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First Crash

SparkinItUp

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Sep 15, 2019
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61
I got a little over confident in Sport mode, right into a tree. I was taking some footage to send to my daughter on how friggin awesome the Spark is on a somewhat windy day. I would like to blame it on the wind, but it was totally my fault for not compensating for it. I was trying to stop, but with a little help from the wind I didn’t make it....no ABS breaks...lol. It seems that the spark is a little tank, no damage. I took it up again, checked things out and all was fine. Live and learn I guess.
 
Good to know that there was no serious damage to your Spark. But do remember that everyone's luck runs out. I had two lucky escapes before the fatal 3rd crash. Below is a brief account of the three. I feel it's a good practice to learn from the mishaps encountered by others.

1st crash
Very similar to yours. It was one of my early days in Sports mode. Never a good idea to try sports mode in your backyard anyway. I couldn't gauge the braking distance properly, hit the yaw stick in panic and the Spark turned and hit the walls of my house. There was a slight scratch in one of the motors, one of the front LED covers fell out (which I could find and replace) but there was no severe damage.

2nd crash
This could have been easily avoided if I knew the use of the PAUSE button on the RC. I was active tracking my friend in a parking lot and wanted to get a cinematic shot of the drone circling around him. I realised I had miscalculated the radius when the Spark hit the railing of a balcony first and before I could react, it smashed into a closed window. Quite surprisingly though, the Spark still kept flying and I could land it safely. Once again, one of the front LED covers fell out (couldn't find it this time) which I later ordered from Amazon. Here's the video of the incident.

3rd crash
A cat has seven lives they say, but the Spark has two?
I was attempting the Palm launch this time in one of the parks in the neighborhood and the drone just took off awkwardly and fell off from my hand on the hard tarmac pedestrian walkway. The front left arm broke and one of the propellers got snapped. More details in this thread.
 
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WOW...I’m surprised the Spark kept flying with the two mishaps, pretty amazing!! I know crashing is part of the game and you can’t improve without doing so, it’s just gut wrenching when it happens:oops:. I talked to a friend of mine that lives in Florida, he just laughed at me when I told him. His only words were, “expect to have many more if you want to improve your skills.” He’s a fantastic racer and knows way more than I do, so I’ll just chalk it up as crash #1.
 
Good to know that there was no serious damage to your Spark. But do remember that everyone's luck runs out. I had two lucky escapes before the fatal 3rd crash. Below is a brief account of the three. I feel it's a good practice to learn from the mishaps encountered by others.

1st crash
Very similar to yours. It was one of my early days in Sports mode. Never a good idea to try sports mode in your backyard anyway. I couldn't gauge the braking distance properly, hit the yaw stick in panic and the Spark turned and hit the walls of my house. There was a slight scratch in one of the motors, one of the front LED covers fell out (which I could find and replace) but there was no severe damage.

2nd crash
This could have been easily avoided if I knew the use of the PAUSE button on the RC. I was active tracking my friend in a parking lot and wanted to get a cinematic shot of the drone circling around him. I realised I had miscalculated the radius when the Spark hit the railing of a balcony first and before I could react, it smashed into a closed window. Quite surprisingly though, the Spark still kept flying and I could land it safely. Once again, one of the front LED covers fell out (couldn't find it this time) which I later ordered from Amazon. Here's the video of the incident.

3rd crash
A cat has seven lives they say, but the Spark has two?
I was attempting the Palm launch this time in one of the parks in the neighborhood and the drone just took off awkwardly and fell off from my hand on the hard tarmac pedestrian walkway. The front left arm broke and one of the propellers got snapped. More details in this thread.
Thanks for posting this! Good info to know. That 3rd crash was a real heartbreaker, ouch!
 
Just check that your motor shafts haven't been jolted by the crash. The motor shafts tops should be at exactly the same level as your props and should rotate freely. Worth a check as everything may seem ok, but the shafts moving up or down (even by a little bit) can overheat the motors. Another way is to check the temperature of the motors after a quick 5 mins hover, and see if all 4 props stop (near as **** it) at the same time when landing.
 
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I nearly always fly higher than anything in my environment. That's been my saving grace so far. I also avoid sport mode, simply cannot trust it with the compass/imu being what they are especially on gusty days. I use it once in a while to get back fast when my battery is nearly done... Glad your Spark was unscathed.
 
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I got a little over confident in Sport mode, right into a tree. I was taking some footage to send to my daughter on how friggin awesome the Spark is on a somewhat windy day. I would like to blame it on the wind, but it was totally my fault for not compensating for it. I was trying to stop, but with a little help from the wind I didn’t make it....no ABS breaks...lol. It seems that the spark is a little tank, no damage. I took it up again, checked things out and all was fine. Live and learn I guess.
Oh I’ve had my mishaps. Always by being careless. But they were minor lawnmower blazes through prairie grass snd such.

The video is from the Columbia River Gorge. I couldn’t get GPS. I have flown often, and successfully without it. But in THE GORGE!!

I felt a breeze on launch ? but it clearly was a wind farther from me. I could not bring M1 in so...

M1 crashed but look how beautifully it landed, hanging in a tree! I searched but could not find M1. I could still see the live video on my phone, as battery life declined. So I attempted to power up motors to make it fall, from ? height. M1 shook but responded that the motors were obstructed. But M1 shook so I tried a few more times, and then heard faint whirs. Again, faint whirs! That was M1 spinning a motor. I followed the sound, then saw lights flashing. M1 was about 4 feet off the ground. Retrieved!

I’ll wait for satellites from now on... and remember to switch to sport mode! if power is needed!
 
I nearly always fly higher than anything in my environment. That's been my saving grace so far. I also avoid sport mode, simply cannot trust it with the compass/imu being what they are especially on gusty days. I use it once in a while to get back fast when my battery is nearly done... Glad your Spark was unscathed.
I actually bought the spark for pics/vids and since I’m a newbie, I hear it was a great starter drone. But when I switched to Sport mode it was addictive...I’ve learned my lesson. I can’t say I’ll stay away from it but I’ll only do sport mode in a more wide open area, live and learn!
 
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Just check that your motor shafts haven't been jolted by the crash. The motor shafts tops should be at exactly the same level as your props and should rotate freely. Worth a check as everything may seem ok, but the shafts moving up or down (even by a little bit) can overheat the motors. Another way is to check the temperature of the motors after a quick 5 mins hover, and see if all 4 props stop (near as **** it) at the same time when landing.
Thanks man, Great advise! Just checked and everything seems fine. Up and running like a Spark!
 
the drone just took off awkwardly
I learned the hard way it's best to take off from a solid, level surface with no nearby drop offs. I once took off from the edge of a picnic table and it immediately crashed because of the difference in how air was moving on each side. Same with taking off from a wooden post in the ground, only I got lucky and it recovered before falling into a lake!

Thanks for sharing.
 
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Some rmks to:

Biggest enemies for Spark...

u say its wind and trees. Id add pilot... [emoji12]

Using s mode for faster return when battery is low...
Uffhh, be aware that S mode 'burns' more battery power than P mode ! So be careful.
 

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