Avoiding Attention, Spark?

[Bob Johnston]

Is homelock dependent on GPS acquisition? If so, when the spark goes into atti, then homelock wouldn't help?

 

[bmarlowe]

Is homelock dependent on GPS acquisition? If so, when the spark goes into atti, then homelock wouldn't help?

You are correct - home lock cannot work in ATTI mode

 

[irvine]

I have flown a phantom 3 for several years on and off. The only reason I don't fly it more is that it is of course bulky and I am very self conscious about flying it and attracting attention. I almost exclusively use litchi and fly waypoint missions.
Can someone speak to how the experience of using the spark is with regards to avoiding attention, and the ability to get the drone up get your shots and back down quickly.

The phantom 3 standard actually takes quite nice video, but of course if you never fly it, it doesn't really matter.

I am not in a rush to buy, I wonder if we are nearing a new upgrade cycle for the spark.

Hello owning a mail platinum and recently a Spark I have to agree with most comments. I fly mostly in parks and by the seaside, living in Southsea there are some great areas for flying.

I too get a lot of attention mostly curious questions but also kids. I love to see there faces when I show them the videos etc.

So far no rude comments only one when I flew over Portchester Castle but it wasn't that bad. Just be sensible that's it.

 

[Riffchord]

Ive flown my Spark many times and no one has noticed. A few were fellow drone owners. I did a test with my friend in a crowd and over 40’ no one hears it to notice

 

[flp]

I’ve had the spark for about a week now. Great experience, very inconspicuous compared to phantom; really no comparison.

 

[Bonnie]

So if the point is sounds annoying..try DJI competitors from French

 

[1uk3y]

I’ve had a few busy bodies approach me about flying it.. last week I was on Rhossili Beach in south west Wales which is one of the longest beaches in the UK, hundreds of meters from anybody on a freezing cold morning. As I was walking back up to the village, an elderly man actually stopped me as I walked to my car and said ‘you shouldn’t be flying those ridiculous things’ - turns out he was watching me from the cliffs!!
Yesterday I was in the Cotswolds and I’d stopped in a huge field to practice my manoeuvreing, nobody anywhere.. I noticed 2 men and 2 women (aged in 60s at least) in The trees about 100m away, they climbed a fence and walked towards me and asked ‘are you filming me with that? The woman said ‘gosh those things should be shot from the sky’. I was so shocked by it I packed it up and began my trek back to my car!

For years I’ve done lots of photography, set up tripods for long exposure, used telephoto lenses, taken photos in busy areas etc and I’ve never had any problems.!!

 

[Andre Levite]

I’ve had a few busy bodies approach me about flying it.. last week I was on Rhossili Beach in south west Wales which is one of the longest beaches in the UK, hundreds of meters from anybody on a freezing cold morning. As I was walking back up to the village, an elderly man actually stopped me as I walked to my car and said ‘you shouldn’t be flying those ridiculous things’ - turns out he was watching me from the cliffs!!
Yesterday I was in the Cotswolds and I’d stopped in a huge field to practice my manoeuvreing, nobody anywhere.. I noticed 2 men and 2 women (aged in 60s at least) in The trees about 100m away, they climbed a fence and walked towards me and asked ‘are you filming me with that? The woman said ‘gosh those things should be shot from the sky’. I was so shocked by it I packed it up and began my trek back to my car!

For years I’ve done lots of photography, set up tripods for long exposure, used telephoto lenses, taken photos in busy areas etc and I’ve never had any problems.!!

Their hostile remarks sound almost identical to when people saw the first automobiles on the road. They were met with fear and viewed as inherently dangerous.

But the utility of the automobile won out in short order. I'm afraid that drones are such a niche product that the continued negative press does not bode well for the hobbyist.

 

[Sounds_Good_Bro]

I’ve had a few busy bodies approach me about flying it.. last week I was on Rhossili Beach in south west Wales which is one of the longest beaches in the UK, hundreds of meters from anybody on a freezing cold morning. As I was walking back up to the village, an elderly man actually stopped me as I walked to my car and said ‘you shouldn’t be flying those ridiculous things’ - turns out he was watching me from the cliffs!!
Yesterday I was in the Cotswolds and I’d stopped in a huge field to practice my manoeuvreing, nobody anywhere.. I noticed 2 men and 2 women (aged in 60s at least) in The trees about 100m away, they climbed a fence and walked towards me and asked ‘are you filming me with that? The woman said ‘gosh those things should be shot from the sky’. I was so shocked by it I packed it up and began my trek back to my car!

For years I’ve done lots of photography, set up tripods for long exposure, used telephoto lenses, taken photos in busy areas etc and I’ve never had any problems.!!

Wow, yeah they've been demonized in the media and people overreact.

I would have been tempted to tell those women not to flatter themselves, that they're not really the photogenic subjects I'd be looking at to include in any drone footage ;D

 

[Koala Tails]

I’ve had a few busy bodies approach me about flying it.. last week I was on Rhossili Beach in south west Wales which is one of the longest beaches in the UK, hundreds of meters from anybody on a freezing cold morning. As I was walking back up to the village, an elderly man actually stopped me as I walked to my car and said ‘you shouldn’t be flying those ridiculous things’ - turns out he was watching me from the cliffs!!
Yesterday I was in the Cotswolds and I’d stopped in a huge field to practice my manoeuvreing, nobody anywhere.. I noticed 2 men and 2 women (aged in 60s at least) in The trees about 100m away, they climbed a fence and walked towards me and asked ‘are you filming me with that? The woman said ‘gosh those things should be shot from the sky’. I was so shocked by it I packed it up and began my trek back to my car!

For years I’ve done lots of photography, set up tripods for long exposure, used telephoto lenses, taken photos in busy areas etc and I’ve never had any problems.!!

Try to not return the hostility, if they don’t want to listen walk away. The media hype surrounding the Gatwick Airport BS has people scared.
If they will listen, tell them that you think Gatwick incident was appalling, it would have to be a “huge commercial or military DRONE” to fly for hours like it was reported. Then explain that a little “quadcopter” like yours, is nothing like that! For it can only fly for about 10 minutes, & would have the same chance as a snowball in hell, to stop a manned aircraft.
The more you can show/educate people about our hobby, the better we will all be.

PS. “Drone” is a military term. The media has picked this word to describe any unmanned flying object, & use it to grab the attention of the public.
I don’t fly a drone, I fly... a spark, a camera quad, a quadcopter, or UAV.

 

[Andre Levite]

Try to not return the hostility, if they don’t want to listen walk away. The media hype surrounding the Gatwick Airport BS has people scared.
If they will listen, tell them that you think Gatwick incident was appalling, it would have to be a “huge commercial or military DRONE” to fly for hours like it was reported. Then explain that a little “quadcopter” like yours, is nothing like that! For it can only fly for about 10 minutes, & would have the same chance as a snowball in hell, to stop a manned aircraft.
The more you can show/educate people about our hobby, the better we will all be.

PS. “Drone” is a military term. The media has picked this word to describe any unmanned flying object, & use it to grab the attention of the public.
I don’t fly a drone, I fly... a spark, a camera quad, a quadcopter, or UAV.

That's great advice.

Unfortunately "drone" has become a 4-letter work that pushes a lot of people's buttons.

We should all agree to abandon that term in regards to our quadcopters. I identify myself as a "hobbyist out playing with my toy just for fun" -- that has come across as pretty harmless (at least to reasonable people).

I'm not a fan of the term "camera quad" because the privacy police regard any UAV with a camera as a threat.

 

[Spark 317]

It doesn't help that DJI calls their own product a drone.