Originally Posted by
tubby linton
A drone was recently spotted in flight near Biggin at over 12000 feet. The drone must have had a large battery pack to get to this altitude and it may have also contained a camera and it is these two items that pose a problem due to their density.
Seriously doubt this claim. 20 minute flight time means it would have to get to 12000ft in about 10 mins which is a climb rate of 1200ft/min. (10 minutes to descend under power). Also over 2 miles vertical range would be at limit for the radio (not the ground transmitter but the drone transponders). Doable for a special attempt but not for a casual amateur. IMHO