How far/high have you been

[grino21]

I have about ten flights under my belt. I have a lot of questions and would like to hear from people with more experience. Feel free to answer any or all questions...

How high have you been? I read a lot of people sayin 400 feet. Is that the recommended maximum height? Can you safely go higher?

How far away have you flown? Does it have to be in a certain mode to go further? I have only been about a quarter mile away and start getting scared. How far away can i feel confident in flying?

Is flying in a light rain or sprinkle ok?

Does high wind affect the drone when higher up? I was at about 300 feet today and thought what if a big wind comes and knocks it off balance and it goes upside down and cannot correct itself.
Has this ever happened? Where it just falls out of the sky?

Thanks in advance for your responses...

 

[Fly Dawg]

Too many questions in one post. First, if you are in the US. You need to look at the FAA guidelines, and be sure to register your aircraft with the FAA. If you needed to ask the 400ft question I have to assume you have not reviewed regulations.

 

[Timinator]

Altitude 90M, lateral distance 500M, which are the Canadian limits. Many people have done some seriously long distance flying with their phantoms if you search for long distance phantom 4 flights you'll see quite a few interesting videos.

 

[Timinator]

ALways keep it line of sight as well and check the weather before you fly. Remember that winds at ground level may be different than winds at altitude. Flying near mountains or buildings can also affect wind speed and intensity. I don't fly in rain or sprinkles but I tend to be more on the cautious side since I am still very green.

 

[Fly Dawg]

I don't fly in rain or sprinkles but I tend to be more on the cautious side since I am still very green.

Not cautious, safety of the public and for yourself the AC.

 

[Just_nick]

No more than 400 feet AGL, max, and within VLOS

 

[GrammatonxXXxCleric]

Far enough to nervously wait for it's return.... High? 400ft. is not always the highest you should go. I've seen local small planes and helicopters below 400ft. Their surfaces are NOT compatible on contact with a drone.

 

[DroneTurismo]

I can get almost a mile away and ive been 400 feet. I have had very strong winds up there and the drone does not care it stays in place. Of course were talking less than 20mph winds, dont go flying in a tornado. Ive flown in light snowfall without any accessories on it and all i did was immediately bag it with rice for a few days as soon as i landed. I flew in light rain to get a rainbow photo. No problems. I wouldn't fly in rain more than a sprinkle unless you get a phantom rainsuit

 

[AnchorageAk]

Why do you ask about distance and height? At your skill level these are questions that you should know the answer to. You need to go slow, and realize these are not toys. It is a serious sport. I can't believe I am the one asking if you have read the manual, or watching Youtube videos. It is a pet pee of mine of mine when people ask that , instead of answering the question.. So bear with me, I want you to get the right start to flying drones. Your here, and asking questions, dam good start. But, walk before you run. You will love this forum, very helpful people that will help solve your problems, and keep you out of trouble. WELCOME

 

[Neon Euc]

Hope this video I made will answer your questions

Higher then 500 metres as I launched off a 100 metre cliff, went out to 3 miles, and flew in heavy rain. Even crashed it on a roof where it landed upside down and rained 14 hours not stop with rain pouring in all the vents. Didn't open it. Let it dry naturally and 24 hours later I was up and flying my P3A again. These things are tough

 

[Mimoid]

My maxium distance / altitude is somewhat more than 3.5 km far out and 350 meters high up. The altitude flight was just a test, normally I never go higher than 120 meters, which is the altitude where planes might start to appear.

Distance flights are easy, I never really worry about losing my drone, although the video feed usually gets choppy and intermittent at around 2 km out and the aircraft temporarily gets disconnected at 3 km. I have full confidence in the RTH feature - I usually let the drone fly back home on its own from a long distance flight, and it works beautifully every time.

Rain and electonics ar not good bed fellows, although I have been flying through mist and fog, and also low clouds. Particularly flying above a thick layer of fog is really cool! I have a great respect for stong winds though, so I never fly in winds exceeding 8-10 knots. I find the built-in "strong wind warning" system to be pretty useful to know when to stay close.

