Trakman etal

I "think" the problem is not the 5 mis needed to gain 500' of altitude after TO, it's the possibility of an instrument approach into that airport, which usually allows planes to legally descend low enough to spot the runway when weather is bad, though they have to follow a specific course, or radar directions, if available. Most often that course is lined up with one of the runways, though not always. Though, we've always trained instrument pilots to immediately scan the area for traffic NOT flying in the clouds, or when they "break out". There's lots of FARs that cover these situations for airplanes.

BUT....one should not be flying drones in the clouds.

Personally, I think this 5 mis thing is wrong on 90% of the US airports. No need for that to maintain practical safety.