Fly within your limits

jleone15022 · Aug 2, 2017

So after about 75+ flights with this little beast, I think I figured it all out now. The trick is the keep within your limits.

This is a small craft but it's not a toy. It's very simple to fly but it's pretty big on features. It may look like a mini Mavic but it's not. It can some of the same stuff but not all. So don't try to do the things you can with a Mavic with the Spark.

I have no need to go 1.2 miles away. So I limit myself to about 1500 to 1800 feet. I will go max height sometimes. By keeping to these limits, I have zero issues and no crashes. The only stupid thing I did was get a little too close to my foot and the right front prop hit my shoe and broke but I was less than a foot off the ground when it happens. (In the process of landing) I don't count that as a crash because it still landed on its feet.

So in conclusion, just don't try to fly it like a Mavic or a Phantom and keep it within the limits and have a blast being ave to do all the cool things it can and probably will be able to do.

RoccoT312 · Aug 2, 2017

Agreed

jleone15022 · Aug 7, 2017

Decided after I hit the 90 flight mark to set limits. I give myself the allowed maximum height allowed in the US. And I decided my maximum distance would be about 2000 feet. I feel for myself and my comfort limits that is the best "bang for my buck" so to speak. This distance allows me to basically cover my entire neighborhood if I wanted. That's a pretty big area. By setting these limits, I get no cutouts or signal loss. This also makes me happy about flying then because this is an amazing little drone.

His415 · Aug 7, 2017

Are you OTG or wifi connection?

Lancelot · Aug 8, 2017

there is this dude doing almost 10000 feet with stock AC, stock RC (with the mavic sun guard), and thats it.
i didnt think this was even possible??

Ksquad · Aug 8, 2017

Nice thread you started. I've been enjoying the Spark for the most part trying to overlook he shortcomings and trying to remember that it's not my Mavic, it's a different little bird. Most if not all of my flights have been OTG so last night I decided to fly some wifi flights. First flight was good, took her out around 1,000 feet with little or no video lag. Landed, changed batteries, and went out again for a flight. Took her out 1,000 feet in sport mode and quickly zipped back home. The next trip out, about 800 feet out I get a GPS/Compass failure. So no big deal, I turn it around and fly it home in ATTI mode until it's right above my head. Bring her down, shut it off, and restart it with GPS mode once again. Fly the rest of the battery out with no problems. What you said about know your limits is a good statement. I've flown RC for years so flying the drone back home with no GPS was not a scare. It was actually fun flying in ATTI mode which got me higher speeds vs. GPS mode. But I could see how a random loss of GPS could have been a disaster. Anyway, enough rambling, nice thread!.

Xtian1206 · Aug 8, 2017

jleone15022 said:
So after about 75+ flights with this little beast, I think I figured it all out now. The trick is the keep within your limits.

This is a small craft but it's not a toy. It's very simple to fly but it's pretty big on features. It may look like a mini Mavic but it's not. It can some of the same stuff but not all. So don't try to do the things you can with a Mavic with the Spark.

I have no need to go 1.2 miles away. So I limit myself to about 1500 to 1800 feet. I will go max height sometimes. By keeping to these limits, I have zero issues and no crashes. The only stupid thing I did was get a little too close to my foot and the right front prop hit my shoe and broke but I was less than a foot off the ground when it happens. (In the process of landing) I don't count that as a crash because it still landed on its feet.

So in conclusion, just don't try to fly it like a Mavic or a Phantom and keep it within the limits and have a blast being ave to do all the cool things it can and probably will be able to do.

totally agree. ive been limiting my flying the spark around the area of my property just in case anything happens. better safe than sorry. until all the issues die down, kinks worked on.

jleone15022 · Aug 8, 2017

Lancelot said:
there is this dude doing almost 10000 feet with stock AC, stock RC (with the mavic sun guard), and thats it.
i didnt think this was even possible??

This guy is flying off of a mountain in Hawaii. With that type of elevation to start out, It's definitely possible. Plus he's in an area that isn't congested with Wi-Fi interference.

jleone15022 · Aug 8, 2017

I'd love to hear what others have to say about knowing their limits.

Lancelot · Aug 9, 2017

jleone15022 said:
This guy is flying off of a mountain in Hawaii. With that type of elevation to start out, It's definitely possible. Plus he's in an area that isn't congested with Wi-Fi interference.

I know but still impressive for this little drone

jleone15022 · Aug 9, 2017

You're right. It's an amazing little drone that does things that you'd never expect it to do. I love it.

BelGer · Aug 10, 2017

Yesterday we were at Kullaberg in Sweden and there I took the first shot pretty high right ?.... the second shot is where my girlfriend points out where I am standing [emoji57][emoji6]

Now seriously, just checked the flight records and the highest I dared was 43 mtrs [emoji15] looking at that flight I expected it to be much higher.

Lancelot · Aug 10, 2017

Me too was surprised with some of my flight records. I seriously thought I was very high or very far, and then I checked the record and it wasnt even 100m haha. Nice photo!

Lancelot · Aug 10, 2017

On second thought, that cant be 43m. I seriously think that that should be around 100m..

jleone15022 · Aug 12, 2017

I try to go to a lot of different places to get some different scenery. One thing I always do when I fly at a different place is to calibrate the compass. If I'm at home and I've been flying there for a bit I don't really worry about it but as soon as I'm in a new location, that's the first thing I do before I take to the air. I usually only fly wired. (OTG) There is so much Wi-Fi interference out there. I don't have all the fancy gear that some people have. I just use my LG Stylo 3 phone as my device. Everything has been working pretty flawlessly. Once in a while the app will crash on my phone but it's usually no big deal. Just go back in and resume what in was doing. I am now up to 110+ flights. The only complaint I can come up with is really nothing at the moment. I must have been lucky and got a unit that was really taken care of during manufacturing.

John Dwyer · Aug 13, 2017

Interesting thread, I only have a handful of flights on mine, but I have exclusively stayed within the guidelines, so no otg for me, even though I have one, have had zero drop outs and have flown flawlessly thus far, but the 'fall from sky' thing is always in the back of my mind, especially when I flew the spark over a cliff edge with the gimbal pointed down!

jleone15022 · Aug 14, 2017

The falling from the sky thing seems to be on a lot of people's minds. I have yet to experience anything truly bad. (Knock on wood) So far all of my 110+ have been smooth as silk. Maybe the worst thing that happens is the DJI go 4 app will crash and I have to reopen it. All in all, I have had a ton of great flights with my spark and looking forward to a lot more.

DPK · Aug 15, 2017

Hi all, I'm only getting 100m max of video link.
Spark is brand new, 2nd flight.
It seems to prefer the 5.8Ghz band by default. I tried 2.4Ghz but I didn't see much improvement.
Any suggestions?

Dronason · Aug 15, 2017

Are you using RC ?
If it select 5.8G, usually it means that there is some activities at 2.4G.
Be sure to turn off any bluetooth nearby.
In urban area, it can be really limited.