Dronelink vs In-Drone Altitude Limits

Dave Keasey

Really, just a clarification issue.  I think I understand what's going on, but I'd like to be sure.

In a recent mapping flight, I had my flight profile set at something like 350 ft above terrain level.  At the same time, my M2P drone had an internal altitude limit of 120 meters (394 ft, give or take).  Since there is a significant elevation difference between my take-off point and the highest area I was mapping, I ended up having the drone stop the mission, with the notification that it was exceeding the maximum altitude. 

I ended up having to set the altitude limit on the drone at 450 ft, which allowed it to complete the flight.  In my flight record it looks like I blew the 400 ft altitude limit, but in fact I was always below the 400 ft AGL restriction.

Is there another way to deal with this issue?  Or do I just need to live with it and be careful about altitudes over changing terrain elevations?

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Comments

2 comments

  • Comment author
    Jim McAndrew Dronelink Staff

    The DJI max altitude setting is always expressed in ATL (above takeoff location) units because that is how the drone's altimeter works.

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  • Comment author
    Dave Keasey

    Thanks, Jim, for making that clear.  I was pretty sure that was what was going on, so now I have a better handle on staying within the FAA limits, especially when doing mapping flights at roughly constant AGL settings.  While I'm just flying over my own property, it's not likely I could easily get an FAA waiver unless I was flying under a Part 107 license.

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