flying over water?

[offshore2]

going fishing tomorrow, and taking the spark, can i take off my hand and fly it with the remote? and if i do, do i have to hold it till it acquires satellites? also what about sensors, i read that the sensors should be off, i can’t find anywhere where to turn off the bottom sensors
hopefully i have some pics or vids for u guys

 

[McCloudSpark]

You want to stay at least 15 ft above the water. With the standard (Go4) app you cannot disable the downward sensors. If it was me I would take off from a flat surface but hand launch is ok too. Keep it away from steel surfaces so the compass is not negatively affected. Yes, aquire satellites B4 zooming off.

 

[offshore2]

awesome thanks

 

[Rwarrior]

Hi there,
Not sure if you're on a boat, but if you are, remember also to set your home point to Dynamic so that your remote controller is always the return-to-home point rather than the take-off point. The boat will have moved from the take-off point after you have flown a few minutes.
Cheers, and safe flying

 

[Spark 317]

Fly backwards when coming back to land on the boat.

The Spark will be orientated with the joysticks and will be easier to fly if the battery level is critical and need to bring it in.

Might be a good idea to have a hand fishing net handy to catch the Spark if the boat is rocking and hand landing is sketchy.

Take spare props.

These guys don't have a problem...

 

[nilanjan118]

Hi there,
Not sure if you're on a boat, but if you are, remember also to set your home point to Dynamic so that your remote controller is always the return-to-home point rather than the take-off point. The boat will have moved from the take-off point after you have flown a few minutes.
Cheers, and safe flying

Dynamic doesn't set the RC as home point. The pilot needs to manually update it to phone location if he changes his location from original home point (take off point).

 

[pmshop]

Dynamic doesn't set the RC as home point. The pilot needs to manually update it to phone location if he changes his location from original home point (take off point).

IF the mobile device has a good GPS signal.
I have an iPad Mini 5 with data line and GPS and when I try to set to the controller, I get "Weak GPS Signal Home point not set." or something to that effect.

 

[jrhoffman75]

IF the mobile device has a good GPS signal.
I have an iPad Mini 5 with data line and GPS and when I try to set to the controller, I get "Weak GPS Signal Home point not set." or something to that effect.

Yes. That appears to be an iOS problem/bug. Never enough GPS signal.

 

[Haggi]

Dynamic HP is only used when active-track is activated.
Trust your stick and do not go too low over water.

 

[SoccerRef12]

You want to stay at least 15 ft above the water. With the standard (Go4) app you cannot disable the downward sensors. If it was me I would take off from a flat surface but hand launch is ok too. Keep it away from steel surfaces so the compass is not negatively affected. Yes, aquire satellites B4 zooming off.

What he said...

 

[twickers14]

Great question and as usual a knowledgeable selection of answers.

 

[RotorWash]

Excellent suggestion by Spark 317 to have a net (with a decent length handle) at the ready (just in case) and give yourself lots of spare battery when returning to the boat to land. Practice hand catching on land beforehand if not familiar with the method.

 

[jimlips]

Also remember that the Spark only has about 13 mins of flight time. It is typically much more windy over water - the Spark can only handle about 20MPH winds, but would not recommend taking off if over 15MPH. Remember the Sports mode switch if you get in a bind and need more power.

 

[nilanjan118]

Dynamic HP is only used when active-track is activated.
Trust your stick and do not go too low over water.

I have never used Dynamic HP myself but just to confirm what you said here, does Dynamic HP update the home point to RC location from time to time as the drone Active Tracks the subject?

 

[offshore2]

thanks guys, the net idea is awesome, didn’t get to fly while we were out fishing as it was really foggy all day and a little rough but when we came back i pulled up to an oyster bar and flew it around, i took off from the top off the ttop and then just caught it when i was done, i stood in the front of the boat and flew backwards and when the spark was about 5ft from me i put it on tripod mode and brought it right to me, when i edit the video i’ll post it, thanks

 

[offshore2]

some screen grabs, this is the channel u have to come in, on both sides of that is only like 2 ft deep and that first pic the white birds are white pelicans, they’re only here in winter, that little town is horseshoe beach

 

[SoccerRef12]

As a testament to the Sparks camera, I was able to zoom in on the first pic and see the individual birds clearly. Nice pic of the brown pelican also.

 

[irvine]

IF the mobile device has a good GPS signal.
I have an iPad Mini 5 with data line and GPS and when I try to set to the controller, I get "Weak GPS Signal Home point not set." or something to that effect.

Hi how do you set to dynamic please

 

[Spark 317]

Hi how do you set to dynamic please

Here's I understand it...

Refer to page 16 of the user manual about the intelligent flight modes.

Page 18 will explain how dynamic homepoint works.



Under the guidance of the intelligent flight mode, the Spark saves the location of the Spark every 15 meters or so, not the controller.

If the Spark loses the subject, it should stop and hover at it's last recorded GPS coordinates and not return to the original home point.

A GPS enabled device will allow you to change the home point during the flight by updating the home point via the Go4 app.



The HP is automatically updated when you launch, but if you decide to land at a different location, clicking the left button will reset the HP to the new spot.

The HP will be updated to you ( the GPS enabled device) if you click the right button.

Please note that of you are constantly moving around, you'll have to keep clicking this button to update you're coordinates to the device.
It's not a one and done thing.


I'm pretty sure that's the jist of it.

 

[irvine]

Thank you