 

[oconnb]

Hope this video I made will answer your questions

Higher then 500 metres as I launched off a 100 metre cliff, went out to 3 miles, and flew in heavy rain. Even crashed it on a roof where it landed upside down and rained 14 hours not stop with rain pouring in all the vents. Didn't open it. Let it dry naturally and 24 hours later I was up and flying my P3A again. These things are tough

I can certainly testify to the toughness of these birds! My mavic was stuck up in a tree for 5 months in extreme heat extreme rain and wind at even snow and Sub-Zero temperatures it finally fell out of the tree and a neighbor returned it to me I was even able to recharge the battery click it back in clean off the spider webs and it flies perfectly ever since!

 

[grino21]

Too many questions in one post. First, if you are in the US. You need to look at the FAA guidelines, and be sure to register your aircraft with the FAA. If you needed to ask the 400ft question I have to assume you have not reviewed regulations.

Thank you

 

[grino21]

No more than 400 feet AGL, max, and within VLOS

Thank you

 

[planedr]

Not today FAA, not today.

 

[lmmavrick]

max distance only 6500' could have gone further but this was where i wanted to be and could barely see drone agasinst the sky . max alt was maxed at 500 meters . but still never more then 400'agl

 

[grino21]

My maxium distance / altitude is somewhat more than 3.5 km far out and 350 meters high up. The altitude flight was just a test, normally I never go higher than 120 meters, which is the altitude where planes might start to appear.

Distance flights are easy, I never really worry about losing my drone, although the video feed usually gets choppy and intermittent at around 2 km out and the aircraft temporarily gets disconnected at 3 km. I have full confidence in the RTH feature - I usually let the drone fly back home on its own from a long distance flight, and it works beautifully every time.

Rain and electonics ar not good bed fellows, although I have been flying through mist and fog, and also low clouds. Particularly flying above a thick layer of fog is really cool! I have a great respect for stong winds though, so I never fly in winds exceeding 8-10 knots. I find the built-in "strong wind warning" system to be pretty useful to know when to stay close.

I flew in a little rain. Got up into the clouds at 300 feet. Dried it off when done and has worked fine. Since

 

[grino21]

Why do you ask about distance and height? At your skill level these are questions that you should know the answer to. You need to go slow, and realize these are not toys. It is a serious sport. I can't believe I am the one asking if you have read the manual, or watching Youtube videos. It is a pet pee of mine of mine when people ask that , instead of answering the question.. So bear with me, I want you to get the right start to flying drones. Your here, and asking questions, dam good start. But, walk before you run. You will love this forum, very helpful people that will help solve your problems, and keep you out of trouble. WELCOME

Just curious what happened when you go to far and lose signal. I lost signal for the first time the other day and it gave me the option to rth.
Will it always give you that option? If it loses signal, how does it send the signal to rth? Any chance it may not give you that option? Oh and i lost signal at 2600 ft away.

 

[grino21]

Far enough to nervously wait for it's return.... High? 400ft. is not always the highest you should go. I've seen local small planes and helicopters below 400ft. Their surfaces are NOT compatible on contact with a drone.

Has it always given you the option to rth?

 

[Mimoid]

Just curious what happened when you go to far and lose signal. I lost signal for the first time the other day and it gave me the option to rth.
Will it always give you that option? If it loses signal, how does it send the signal to rth? Any chance it may not give you that option? Oh and i lost signal at 2600 ft away.

When the aircraft gets disconnected from the remote, it will automaticalky engage the RTH routine. The normal setting is to fly back to its last recorded home position and autoland. If its present altitude is lower than the set RTH altitude, it will first climb there before commencing the flight home.

However, the aircraft can also be set to hover when losing the signal, for instance if the takeoff location is unsuitable for autolanding (etc when taking off from a moving boat). This is set before start from the Go app.