2800 feet up and 2 miles out... P3 torture test

[CactusJackSlade]

Oh please!!!!! Go try to start a fight somewhere else.

RE: :Rules broken"

The 400 feet "rule" is AGL (above ground level) so if he followed the contour of the mountain he did not break any "rules". That being said, it does look like when he popped over the edge of the mountain it was probably higher than 400 feet....

My point being that if you hug the contour at 400 feet AGL no rules are broken.

These are also "rules" not laws, private pilots (and commercial) break the rules all the time, going below 500 feet AGL.... I was flying today and a helicopter flew within 1/4 mile of us and easily below 500 feet.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

BTW, nice video, I was just in that area (Phoenix) last week... weather was great!

 

[CactusJackSlade]

I am still a bit interested in the "2800 feet" above the desert floor. The max above take off is 500 meters or 1640 feet. I looked at my Topo maps and the difference between the desert floor and the top of the mountains is about 2000 feet.... interesting approx 500 foot discrepancy, but maybe where I was looking on my topo maps was not exactly where the flight route was.

Bottom line, this is an example of where you could obey the 400 foot AGL rule and still need more than the 500 meter above take off height. This is a big deal to me as I do a lot of these desert/mountain flights... so I keep my trusty old Phantom 2 as my "extreme" flyer spare ;-)

 

[junglejimt]

That was awesome.

 

[Chris Vedeler]

Thanks everyone!

Regarding the jerky yaw, this is my nemesis. I have the gain turned all the way down. The problem is the conflict between piloting vs. videoing plus I speed up the video in places so make it fit in a reasonable time. This issue makes me want to get an Inspire.

Regarding the 2800 feet, this is done using old firmware and an old version of Litchi. At 1:47 you can see the valley floor where I was flying from at the very edge of the frame. I will not upgrade firmware or software because flying over mountains is my thing and in this situation 500 meters doesn't even come close. There is no way to know for sure if I at all times stayed below 400 feet AGL as terrain is quite rugged (as you can see), but I can say that any plane flying as low as I was flying over these mountains has a much more serious things to worry about besides hitting my drone.

 

[Chris Vedeler]

That's awesome, I hiked to the top last weekend. What app are you using to get above the 1640 ft limit that the GO app imposes?

That is an awesome picture!!! I would have been about 20 feet above your head at that spot.

 

[Chris Vedeler]

For those interested, here is one of five flights made to make this video on Healthy Drones:

HealthyDrones.com - Innovative flight data analysis that matters

 

[CactusJackSlade]

I tried to find it.... but what is your altitude at your take off point?... this might answer the 500 meter ceiling interest...

 

[Chris Vedeler]

I tried to find it.... but what is your altitude at your take off point?... this might answer the 500 meter ceiling interest...

According to HealthyDrones (see above) my maximum altitude was 2829.4 feet. According to Google Earth my take off elevation was 2293 feet.

 

[CactusJackSlade]

According to HealthyDrones (see above) my maximum altitude was 2829.4 feet. According to Google Earth my take off elevation was 2293 feet.

Ah.... that makes a lot more sense So like 600 feet above take off.... and probably never more than 400 feet AGL ;-)

Good job on the video, I like the backwards stuff going away from the cliff face

 

[Chris Vedeler]

Ah.... that makes a lot more sense So like 600 feet above take off.... and probably never more than 400 feet AGL ;-)

Good job on the video, I like the backwards stuff going away from the cliff face

Actually no. It was 2829 feet above take off, not sea level. The summit is over 5000 feet above sea level and I started at 2200 feet above sea level. I got around the 500 meter limit by using older firmware and an older version of Litchi that did not impose an altitude limit.

You really do get a sense of the scale of that mountain with that backwards shot! I loved that there were people up there to really put things into proportion.

 

[Denver_Flight]

Actually no. It was 2829 feet above take off, not sea level. The summit is over 5000 feet above sea level and I started at 2200 feet above sea level. I got around the 500 meter limit by using older firmware and an older version of Litchi that did not impose an altitude limit.

You really do get a sense of the scale of that mountain with that backwards shot! I loved that there were people up there to really put things into proportion.

So the newer versions of Litchi don't allow altitude greater than 500m? I'd like to be able to get above the local mountains as well.

 

[Chris Vedeler]

So the newer versions of Litchi don't allow altitude greater than 500m? I'd like to be able to get above the local mountains as well.

The problem is that DJI set the limit in the firmware after the 1.3.2 so it isn't possible to work around it unless you can get the older firmware. I'm running DJI firmware 1.3.2 and Litchi 2.3.1 to get over 500 meters.

 

[Denver_Flight]

The problem is that DJI set the limit in the firmware after the 1.3.2 so it isn't possible to work around it unless you can get the older firmware. I'm running DJI firmware 1.3.2 and Litchi 2.3.1 to get over 500 meters.

Fail, that sucks.

My video from the trip:

 

[Chris Vedeler]

Fail, that sucks.

My video from the trip:

Cool video! I have flown from that exact same parking lot in the Lost Dutchman State Park. The Superstitions are the best example of why the 500 meter limit sucks. I have always wanted to fly Camelback as I hike it a few times a year. But I got scared away from warning from others that it is illegal. If you ever make it down this way again I could show you Weavers Needle. It requires a 2 mile hike in, but you did Camelback so it is about the same. You don't need to go over 500 meters and it is truly dramatic!

 

[Helijoc]

Nice shots. Just one question. Where is the lost Dutchman mine?

 

[Denver_Flight]

Cool video! I have flown from that exact same parking lot in the Lost Dutchman State Park. The Superstitions are the best example of why the 500 meter limit sucks. I have always wanted to fly Camelback as I hike it a few times a year. But I got scared away from warning from others that it is illegal. If you ever make it down this way again I could show you Weavers Needle. It requires a 2 mile hike in, but you did Camelback so it is about the same. You don't need to go over 500 meters and it is truly dramatic!

That was awesome, will have to check it out next time. You've got more balls than I do flying near peaks but staying high enough to clear.

 

[Augusto Jimenez]

The problem is that DJI set the limit in the firmware after the 1.3.2 so it isn't possible to work around it unless you can get the older firmware. I'm running DJI firmware 1.3.2 and Litchi 2.3.1 to get over 500 meters.

Chris, can I get the Litchi's 2.3.1 from you? Thanks.