Height restrictions NZ

Silverwood · Mar 26, 2017

In New Zealand there's a hight restriction rule of 120m. The rule states this but then says 'unless certain conditions are met'. Does anyone know what these conditions are?

New Zealand Civil Aviation Rules Top Tips

not fly your aircraft higher than 120 metres (400 feet) above ground level (unless certain conditions are met)

John Locke · Mar 26, 2017

In the US you can go up to 400' above the top of any building, not just the ground. Maybe that's the conditions they're referring to.

alokbhargava · Mar 26, 2017

John, what happens if I fly from a hot air ballon which itself is floating at a height of 400'. I m not on any ground but I can see the ground.

This might explain certain conditions of 400' above ground in NZ.

sar104 · Mar 26, 2017

The answer appears to be clearly stated in Part 101: 101.207 (c)

(c) A person operating a remotely piloted aircraft more than 4 km from an aerodrome boundary and above 400 feet above ground level must ensure that the operation remains within Class G airspace and must—

(1) operate in a danger area designated for that purpose under Part 71; or
(2) ensure that at least 24 hours before the operation, a person authorised by an approved person or organisation, notifies the aeronautical information service provider, for the issue of a NOTAM, of the following information:
1. (i) the name, address, and telephone number of the operator:
2. (ii) the location of the proposed operation:
3. (iii) the date, time and duration of the proposed operation:
4. (iv) the maximum height above ground level proposed for the aircraft operation.

John Locke · Mar 26, 2017

alokbhargava said:
John, what happens if I fly from a hot air ballon which itself is floating at a height of 400'. I m not on any ground but I can see the ground.

This might explain certain conditions of 400' above ground in NZ.

Wow, you have bigger balls than me, I don't think I'd ever do that. But in my mind nothing changes. I wouldn't fly more than 400' AGL to stay clear of other aircraft. So if you launch from 400' AGL I would stay at zero altitude or negative altitudes in the GO telemetry, but that's just me. If I went higher than 400' AGL for a quick photo, it wouldn't be much higher, it would be within 400' of the balloon, and it wouldn't be for long, I just wouldn't feel comfortable.

sar104 · Mar 26, 2017

John Locke said:
Wow, you have bigger balls than me, I don't think I'd ever do that. But in my mind nothing changes. I wouldn't fly more than 400' AGL to stay clear of other aircraft. So if you launch from 400' AGL I would stay at zero altitude or negative altitudes in the GO telemetry, but that's just me. If I went higher than 400' AGL for a quick photo, it wouldn't be much higher, it would be within 400' of the balloon, and it wouldn't be for long, I just wouldn't feel comfortable.

Surely this is not an ambiguous issue. AGL is self-explanatory in that it refers to "above ground level" not "above launch level". The only exception is for fixed structures which are deemed to count as ground level.

alokbhargava · Mar 26, 2017

It's true it's safe to fly within 400' altitude of the "real ground" of your launching place.

blackcrusader · Apr 2, 2017

alokbhargava said:
It's true it's safe to fly within 400' altitude of the "real ground" of your launching place.

What if its 4000 ft agl to the valley floor below after you take off from a higher up mountain range?

sar104 · Apr 2, 2017

blackcrusader said:
What if its 4000 ft agl to the valley floor below after you take off from a higher up mountain range?

To remain in full compliance you need to descend into the valley to maintain no more than 400 ft AGL, since AGL is relative to the ground below the aircraft, not to the takeoff point.

blackcrusader · Apr 2, 2017

sar104 said:
To remain in full compliance you need to descend into the valley to maintain no more than 400 ft AGL, since AGL is relative to the ground below the aircraft, not to the takeoff point.

Good thing I live in Taiwan then.

sar104 · Apr 2, 2017

blackcrusader said:
Good thing I live in Taiwan then.

Taiwan has no altitude restrictions?

blackcrusader · Apr 2, 2017

sar104 said:
Taiwan has no altitude restrictions?

In some places yes. In Taipei city 60m max height and there are several areas you cannot fly in. I live in Alishan mountain range where passenger aircraft are not allowed to fly as the mountains raise from seal level to over 13000 ft 4000m in a very short distance. I fly over wilderness areas in the Yushan National Park, we can also fly in National Parks. Outside of restricted height areas there are no distance or height restrictions.

Here I launch from over 8600 feet altitude and climb around 1640 / 500m feet to clear the clouds. Eventually hit 10200 feet. That peak ( 2 mins into video ) in the distance about 8km 5 miles away is at 13000 plus feet just under 4000m This is not a place aircraft are allowed to fly, so no restrictions. I will be launching from an observatory up here at 2880m later on this year.

sar104 · Apr 2, 2017

blackcrusader said:
In some places yes. In Taipei city 60m max height and there are several areas you cannot fly in. I live in Alishan mountain range where passenger aircraft are not allowed to fly as the mountains raise from seal level to over 13000 ft 4000m in a very short distance. I fly over wilderness areas in the Yushan National Park, we can also fly in National Parks. Outside of restricted height areas there are no distance or height restrictions.

Here I launch from over 8600 feet altitude and climb around 1640 / 500m feet to clear the clouds. Eventually hit 10200 feet. That peak ( 2 mins into video ) in the distance about 8km 5 miles away is at 13000 plus feet just under 4000m This is not a place aircraft are allowed to fly, so no restrictions. I will be launching from an observatory up here at 2880m later on this year.

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Nice terrain and video. That would definitely be breaking many rules in the US.

blackcrusader · Apr 3, 2017

sar104 said:
Nice terrain and video. That would definitely be breaking many rules in the US.

Well not if you took off from a higher up peak and stayed within 400 ft height from where you were flying. Thing is though I am often a 1.5 miles distance from launch to get the pictures.

sar104 · Apr 3, 2017

blackcrusader said:
Well not if you took off from a higher up peak and stayed within 400 ft height from where you were flying. Thing is though I am often a 1.5 miles distance from launch to get the pictures.

Yes - that would be within the rules for AGL, but not VLOS.

blackcrusader · Apr 3, 2017

sar104 said:
Yes - that would be within the rules for AGL, but not VLOS.

That depends on your eyesight. I was flying with a friend doing a sunrise and I was able to spot his drone and rotate my drone take some video of his drone and we were both over a mile out. He was coming in from farther out. We were in that town you can see towards end of video.