Altitude Questions

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I'm assuming that the altitude displayed on the DJI go app, is the altitude above the ground from my takeoff point (homepoint).

1) If I take off from the homepoint and rise to an altitude of 10 feet, and fly away in horizontal distance of 100 feet, my phantom will still be 10 feet off the ground.

2) Assuming I continue the flight out to 200 feet without increasing the altitude, and I fly toward a slight hill (5 ft elevation change), would I hit a 6 foot high tree ???

3) In other words, the displayed altitude on the app, is only relevant to the take-off height, once you are at any distance from home, is there any way to know what altitude you are above ground ?
 
You are correct that the displayed altitude is based on your home point. If you are very low to the ground (under about 10 feet) you can use VPS to show how high your Phantom is above a particular spot. Though I never turn off my VPS, many (most?) people turn off their VPS when outside. I sometimes like to fly low just above the terrain, so I just leave mine on all the time and it shows me a fairly accurate altitude. Again as noted, only when flying very low to the ground.
 
I'm assuming that the altitude displayed on the DJI go app, is the altitude above the ground from my takeoff point (homepoint).

1) If I take off from the homepoint and rise to an altitude of 10 feet, and fly away in horizontal distance of 100 feet, my phantom will still be 10 feet off the ground.

2) Assuming I continue the flight out to 200 feet without increasing the altitude, and I fly toward a slight hill (5 ft elevation change), would I hit a 6 foot high tree ???

3) In other words, the displayed altitude on the app, is only relevant to the take-off height, once you are at any distance from home, is there any way to know what altitude you are above ground ?
2. = YES
3. = NO, not exactly, not if you're above 9' high, since VPS only works up to 9'high. And even below 9' I have found it to be unreliable outdoors. I you're in hilly or mountain terrain, the only way to know AGL is by guessing based on what you see in the display. With experience you'll be able to judge that better via FPV.

It sounds like you're a novice, based on the questions, so I highly recommend you avoid scenarios of flying so low for the first 6 months of your learning period. Stay up at least 100', 200 is even better. You'll crash less craft that way.
 
I dealt with this this past weekend at Lake Tahoe. Altitude is based on your takeoff location.

I looked into it because I was curious to see how the FAA would handle the height restriction of 400'. If situation was to come alive about it - flight records on the drone would (in my case) show 980' when in reality I was at most 200' above the active ground below the Phantom.

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