Tree height Safety

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What is your default height in your mind if you are passing over a typical wooded are? I'm always up at like 250 feet but I think I could probably get away with lower than that.

Does anyone know of a resource (website or app) that would let you see hazards in the air?

If you ask me it would be cool if users of DJI go or 3rd party apps like autopilot could flag and share hazards.
 
Tree height really depends on your area but in my area I'm in the clear of tree tops at 125' up. Never had a problem.
 
Depends if you have flat ground near where you fly, any hill will increase potential problem.

I have mine set to 300' as min.
 
What is your default height in your mind if you are passing over a typical wooded are? I'm always up at like 250 feet but I think I could probably get away with lower than that.

Does anyone know of a resource (website or app) that would let you see hazards in the air?

If you ask me it would be cool if users of DJI go or 3rd party apps like autopilot could flag and share hazards.

These are resources I hope you have access to:

Your own eyes & common sense

The height you maintain really depends on the environment you are flying & the distance you are going (although, only flying within LOS resolves your concerns!)

& personally, I use my memory to "flag" hazards - as they're often only usernames!
 
How to Measure the Height of a Tree

I'm old, back in '42 we didn't have no internet so we did it like this LOL
Or you can nuzzle up to a tree and get the altitude off the bird. The problem, as has been mentioned, is the ground tends not to be flat - despite what DJI thinks. I always look. If I am trying to get a video of a certain area, I will fly it a bunch of times before the shoot to determine the best view and the things to watch for. You can also use Waypoints or an app like Autopilot or Litchti to automate your runs.
 
Wait...are you saying that the Earth isn't flat? j/k

I use that when I just need a quick check. Like grandpa wants his farm structures photographed. Measure tallest nearby object, set height above that and you can focus more on getting the pictures
 
That's very cool!

I always am worried about the trees not in my view when I'm flying, especially if I'm panning to the side while recording. I stay pretty high but that hurts the recording sometimes.

It would be nice when you get to a location if there were a few hazards on the map that you might not otherwise notice. Trees, high voltage power lines, cell towers, etc. A community radar system if you will...
 
Keep in mind that it is a 'hive' app. It gets its info from user input. If nobody else has been there and report obstacles it will not know about them. It isn't radar:( In fact I don't believe that it warns about trees (per its website)

But it is still highly useful
 
That's very cool!

I always am worried about the trees not in my view when I'm flying, especially if I'm panning to the side while recording. I stay pretty high but that hurts the recording sometimes.

It would be nice when you get to a location if there were a few hazards on the map that you might not otherwise notice. Trees, high voltage power lines, cell towers, etc. A community radar system if you will...

HM only tracks buildings and other man made structures. It gets almost all of it's data from pre-established sources (does not rely just on user data) but, depending on the area, some building may be in the database but no set heights. They are adding more and more all of the time.
 
Better too high than too low! What I often do set camera level forward, climb straight up, & pan 360 degrees until I see I anything I might possibly encounter is below the horizon. I check my current altitude & set that +50' as my RTH height.
 
One of the improvements I would like to see come to the Phantom line is of course obstacle recognition. (And of course higher HD bitrates and speeds). It's already available on other birds though I don't really know how performing it is. It would help although of course LOS is an essential element of a safe flight.
 

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