# Disclaimer of Warranty, Liability, and Fitness for Use

**LidarAGL — Copyright 2026 D Everett Hinton — Novabox.Works (https://novabox.works/)**

> **READ THIS BEFORE BUILDING, INSTALLING, OR OPERATING LIDARAGL.**
>
> This disclaimer is in addition to, and not in place of, the warranty and
> liability terms of the [PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0](LICENSE.md) under
> which the software, firmware, hardware designs, documentation, and all related
> files (collectively, the **"Project"**) are made available. Choosing,
> purchasing, building, flashing, installing, or operating any part of the Project,
> or any device incorporating it, constitutes your acceptance of this disclaimer in
> full. If you do not accept it, do not use the Project.

---

## 1. Experimental and Advisory Use Only

The Project is an **experimental, advisory aid** intended solely for use in
**amateur-built / experimental category aircraft** by qualified persons who accept
full responsibility for its use. It produces approximate, supplementary cues
(spoken height callouts, tones, and rate indications) derived from a single
commercial-off-the-shelf rangefinder.

The Project is **NOT** a flight instrument, **NOT** a navigation system, **NOT** a
collision-avoidance system, **NOT** a terrain-awareness or terrain-warning system,
**NOT** a radar altimeter, and **NOT** a primary or secondary altitude reference. It
is **advisory only**. Its outputs are convenience cues and nothing more.

## 2. Not Certified — No Airworthiness Approval

The Project is **NOT** certified, approved, qualified, or authorized by the Federal
Aviation Administration (FAA), the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), or
any other civil aviation authority, regulatory body, or standards organization. It
has **not** been developed, tested, or documented in accordance with any aviation
software, hardware, environmental, or design-assurance standard (including, without
limitation, DO-178C, DO-254, DO-160, TSO, ETSO, or any AC/AMC guidance).

No representation is made that the Project complies with any airworthiness
requirement. Installation or operation of the Project in any aircraft may be subject
to regulation in your jurisdiction, and **you alone** are responsible for
determining and ensuring compliance with all applicable laws, regulations,
operating limitations, and the airworthiness requirements governing your aircraft.
Installation in type-certificated aircraft is **not** intended or supported.

## 3. No Warranty of Any Kind

**TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE PROJECT IS PROVIDED
"AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITH ALL FAULTS AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OR CONDITION OF
ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE.** The licensor and any
contributors expressly disclaim all warranties and conditions, including, without
limitation, any implied warranties or conditions of **merchantability, satisfactory
quality, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, reliability, availability,
title, and non-infringement**, and any warranties arising out of course of dealing,
course of performance, usage, or trade practice.

Without limiting the foregoing, **no warranty is made** that the Project will meet
your requirements; that it will be accurate, timely, complete, uninterrupted,
secure, or error-free; that any callout, tone, rate cue, or other output will be
correct, present, or on time; or that defects will be corrected. **A wrong, missing,
late, or misleading output may occur at any time and without warning.** You assume
the entire risk as to the quality, performance, accuracy, and timeliness of the
Project and any device built from it.

## 4. Limitation and Exclusion of Liability

**TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE LICENSOR,
THE AUTHOR(S), NOVABOX.WORKS, OR ANY CONTRIBUTOR, SUPPLIER, OR DISTRIBUTOR BE LIABLE
TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY FOR ANY DAMAGES OF ANY KIND** arising out of or in any
way related to the Project or its use, inability to use, installation, operation, or
performance — including, without limitation, any **direct, indirect, incidental,
special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages**; loss of life, personal
injury, or bodily harm; property damage, including damage to or loss of any
aircraft; loss of use, loss of data, loss of profits, business interruption, or cost
of substitute goods or services — **whether based in contract, warranty, tort
(including negligence), strict liability, product liability, or any other legal or
equitable theory, and whether or not the licensor has been advised of, or could have
foreseen, the possibility of such damages, and even if any remedy is found to have
failed of its essential purpose.**

Where applicable law does not permit the exclusion or limitation of certain damages
or of implied warranties, the disclaimers and limitations in this document shall
apply to the **fullest extent permitted by that law**, and the licensor's aggregate
liability shall be limited to the **greater of the amount you paid (if any) for the
specific copy of the Project giving rise to the claim, or zero**.

## 5. No Substitute for Instruments and Pilot Judgment

The Project is **never** a substitute for properly installed, calibrated, and
airworthy flight instruments, for approved sensors and altitude references, for
established procedures, for adequate training and currency, or for the pilot's own
**continuous visual judgment and situational awareness** — most especially during
the landing flare, low-altitude maneuvering, and all phases of flight near terrain.

**Do not fly any approach, flare, or maneuver on the basis of a LidarAGL output.**
Treat every callout, tone, and rate cue as unverified, supplementary information
that may be absent or incorrect. The pilot in command is at all times solely
responsible for the safe operation of the aircraft and must be fully prepared to
operate safely with **no reliance whatsoever** on the Project.

## 6. Single-Sensor and Operational Limitations

The Project derives its outputs from a single belly-mounted micro-lidar and is
subject to inherent and unavoidable limitations, including, without limitation:
loss, degradation, or error of range data over water, snow, glass, foliage, dust,
fog, precipitation, smoke, or low-reflectivity, wet, sloped, or irregular surfaces;
errors induced by bank, pitch, yaw, or slant range; sensor saturation, drift, or
failure; electrical noise, brown-out, reboot, or power interruption; mounting,
installation, or configuration error; and software defects. The Project may report
nothing, or report incorrectly, under any of these conditions, **without warning**.

## 7. Assumption of Risk and Indemnification

**You knowingly and voluntarily assume all risks** associated with building,
installing, operating, and relying on the Project. **Aviation is inherently
dangerous; experimental aircraft and experimental avionics compound that risk.** You
represent that you are qualified to make your own independent assessment of the
Project's suitability for your intended use.

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to **indemnify, defend,
and hold harmless** the licensor, the author(s), Novabox.Works, and all
contributors, suppliers, and distributors from and against any and all claims,
demands, suits, actions, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses
(including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to your use,
installation, distribution, or operation of the Project, or any device incorporating
it, or your breach of this disclaimer or the [License](LICENSE.md).

## 8. Relationship to the License; Severability

This disclaimer supplements the **[PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0](LICENSE.md)**.
In the event of any conflict between this disclaimer and that license with respect to
warranty or liability, the broadest disclaimer and the greatest limitation of
liability permitted by applicable law shall control. If any provision of this
disclaimer is held to be unenforceable or invalid, that provision shall be modified
or severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions shall
remain in full force and effect.

---

*By using LidarAGL you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to this
Disclaimer of Warranty, Liability, and Fitness for Use, and to the
[PolyForm Noncommercial License 1.0.0](LICENSE.md).*