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For those of you who have never visited Utah, USA
- Thread starter c_reeve
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Nope 2.0
Well-Known Member
1-know you’re limits you can push them but be careful when pushing even though the spark is a great starter and a very enjoyable drone
Get it registered here FAADroneZone
Also take it with you.you’ll never know where the prefect picture is if you don’t try to find it
From Houston Texas
-nope 2.0
Get it registered here FAADroneZone
Also take it with you.you’ll never know where the prefect picture is if you don’t try to find it
From Houston Texas
-nope 2.0
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Thank you Nope. I take it with me when I can, however I'm mainly a home body. I've got it registered already however. Thanks for the advice though!
I like your photo. I am a bit north of your location in Centerville. I am just getting started in the hobby as well.
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Right on! The mountains around here should be great spots to take them and get some awesome vids and pics.
Jeplane
Well-Known Member
As a newcomer myself with only 3 hrs of unmanned flying, it would be arrogant for me to tell you what to do.
However, as a pilot with 21,000 hrs, perhaps I can tell you a few things, and you can decide what to keep and what to discard:
- I fly a drone like I fly an aircraft. That means that crashing it is out of the question, just like I do in a manned aircraft. What that also means is that I start my preflight with all the "pertinent information" as the FAA says.
- I look at Airmap, and figure out the airspace.
- I look at UAV forecast and confirm winds aloft and Kp index.
- I then try to position myself downwind of my flight path. In other word, I am going into the wind, so that when s..t hit the fan, I am flying with a tailwind back to home point.
- I also try to keep the automation out. As a result, I try to keep a line of sight, and I would not fly the drone behind a tree line as an example. Rather, I will move myself so that I am not adding the risk of losing signal. If I do lose it, RTH automation will show up, and as pilots never fully trust the automation in our jets, I don't see how I would fully trust it with a drone either. As you keep reading this message board, there are many threads with people putting their Spark into trees or other obstacles, because they were either too close, or RTH put the aircraft into branches, etc, etc... Again, rule number 1: crashing is bad juju....
- When I see something I want to take a picture of, I try to temper my little boy enthusiasm and slow down to follow a checklist I made. Again, rule number 2: fly it like a real aircraft. You would not want your captain to show up in the cockpit at the last minute and quickly get airborne without some prep right? So I make sure the battery is securely in place, that the sensors are clean. Turning on the controller first, so that if there is a runaway with the motors going full power, you can do something about it. Setting a home point. Setting a RTH altitude. Check the compass sensors and gyroscopes. By that time, I usually have 12 satellites which is my minimum for launching.
- And finally, just like you would probably hate that I go buzz your house, I am respectful of others. I avoid flying over a group of people, especially if they are strangers. I am noise conscious and will climb higher if needs be. I also limit myself at 400 feet altitude, because I don't want to be "that guy" when one of us put a drone into manned aircraft. It has happened, and will happen again. And quite frankly, the pictures I take needs to be lower, otherwise, I can use a real plane to do it!...
Hope this helps.
However, as a pilot with 21,000 hrs, perhaps I can tell you a few things, and you can decide what to keep and what to discard:
- I fly a drone like I fly an aircraft. That means that crashing it is out of the question, just like I do in a manned aircraft. What that also means is that I start my preflight with all the "pertinent information" as the FAA says.
- I look at Airmap, and figure out the airspace.
- I look at UAV forecast and confirm winds aloft and Kp index.
- I then try to position myself downwind of my flight path. In other word, I am going into the wind, so that when s..t hit the fan, I am flying with a tailwind back to home point.
- I also try to keep the automation out. As a result, I try to keep a line of sight, and I would not fly the drone behind a tree line as an example. Rather, I will move myself so that I am not adding the risk of losing signal. If I do lose it, RTH automation will show up, and as pilots never fully trust the automation in our jets, I don't see how I would fully trust it with a drone either. As you keep reading this message board, there are many threads with people putting their Spark into trees or other obstacles, because they were either too close, or RTH put the aircraft into branches, etc, etc... Again, rule number 1: crashing is bad juju....
- When I see something I want to take a picture of, I try to temper my little boy enthusiasm and slow down to follow a checklist I made. Again, rule number 2: fly it like a real aircraft. You would not want your captain to show up in the cockpit at the last minute and quickly get airborne without some prep right? So I make sure the battery is securely in place, that the sensors are clean. Turning on the controller first, so that if there is a runaway with the motors going full power, you can do something about it. Setting a home point. Setting a RTH altitude. Check the compass sensors and gyroscopes. By that time, I usually have 12 satellites which is my minimum for launching.
