Welcome DJI Spark Pilot!
Jump in and join our free Spark community today!
Sign up

Beginner's Mode - What happens if . . . ?

Tomel

Member
Join
Aug 12, 2018
Messages
24
Age
77
New to drones and concerned with losing my $$$ investment. Have read the manuals and watched videos, but haven't seen the answer to this question. If I've set the compass, set RTH, etc. and am flying in Beginner Mode, what happens if the GPS signal is lost. It says in the manual that in Beginner Mode ". . . the drone will take off if it has a good GPS signal, and its flight distance, height, and speed will be limited." However, I don't see where it will land or RTH or whatever if it loses GPS signal. Basically, can a fly-away happen in Beginner Mode?
 
You may want to read the section on RTH. You may want to test it for yourself and experience it so you are not surprised when it happens. There is a difference in RTH at 7m and 20m from homepoint. At 7m it will execute immediate landing and at 20m it will fly at set RTH altitude and do precision landing. Spark is equipped with vision positioning system (VPS) that is active at altitude lower tha 10 meters I think with good lighting and ground surface is abundant with patterns. It allows the spark to fly indoors with no GPS. It will fly in atti mode if VPS is blind and no GPS. It will not hover in place but drift from external influence like prop wash flying close to ground.
 
New to drones and concerned with losing my $$$ investment. Have read the manuals and watched videos, but haven't seen the answer to this question. If I've set the compass, set RTH, etc. and am flying in Beginner Mode, what happens if the GPS signal is lost. It says in the manual that in Beginner Mode ". . . the drone will take off if it has a good GPS signal, and its flight distance, height, and speed will be limited." However, I don't see where it will land or RTH or whatever if it loses GPS signal. Basically, can a fly-away happen in Beginner Mode?


If GPS signal is lost the Spark will go into ATTI mode. It won't necessarily fly away but it will no longer hover in place. You will have control over the aircraft but it will drift with the wind. It cannot RTH autonomously because the Home Point is lost. One advantage on Beginner Mode is that Spark will be closer to you and most likely in sight making it easier to RTH manually. You don't hear many stories about "fly aways" in Beginner Mode simply because most owners only use that feature for the first day or two.
 
Last edited:
always be mindful of satellite signal, RC signal and battery status. No GPS and no RC signal is a combination you dont want. Not much you can do unless you can correct one of the two scenarios before AC drifts into something.
 
Go to YouTube. Search for DJI Spark. Watch every video. Especially those by Steve Couts and Javen Dovey.
Then, go to as large a field as you can find, and practice, practice, practice.
 
If GPS signal is lost the Spark will go into ATTI mode. It won't necessarily fly away but it will no longer hover in place. You will have control over the aircraft but it will drift with the wind. It cannot RTH autonomously because the Home Point is lost. One advantage on Beginner Mode is that Spark will be closer to you and most likely in sight making it easier to RTH manually. You don't hear many stories about "fly aways" in Beginner Mode simply because most owners only use that feature for the first day or two.
Hi i'm currently flying in beginner mode also and I like Tomel have a fear of flyaway s. good question to ask and I've learnt from the replies. Thanks all
 
Thanks to all for your feedback. I guess the bottom line is that you can minimize the risk of a fly-away by learning as much as you can through the DJI guides, YouTube videos, etc. However, you can't completely eliminate the risk even if you do everything right. A drone is kind of unique in that respect.
 
Its really important when starting out to have someone act as a spotter, its difficult when new to split your attention between the sky and your mobile device/controller. The spotter can alert you to any dangers, and watch if you do get a fly away to see the direction, speed, etc. Another thing, get yourself a tracker of some sort. I use a Tile Pro. If the drone lands in the long grass far from you, its going to be tough to find. There are better things, like Loc8tor, MarcoPolo, but they cost a lot more. Always turn off blutooth when you are flying. The Tile app needs that, but not whilst you are flying. Good luck!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Spark 317

Members online

No members online now.

Forum statistics

Threads
14,593
Messages
118,799
Members
17,987
Latest member
csdisme