Taking off from a cliff, max altitude reached.

[pjaramillo28]

Hi All

I took my spark to do some video on a mountain and was very early and no wind and the sun rising , Perfect for some shoots, but as I try to go away from the mountain it reached maximun alltitude in no time, 20 mts from the take off point and 5 mts above. At first I could not figure out what happened and I want to confirm with you if the maximun altitude is measurred against the take off point altitude or against the flying position in real time. If the second is the case I will have to take more care next time flyng safely, I do not what to break the rules and be above the limits imposed to al

Regards,

Pablo

 

[msinger]

I want to confirm with you if the maximun altitude is measurred against the take off point altitude or against the flying position in real time

It's the altitude above the takeoff point (which is 0 meters).

 

[dariomove]

Hi All

I took my spark to do some video on a mountain and was very early and no wind and the sun rising , Perfect for some shoots, but as I try to go away from the mountain it reached maximun alltitude in no time, 20 mts from the take off point and 5 mts above. At first I could not figure out what happened and I want to confirm with you if the maximun altitude is measurred against the take off point altitude or against the flying position in real time. If the second is the case I will have to take more care next time flyng safely, I do not what to break the rules and be above the limits imposed to al

Regards,

Pablo

Against flight position

 

[msinger]

Against flight position

Care to explain more in detail? How is the Spark able to calculate the altitude from the ground at its current flight position?

 

[dariomove]

Care to explain more in detail? How is the Spark able to calculate the altitude from the ground at its current flight position?

Because of the GPS.

I’m in beginner mode and in the mountain... and that is the exact over the sea altitude

 

[msinger]

Because of the GPS.

I’m in beginner mode and in the mountain... and that is the exact over the sea altitude

Check out the OP's question above. It's referring to the max altitude setting/limitation in DJI GO (not the sea altitude). The Spark has no idea how far it is above the ground at its current location.

 

[pjaramillo28]

Usually I flight from o mtsl up to 4200 mts above sea level. So the max altitude on the record is cortect, what i can not fogure out yet is how was the drone be able to do that max speed... yes i took some wind in one of my fligjts and went way off the coirse i was trying to make but sure I can not belive that value could be correct or the IMU on the drone is crazyl

 

[Blellow]

That has to be wrong. I've seen the distance reported incorrectly too.

 

[Dronason]

Hi All

I took my spark to do some video on a mountain and was very early and no wind and the sun rising , Perfect for some shoots, but as I try to go away from the mountain it reached maximun alltitude in no time, 20 mts from the take off point and 5 mts above. At first I could not figure out what happened and I want to confirm with you if the maximun altitude is measurred against the take off point altitude or against the flying position in real time. If the second is the case I will have to take more care next time flyng safely, I do not what to break the rules and be above the limits imposed to al

Regards,

Pablo

Live altitude shown in camera view is based on take off altitude = 0 m. It is a barometric sensor that define it, not the GPS.
If the altitude is small it can display also what its laser sensor report as distance to ground.
The limit in positive for altitude is set in the settings of the app. It can be also extra limited if you are in beginner mode, using only the RC without the Go4 app or not logged into your DJI account.
There is no known limit for negative altitude.

If you feel you are limited in altitude where you should not, check your settings for above parameters and try to logout / login to your DJI account in the Go4 app.

Rules are altitude over ground (value can change according to country and situation), not the absolute altitude over sea which would make no sense.

 

[Koala Tails]

Have I got this wrong?
In many countries the max altitude is 120m (400ft), above the “home point”. This is because aircraft don’t fly that close to the ground & where aircraft do fly lower is a NFZ. This has nothing to do with altitude above sea level, if it did there would be many less places to fly because the ground is more than 120m above sea level, & planes don’t like to hit mountains.

Your spark, phone, & Go4 app could know the altitude above sea level, my Toyota knows! (My phone could be giving the information).
If you fly horizontally from a cliff over a valley the ground drops away dramatically, using the maps in Go4 app it could calculate the distance to the ground directly below the spark. That altitude is what it records, & because it is above the maximum set, it refused to go higher.

I can’t explain the 249kph, unless you’re quad fell out of the sky, & that speed was your terminal velocity.

 

[Northwood Mediaworks]

In Canada, it states "under 90 meters above the ground".... not the take off point... My property has some big topographical variances... up to 40 meters difference, so once I am flying over those ridges which are way higher than my usual take off point, I can up my max to still be under 90. Just got to descend with the lay of the land when returning. At least thats my interpretation, I want to keep it legal. As always, I watch for aircraft.

 

[Koala Tails]

The legal height would have to be figured with an average terrain level in mind, its a safety factor. No planes dip & climb with the land below. They look for the high points & navigate above minimum distance from those spots.
Your determination to fly safely is commendable.

 

[Northwood Mediaworks]

I'd like to see my spark do 249Kph! Is that like bullet mode?

 

[Koala Tails]

No, you wouldn’t like that speed. It would only happen once & end with a crunch!

 

[Northwood Mediaworks]

No, you wouldn’t like that speed. It would only happen once & end with a crunch!

It might just disintegrate!

 

[Hotwire]

Next time, go to the police station and hand yourself in for speeding.

 

[Landon Johnson]

Maybe the high speed reading is reflective of the increased distance to the ground - thinks it's climbing all that distance in a sec or so?