I'm a fixed-wing guy (so far), but I have a possibly naive question about the maximum altitude that off-the-shelf multirotor (quad or hex?) drone can reliably reach if your objective is to quickly loft a modest (say, <200 gram) payload exactly vertically to some specified altitude above the starting point and then rapidly descend back to that starting point and land again before the battery is exhausted.
I think I've seen online that some homebuilt copters have set altitude records well in excess of 4000 meters. I'd actually be happy enough with about 3000 meters (10,000 ft), especially if the drone is relatively portable and can hold its horizontal position even in the stronger winds one often encounters at higher altitudes. Is what I'm talking about easily achievable, or does it take a lot of design optimization?
(I'm aware that FAA regulations don't normally permit the operation of a drone to that altitude; that's a separate issue that I would address through the waiver process.)
Thanks
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