So basically you have no intention of actually following the guideline. You are saying just being able to say I followed even if you are not?
Having not yet been faced with this scenario as posed by the OP with such big altitude differences, I actually cannot say at this moment what I would do... so, if I don't know then you can't possibly know whether I have any intention of one kind or another... you've also clearly missed the inherent sarcasm undertone in my original response to the OP posting...
So before you get into a rant, let's get on same page first. If you agree to these 3 points below:
1. the world is not flat.
2. Phantom based all height measurement from the point of take-off
3. FAA guideline stipulate 400 AGL (the ground which is directly below the drone, NOT where it takes off from)
Of course I agree with all these points... and I wasn't on a rant to begin with nor am I now even though you seem intent upon trying to provoke me to do so... and I'm sure that the FAA doesn't care that the drone we may be flying cannot provide the actual AGL measurement of it's flight location and instead is based upon the DJI concept of a flat world and #2 above... in worst case situation, I doubt that this "excuse" would hold up in court for any of us...
So tell me, if you fly off a cliff that is 500 feet high over above the cliff, you are already over 400 AGL.
Yep, by true AGL of course you would be... assuming you flew at a constant relative altitude instead of descending as you flew off of the cliff...
Give #1, #2, and #3 to be true (if you disagree, then no point going further), how do you propose to strictly follow FAA guideline (see #3) when #1 and #2 is true and you are not flying in a flat area?
as noted earlier, I agree with these items... and you seem stuck on the word "strictly" when, as I wrote earlier, my response to the OP was intended to be somewhat sarcastic because I don't believe there is any single right answer to the question and too much of what we're expected to do is based upon guidelines that can be interpreted many different ways depending on the reader...
No this may seem like argumentative for Missouri, at very hilly California coastline, it isn't. Anytime I fly off a hill toward the beach, it already exceeded the 400 AGL even if I take off at only 50 feet AGL.
Indeed... you are seeming unnecessarily argumentative where no argument from me existed... we have hills in Missouri too and I'm from Santa Barbara so well acquainted with the California coastline topology... and in all these situations we are faced with the challenge to follow guidelines and be safe but with aircraft that don't give us the needed details to really be able to do so reliably....
As for me, I'll fly in every situation while trying to juggle a variety of inputs such as topology, weather, wind, area, bystanders, obstacles, FAA guidelines, etc. plus the 10 year old boy living inside me that is excited and thrilled by these great machines and wants to push the envelope a little and sneak an extra thrill into the equation occasionally if I can do so reasonably safely but with the understanding that I am ultimately responsible for only me and my action... nobody elses...