When talking about drones and the main distances they can achieve, we’re always talking about two things – maximum flight range and maximum altitude. These terms stand for two completely different things yet we still see people think they’re the same.
For starters, the maximum flight range is the relative distance the drone can achieve without losing communication with its transmitter. Max altitude, on the other hand, represents how high a drone can fly above sea level. Some drones are hard-coded not to fly above certain altitudes which makes them impossible to fly in locations that are high above sea level. However, in drone discussion, max altitude is commonly referred to the maximum altitude mainstream drones are coded not to fly above. For instance, DJI’s drones are typically coded to stop at either 400 feet (beginner mode) or roughly 1640 feet, because that’s the legal limit in most countries.