I have flying spark over seven months with no problems the best from there is Jeff 2 Australia
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Flyaway spark
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It had GPS at the time I lost contact, after that, it's anyone's guess as I had no telemetry and it was out of sight. I'm just glad it came home.
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- Mar 3, 2018
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- 42
Yeah yours was a disconnection and signal loss Return to Home point.
These Atti mode compass error means you have no GPS so no GPS means return to home doesn't work and the drone wonders and if it's windy it goes what ever way the wind blows the spark.
netfolks2000
Well-Known Member
I find the Spark a very capable drone and routinely use RTH when ready to stop flying or battery is getting low. I do, of course, monitor the route on the map. I do this just to be sure RTH is continuing to be reliable and dependable. It has worked flawlessly every time. As you've read, though, you do things in order: check satellites before launching, let the drone see where it is when launching and verifying the home point on the map. The firmware is quite dependable if you let it gather the needed info first. The Spark really handles wind and gusts well, and without folding parts, is very strong. If they give its successor big drone features that will be my choice of a new drone. I personally find "folding" nice on larger drones but not a feature I prefer. I think smaller and strong will trump the folding aspect. Just an opinion. I like my Spark and I have two other drones.
Sr Drone
Active Member
I have had the Spark for over a year and well over 100 flights. I have never had a flyaway. I am curious to know how people are regaining control if they lose connectionbetween RC and Spark. I have had lots of disconnects but since I always set the RTH before flying it has always come home on its own. I set the RTH altitude of 5 or 6 feet.
Do you really have RTH altitude set at 5-6 feet ?!? That's face-level for most adults. Even with OA you're gonna freak out anybody in your path. People show up at some unexpected places.
I've got RTH altitude set to 40-50 metres to clear buildings and trees without worry. Would like to know your thought process. Hopefully that's just a typo.
Danarsky
Member
- Join
- Jan 4, 2019
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- 69
I'm a brand new Spark Pilot/Owner. Just today, I passed my first Part 107 Trial Test. I've flown a grand total of 10 flights between altitudes of 0' - 395' AGL directly over my fairly large back yard. I've done no appreciable downrange flying yet. My background is as a recently-retired Naval Air Development and Test Center employee of 38 years currently licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard as a Master of 100-ton vessels. My pre-flight checks include battery, datalinks and >10second on-deck engine run at idle. Then, I lift off to what I call 'battery spitting distance' (waist high) since I've learned that the battery doesn't always engage and sometimes gets spit out (Flight #3 - hasn't happened since). I then ascend to 6' hover and insure that the I have good GPS/camera and no errors. I then do up/stop/down/stop/yaw left/stop/yaw right/stop (left stick check ensuring that the controller reflects what's going on with the drone and that the drone is functioning with good control) followed by forward/stop/backward/stop/port/stop/starboard/stop (right stick check). All of that takes less than 30 seconds after engine start. Only then do I begin the mission. In accordance with Part 107, I spend the vast majority of my time looking at (and listening to) the drone and the airspace (see and avoid) only occasionally looking at the screen. Being the chicken that I am, I did much playing around at eye-level until I got a good feel for the controller. I admit that I could use a bunch of low altitude work in Sport Mode. I'm saying all of this because I have a feeling that SOME 'flyaways' may be avoidable or recoverable with good airmanship and prudent risk management. I fly my drone as if it anything could happen at any time. Sorry if all this seems preachy but, 38 years of Naval Air Systems Command best practices are deeply engrained. Fly safe! Get good Footage!
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1uk3y
Well-Known Member
I have been flying the Spark constantly since I got it last week and its been excellent with the remote controller and a OTG cable.. Yesterday I took it to a mountain and just couldn't get the RC to connect to the drone.. I tried and tried but it wouldn't work so I (stupidly) just connected it directly to my iPhone and piloted it from the app - NEVER AGAIN, sorry. Check out the footage below, it got about 30m away and lost signal, GPS signal lost errors, transmission error, WiFi disconnected and wouldn't reconnect.. I panicked and all I could do is hope it would RTH.. Watching it floating over a 500m cliff edge was a horrible feeling.. seeing it slowly land back home was better BUT in my haste to get it into my hands I gripped it out of thin air and it cut my fingers (which were freezing because I couldn't control my iPhone through my gloves!).
Lesson learned? - I'm not flying it without the RC regardless of what I've gone through to get there!
PS - I have now managed to get the RC to re-connect to the Spark (by holding the FN, pause and custom button to reset the connection)
Lesson learned? - I'm not flying it without the RC regardless of what I've gone through to get there!
PS - I have now managed to get the RC to re-connect to the Spark (by holding the FN, pause and custom button to reset the connection)
netfolks2000
Well-Known Member
So glad you got it back ok. Imagine it landing "over the edge" all the way down to "somewhere." RTH is a wonderful feature, so dependable if HOME is identified accurately before takeoff and GPS stays connected. I never forget the lady saying "Please check it on the map." I've given up on using the OTG cable. I don't think there is that much advantage to it and I often have disconnect issues using it. Instead I sometimes use the antenna reflector type extender but have to always point toward the drone. I use my Spark for near range photos anyway. If I want to go far I use the Mavic. The Spark, however, I carry more often because it is always so easy for a quick launch and good photos, so strong in the wind, so dependable and not easily damaged. Reminds me of my Tello which also has its nitch on calm days.
