400' Law
- Thread starter glataif
- Start date
No, it is not a law, but it is against the FAA guidelines. - http://www.faa.gov/uas/model_aircraft/
Keep it on topic and civil or do not bother posting.
Keep it on topic and civil or do not bother posting.
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dirkclod
Premium Pilot
OK ...Well the only way I know to do this on topic and civil is ta get @SteveMann here to lay it out for ya 
What LuvMyTJ said.
There are no FAA rules restricting your flight altitude, but despite the lack of clear laws on where or how we fly, there can still be some pretty serious consequences to the choices we make.
If you take reasonable precautions and have a spotter to scan the sky for any manned aircraft, I don't have a problem going higher that 400 ft. Just remember that your drone comes down slower than it goes up, so you could exhaust your battery before you get down under control.
There are FAA rules that define places where you cannot fly. Above 18,000 ft, for example is called Class A airspace, or Positive Controlled Airspace. But if your drone can get that high you already know those rules. You also need to be aware of Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) where nothing may fly without specific permission, and prohibited or restricted airspace. There's also the permanent TFR's like the Mickey Mouse TFR restricting flight over Disney properties.
There are no FAA rules restricting your flight altitude, but despite the lack of clear laws on where or how we fly, there can still be some pretty serious consequences to the choices we make.
If you take reasonable precautions and have a spotter to scan the sky for any manned aircraft, I don't have a problem going higher that 400 ft. Just remember that your drone comes down slower than it goes up, so you could exhaust your battery before you get down under control.
There are FAA rules that define places where you cannot fly. Above 18,000 ft, for example is called Class A airspace, or Positive Controlled Airspace. But if your drone can get that high you already know those rules. You also need to be aware of Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) where nothing may fly without specific permission, and prohibited or restricted airspace. There's also the permanent TFR's like the Mickey Mouse TFR restricting flight over Disney properties.
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dirkclod
Premium Pilot
You could, but watch the time it takes to go up then come back down. A new fully charged battery can last about 20 minutes, but to play it on the safe side, lets say 15 minutes. Drone goes up at 10 feet per second, then down at 2 feet per second. 400 / 10 = 40 seconds to fly up. 400 / 2 = 200 seconds to come back down. That's basically 4-5 minutes flight. You already lost 2-3 minutes turning it on, compass cal, etc... so you already used more than 1/2 of a charge. If your battery is older, it may only last about 10 minutes... Not worth finding out!
