Lucky retrieval of Spark that flew away

[Jpm]

I was flying my Spark just before sunset to get a decent video of the sunset in my back yard. I was using the iPhone app to navigate.
Nice takeoff as I turned on the video to record. Got to 40 feet in slightly windy conditions. Calibrated GPS.
Suddenly the Spark started drifting north and sideswiped a tree. I lifted it to 60 feet. Then got compass errors. Then tried to ATTI it back to land.
The phone app controls have been sketchy to me by sliding around he screen.
Then the Spark started flying away. Fast. Then the app said I disconnected.
I ran down the street and was able to reconnect through Wi-Fi. It was flying toward a lake nearby. I forced it to land.
Using the Find My Drone, the location was next door to my home. A short video of the landing spot showed a puzzling location.
After hunting around for the Spark, I luckily found it a block and a half away from the Find My Drone location.
It does work now. Still pretty harrowing.
I think flying in a zone where there are other wireless signals from homes etc conflict with communication. Also using the iPhone and not the controller is risky.

Photos are last image Spark recorded and the spot where it landed.

 

[DesertWindAero]

Calibrated GPS.

How does one "calibrate GPS" at all, let alone while in flight?

 

[Jpm]

I calibrated before I took off. As I always do as well with my Phantom 3 pro & Mavic.

 

[DesertWindAero]

I calibrated before I took off. As I always do as well with my Phantom 3 pro & Mavic.

Do you mean that you calibrate the compass every time, before you take off?

 

[Zoran]

You need to check the interference on your wifi channel before you fly...I always start on wifi connection between my phone and the RC, if all is green I then plug in the OTG and fly...if my channel is red I select a green channel with the lowest interference plug in my OTG then fly... Since the spark uses WiFi to communicate between the RC and the drone it's crucial that you select a channel with no interference / minimal interference before you fly

 

[msinger]

I always start on wifi connection between my phone and the RC, if all is green I then plug in the OTG and fly...if my channel is red I select a green channel with the lowest interference plug in my OTG then fly

If you plug in your OTG cable every time you fly, what is the advantage of checking the Wi-Fi connection?

 

[Zoran]

If you start by plugging in the OTG cable you can't check channel interference, however if you start with WiFi you can check if your channel is clear if not you change channels, then you plug in the OTG cable it stays on the channel you have selected... Basically if you start with the OTG it goes into auto mode, if you start with wifi you can select the channel manually...

 

[Buddy411]

I know that's how a lot of these "selfie" quads are being marketed, but the difference between using a phone and a hardware controller is night and day. Using the phone to control a quad is real sketchy, both signal and precision-wise.

 

[Jpm]

I know that's how a lot of these "selfie" quads are being marketed, but the difference between using a phone and a hardware controller is night and day. Using the phone to control a quad is real sketchy, both signal and precision-wise.

I agree completely. While using just a phone app and the UAV may seem "convenient" for quick flights, it's clearly nowhere near having control like flying with an RC. The virtual controllers (especially the right side in my experience) tend to slide around and don't stay in a stationary position. So your left/right control can really start flying trouble if you slide in a direction. It's like skidding on ice if you're driving a car.

 

[Texas Gonzo]

Or more like driving drunk... using a smartphone for exclusive control of anything is stupid imo, as most smartphones are flaky as hell. Think about it, the only issues most of us have with dji are smart phone related... the transmitters and uav's work great until you try to add android to the mix for fpv. I'll definitely never fly my spark with just a phone, unless im tired of it and ready to collect on my insurance policy [emoji38]