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While I'd understand if such a limit was implemented, for me it'd kill the hobby. Not because I like going high above the terrain -- that's illegal, after all -

While I'd understand if such a limit was implemented, for me it'd kill the hobby. Not because I like going high above the terrain -- that's illegal, after all -- but because I do my photography somewhere very hilly, with grades averaging 45 degrees in most of the places I fly. "120 meters above the launch site" would also mean "120 meters away from the launch site", and then only in two possible directions. The other two have cliffs. Before you ask, it's pretty deserted. It's also really pretty.

14 7y ago
I don’t like restrictions as well. I am quite capable of working within the law without mandated restrictions. It seems weird as well since from about 8yrs old I would go to my local hobby shop myself and buy model rockets capable of reaching several thousand feet easily.
- Teknoman117 7y ago
  At least some states require notification of local authorities before launching model rockets (such as California). Some states also put out altitude ceiling regulations for them. When I lived outside Chicago in the first half of the 00's, you had to get approval for launching above 2500 ft. You were also required to cease launching if any low flying aircraft were visible. You could get in some real nasty trouble if you violated those rules.
7952 7y ago
You could phrase it as distance from nearest terrain rather than altitude.
- Filligree 7y ago
  That's how it's already phrased in the law, but it isn't a practical rule for DJI to implement. Maps aren't detailed enough, so they'd have to put ground radar in the drones, which wouldn't work... Or they'd just reduce the max altitude above launch site limitation already in their firmware. An easier-to-implement limitation that stays within the legal restrictions.
  - nwallin 7y ago
    > Maps aren't detailed enough, Yes they are. All of the US is mapped to 3m horizontal resolution and 1m vertical resolution, the world to 15m. This is grossly overkill. A 30m lossless compression dataset will run you about 1GB, which is plenty for this purpose. It's free too. https://terra.nasa.gov/news/aster-digital-elevation-model-version-3-released https://terra.nasa.gov/news/aster-digital-elevation-model-ve...

14 7y ago

I don’t like restrictions as well. I am quite capable of working within the law without mandated restrictions. It seems weird as well since from about 8yrs old I would go to my local hobby shop myself and buy model rockets capable of reaching several thousand feet easily.

Teknoman117 7y ago
At least some states require notification of local authorities before launching model rockets (such as California). Some states also put out altitude ceiling regulations for them. When I lived outside Chicago in the first half of the 00's, you had to get approval for launching above 2500 ft. You were also required to cease launching if any low flying aircraft were visible. You could get in some real nasty trouble if you violated those rules.

7952 7y ago

You could phrase it as distance from nearest terrain rather than altitude.

Filligree 7y ago
That's how it's already phrased in the law, but it isn't a practical rule for DJI to implement. Maps aren't detailed enough, so they'd have to put ground radar in the drones, which wouldn't work... Or they'd just reduce the max altitude above launch site limitation already in their firmware. An easier-to-implement limitation that stays within the legal restrictions.
- nwallin 7y ago
  > Maps aren't detailed enough, Yes they are. All of the US is mapped to 3m horizontal resolution and 1m vertical resolution, the world to 15m. This is grossly overkill. A 30m lossless compression dataset will run you about 1GB, which is plenty for this purpose. It's free too. https://terra.nasa.gov/news/aster-digital-elevation-model-version-3-released https://terra.nasa.gov/news/aster-digital-elevation-model-ve...