — to switch the distance setting on and off just after take-off to reset it, since I was distance limited after changing RC’s even though it was turned off. I’ll try doing the same with the altitude limit setting, b/c off or on, set to 400 or 1600’ it stops me at 400’.

For some unknown reason I have not had this problem with my XSP. On one of my last trips up in the canyons I set it to 1000 feet and didn't have any problem. I do like the EVO better but the XSP is still a good bird. This is a screen print from that flight.

 

[Ansia]

I'm not taking about descending vertically. I am talking about flying back down the mountain. Cutting the lift power and keeping the forward momentum going. You have to be careful because this is one way to shut down the motors. Tilt the camera down so you can see how far above the terrain you are and fly home. You can't use the RTH because you will be well above the FFA's 400 Ft. limit when you get to launch position.
I need to say this is only for experienced pilots because you can get into trouble very fast up there. The winds aloft can be much stronger and from a totally different direction than on the ground. Besides when you get up there the chances of seeing your drone are minimal at best so you really need to fly FPV and to do that you need a lot of practice to know how close you can get with out getting orange paint on a rock.

That sounds like a BVLOS flight. Always remember that you must always maintain VLOS. If you can't no longer see your orange friend, it's time to return.

 

[rkyleh]

That sounds like a BVLOS flight. Always remember that you must always maintain VLOS. If you can't no longer see your orange friend, it's time to return.

I can tell you exactly where that bird is and how far away from that rock it is filming. In fact I know that I have better control and I am much safer than someone that is looking at a speck on the horizon and trying to film something. The whole concept of LOS needs to be revisited.
for example the FFA says to scan the sky in small segments the move to another segment and scan another area. That is what they told us in ground school that works from a pilots seat. On the ground your hearing will do you more good than scanning the sky. I live close to an airport and have tested this many times I can hear that plane coming before i see it. A light colored plane in a light sky is hell to pinpoint but you can dang sure hear it coming.
These high end drones and monitors are in a different ball park and should be considered differently than flying a toy in the local park. Just my Humble opinion. But if any body wants to test me on it come on over we will do some rock climbing my way and yours.

 

[Ansia]

I can tell you exactly where that bird is and how far away from that rock it is filming. In fact I know that I have better control and I am much safer than someone that is looking at a speck on the horizon and trying to film something. The whole concept of LOS needs to be revisited.
for example the FFA says to scan the sky in small segments the move to another segment and scan another area. That is what they told us in ground school that works from a pilots seat. On the ground your hearing will do you more good than scanning the sky. I live close to an airport and have tested this many times I can hear that plane coming before i see it. A light colored plane in a light sky is hell to pinpoint but you can dang sure hear it coming.
These high end drones and monitors are in a different ball park and should be considered differently than flying a toy in the local park. Just my Humble opinion. But if any body wants to test me on it come on over we will do some rock climbing my way and yours.

I completely agree with you, but the law won't see it our way. Until this changes, then I'll have an idiot staring at my drone when I do my shots.

 

[rkyleh]

I completely agree with you, but the law won't see it our way. Until this changes, then I'll have an idiot staring at my drone when I do my shots.

This video was the return trip from my first video in the cold. This the way I return from these fights. I was shocked when i saw how different the same rocks looked when flying back to the south it looked like I was n a different area but it's not it is the same rock pile.