- And finally, just like you would probably hate that I go buzz your house, I am respectful of others. I avoid flying over a group of people, especially if they are strangers. I am noise conscious and will climb higher if needs be. I also limit myself at 400 feet altitude, because I don't want to be "that guy" when one of us put a drone into manned aircraft. It has happened, and will happen again. And quite frankly, the pictures I take needs to be lower, otherwise, I can use a real plane to do it!...
Hope this helps.
Last edited:
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Wow, thanks dude. I have just been flying it in my yard for now. I would love to take it up to the canyon. I don't use it to snoop or be nosey on others. Its just one of those awesome things if people aren't as privileged as some to be that high, I've never flown or anything so this is real awesome to see up above. I can imagine the noise of these things would be irritating to someone else, so I don't bust it out in public. I would rather be by myself and I don't rely on my screen to show me. I end up actually watching the thing up on the air than actually watching the screen. I guess that's terrible due to being more focused on flying around. But thank you for the advice!As a newcomer myself with only 3 hrs of unmanned flying, it would be arrogant for me to tell you what to do.
However, as a pilot with 21,000 hrs, perhaps I can tell you a few things, and you can decide what to keep and what to discard:
- I fly a drone like I fly an aircraft. That means that crashing it is out of the question, just like I do in a manned aircraft. What that also means is that I start my preflight with all the "pertinent information" as the FAA says.
- I look at Airmap, and figure out the airspace.
- I look at UAV forecast and confirm winds aloft and Kp index.
- I then try to position myself downwind of my flight path. In other word, I am going into the wind, so that when s..t hit the fan, I am flying with a tailwind back to home point.
- I also try to keep the automation out. As a result, I try to keep a line of sight, and I would not fly the drone behind a tree line as an example. Rather, I will move myself so that I am not adding the risk of losing signal. If I do lose it, RTH automation will show up, and as pilots never fully trust the automation in our jets, I don't see how I would fully trust it with a drone either. As you keep reading this message board, there are many threads with people putting their Spark into trees or other obstacles, because they were either too close, or RTH put the aircraft into branches, etc, etc... Again, rule number 1: crashing is bad juju....
- When I see something I want to take a picture of, I try to temper my little boy enthusiasm and slow down to follow a checklist I made. Again, rule number 2: fly it like a real aircraft. You would not want your captain to show up in the cockpit at the last minute and quickly get airborne without some prep right? So I make sure the battery is securely in place, that the sensors are clean. Turning on the controller first, so that if there is a runaway with the motors going full power, you can do something about it. Setting a home point. Setting a RTH altitude. Check the compass sensors and gyroscopes. By that time, I usually have 12 satellites which is my minimum for launching.
- And finally, just like you would probably hate that I go buzz your house, I am respectful of others. I avoid flying over a group of people, especially if they are strangers. I am noise conscious and will climb higher if needs be. I also limit myself at 400 feet altitude, because I don't want to be "that guy" when one of us put a drone into manned aircraft. It has happened, and will happen again. And quite frankly, the pictures I take needs to be lower, otherwise, I can use a real plane to do it!...
Hope this helps.
Jeplane
Well-Known Member
I think eventually, you will end up looking at the screen, because quite frankly, the Spark is so small that beyond 300 feet distance, I am starting to guess where the darn thing is. I become more paranoid about it, as the position awareness is strictly thru the screen, and pilots like redudancy!
Jeplane
Well-Known Member
I also forgot to talk about fuel: if they are fully charged, I consider the Spark batteries worth 10 minutes of flight time (plus reserve).
So with 5 minutes left, it is time to make plan or head back home, based on distance, winds, obstacles, etc...
So with 5 minutes left, it is time to make plan or head back home, based on distance, winds, obstacles, etc...
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I like the idea of this website, take great photos for the world to see and see what other areas have to offer. Earth really is beautiful with everything it has, but not all of us have the luxury of visiting various places, that's why pictures on a site like this from birds eye view really are amazing. I like seeing what everyone else posts.Nice photo. Thanks for sharing. I envy those with mountains nearby...
For this reason, I mount a bright LED powered by a small LiPo battery to the butt of the aircraft so it’s spottable at a distance. I also like to fly at dusk to see the built in lights Better, farther.
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