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Height above ground vs altitude above sea level (AGL/AMSL)AGL/AMSL

AGL is height above the terrain directly below; AMSL is altitude above mean sea level. The 120 m limit is an AGL-type height.

Aviation states a flight level in two ways. AGL (Above Ground Level) is the height above the terrain directly below the aircraft — it changes as the ground rises and falls. AMSL (Above Mean Sea Level) is the absolute altitude above mean sea level — independent of what lies underneath.

For a drone pilot the distinction matters in practice: the 120 m open-category limit is measured from the closest point of the surface, so it is an AGL-type height, not a sea-level altitude. Flying over a hill, the permitted ceiling rises together with the terrain.

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