8000 ft limit?

[lemontea]

Hi guys,

I'm in the Alps on holiday and yesterday, while creating a CCC, I got a message on the ST16 about a height limit.
I took off at 2500+ meters and all was fine. The message appeared after I created the second way point.
I then stopped with the CCC, tapped the delete button and flew around a bit (higher than the way points) without issues or warnings.
On the forum I have seen messages about people flying the H way above 8000 ft in the mountains but they are non European customers.
Does this limit only apply in CCC or for the bird in general in Europe?
I wrote yuneec but it can take up to 5 days for them to answer and I'm going up a glacier tomorrow.

Thanks,
Rob

 

[Dr Delta]

Did you change the 'safety' boundaries in the GUI....?

Did you wait long enough (about 15 minutes if you have climbed a lot since where you flew latest) before lift off for the GPS 'almanac' to download and adjust the heights?

I do not think EU or A firmware makes the difference.

cheers!

 

[PatR]

I think the H's altitude limit caps at 8000' but it does not use a "sea level" altimeter reference to establish that. It uses height above take off point for altitude reference. It is possible the baro altimeter has a built in limiter that incorporates a barometric pressure limiter that coincides with an 8000' pressure altitude referencing 29.92 inHg for a comparison basis but I seriously doubt that because many that fly from higher elevations on hot days will have a pressure altitude greater than 8000' when taking off with a field elevation of only 1500'.

Since the OP did not mention the altitude delta between the point of take off and CCC way points it's hard to guess what he is experiencing. If he's trying to launch at the base of the mountain and fly to the top it's likely it won't be possible.

 

[lemontea]

Hi Dr Delta,
Thanks for the quick reply.

I just checked and unless there's an updated version of the gui it only let's me set max height from home point (ST16) and the max distance from ST16 in smart mode.

I quickly learned (from this forum) to let it sit for 15 minutes after not using it for a few days or after travelling some distance so it can update the almanac.

Thanks,
Rob

 

[lemontea]

I think the H's altitude limit caps at 8000' but it does not use a "sea level" altimeter reference to establish that. It uses height above take off point for altitude reference. It is possible the baro altimeter has a built in limiter that incorporates a barometric pressure limiter that coincides with an 8000' pressure altitude referencing 29.92 inHg for a comparison basis but I seriously doubt that because many that fly from higher elevations on hot days will have a pressure altitude greater than 8000' when taking off with a field elevation of only 1500'.

Since the OP did not mention the altitude delta between the point of take off and CCC way points it's hard to guess what he is experiencing. If he's trying to launch at the base of the mountain and fly to the top it's likely it won't be possible.

Hi Patr,
Thanks for your thoughts.

Between Take off and way points there was only a few metres difference in height.

Rob

 

[PatR]

Interesting. 2500m is ~8200'. There may be a pressure limiter.

 

[Steve Carr]

The max altitude of 8000' ASL is indeed sensed and the motors will not start above that point. Yuneec will provide modified firmware to people who need to a launch point above that altitude. I believe that limit was placed because flying at altitudes higher than 8000, require special care by the pilot. With "thinner air" there is much less lift. Wind becomes a major factor and VRS more likely.

 

[PatR]

I can see situations at high altitude where full throttle would be necessary to maintain altitude, and where slight judgement errors in throttle application might induce an uncontrolled descent. Everything has service ceilings except rockets where altitude is concerned.

 

[lemontea]

I didn't notice any change in the H's behaviour when I took off at 2500+ meters and did a controls check.
Only when I started to program a CCC is when I got a message.
No issues flying after I cancelled the CCC.

 

[lemontea]

The max altitude of 8000' ASL is indeed sensed and the motors will not start above that point. Yuneec will provide modified firmware to people who need to a launch point above that altitude. I believe that limit was placed because flying at altitudes higher than 8000, require special care by the pilot. With "thinner air" there is much less lift. Wind becomes a major factor and VRS more

For my Q500 4k I got different firmware last year from yuneec to launch above 8000 ft.

The H launched without issues at 2500+ mtrs (~8200 ft) and flew fine.
Others have reported mountain flights way higher.
I'm leaning towards a limitation in CCC.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[lemontea]

Flying the H at higher altitudes

I came across this thread from last year with Google search.
Unless something has changed the H should fly at over 8000' ASL.
This would (almost) confirm my thoughts that the CCC has a limitation.

 

[PatR]

Sounds like a call to Yuneec is in order.

 

[lemontea]

Upload is 720p downlink from ST16.

Today I did a short flight on the Hintertux glacier.
Taking of at 3250mtr was without issues, no messages on the st16 and the flight log on UAV toolbox shows no errors.
I have not tried to do a CCC at that altitude so no confirmation (yet) that this feature is limited in height.

I had the speed slider halfway.
Camera on auto exposure, WB on sunny and no filters.
Not the best camera work but I needed to keep an eye on people nearby.

Wind was near 0 km/h and temp was 6 deg C. You can't ask for better flying conditions

Cheers,
Rob

 

[Steve Carr]

That's great. Obviously no altitude limits in the firmware for the H.

 

[blueriver]

Hi. I flew my H at 10500 feet in Colorado. Short 8 min flight. Plenty of satellites on H and ST16.

 

[lemontea]

That's great. Obviously no altitude limits in the firmware for the H.

At least not in angle mode.
Still waiting for an answer from Yuneec why I got an 8000' warning while creating a CCC.

Cheers,
Rob

 

[lemontea]

Hi. I flew my H at 10500 feet in Colorado. Short 8 min flight. Plenty of satellites on H and ST16.

Hi blueriver,

What flightmode were you in?
Have you (or anyone else) tried CCC or any of the other task modes at altitudes above 8000'?

Cheers,
Rob

 

[blueriver]

I was in angle mode. I did not try CCC.

 

[nscaler2]

The max altitude of 8000' ASL is indeed sensed and the motors will not start above that point. Yuneec will provide modified firmware to people who need to a launch point above that altitude. I believe that limit was placed because flying at altitudes higher than 8000, require special care by the pilot. With "thinner air" there is much less lift. Wind becomes a major factor and VRS more likely.

I can attest to all of the above. Have flown to a much as 10000. It gets really flaky and VRS happens at the drop of a hat.

 

[SmokinCamel]

12,156' is my max. Flew above 9,000' most of that week.