NEVER FLY IN FOG

[maumau]

Although view is wonderful above, in fog spark looses reference to ground and altitude. In fact he considers that you are close to surface and when you lower down he goes immediatly in landing mode whatever your real height (so descent is at landing rate). In addition, fog attenuates sound so he is difficult to spot and you dont hear the drone when he really gets close to the ground.

 

[Rocco Germani]

Although view is wonderful above, in fog spark looses reference to ground and altitude. In fact he considers that you are close to surface and when you lower down he goes immediatly in landing mode whatever your real height (so descent is at landing rate). In addition, fog attenuates sound so he is difficult to spot and you dont hear the drone when he really gets close to the ground.

It shouldn't be too much of a problem if, in theory, you only go up and down. You can also control the speed of your decent in landing mode, as I've come to find.

 

[Kenneth Jackson]

Although view is wonderful above, in fog spark looses reference to ground and altitude. In fact he considers that you are close to surface and when you lower down he goes immediatly in landing mode whatever your real height (so descent is at landing rate). In addition, fog attenuates sound so he is difficult to spot and you dont hear the drone when he really gets close to the ground.

I'm calling bs on this one.
It has a barometer to sense altitude.

 

[maumau]

I'm calling bs on this one.
It has a barometer to sense altitude.

Know your plane better before telling bs yourself. And obviously you know little. First dont confuse altitude and height. Second its not a matter of height but of visual sensor lured by fog.
It seems you are useless to this forum

 

[Kenneth Jackson]

Know your plane better before telling bs yourself. And obviously you know little. First dont confuse altitude and height. Second its not a matter of height but of visual sensor lured by fog.
It seems you are useless to this forum

I'll ignore your rude comment. Here's the problem.
Can't fly in the fog, can't fly in the wind, don't fly in the sun youre wings will melt, you're battery is going to explode, don't modify your craft because Dji is perfect. Use otg because Dji isn't perfect. Don't fly at night....bla, bla.. etc..
I wish we could just fly without someone telling us we can't. I'd like to hear about modifications, experiences and innovations without someone trying to tell the pilot that they are foolish. I've seen many videos of the Spark flying above fog and there was never a fatality mentioned. Seriously? the boigie man is coming for us all?

 

[maumau]

I'll ignore your rude comment. Here's the problem.
Can't fly in the fog, can't fly in the wind, don't fly in the sun youre wings will melt, you're battery is going to explode, don't modify your craft because Dji is perfect. Use otg because Dji isn't perfect. Don't fly at night....bla, bla.. etc..
I wish we could just fly without someone telling us we can't. I'd like to hear about modifications, experiences and innovations without someone trying to tell the pilot that they are foolish. I've seen many videos of the Spark flying above fog and there was never a fatality mentioned. Seriously? the boigie man is coming for us all?

I wonder who started to be rude... we just share EXPERIENCE. Not bla bla bla, as it seems your are inclined to. If you have no experience to share no need to comment further

 

[BobD]

Lots of Sparks lost or crashed by flying above fog or cloud. The bottom sensors use infrared, and in infrared, the fog or cloud looks solid like the ground (water vapor blocks infrared). And of course the Spark's little CPU knows you can't fly through the ground, so it doesn't. This is not about telling someone not to do something, but there are technology limits here.

 

[Rocco Germani]

Lots of Sparks lost or crashed by flying above fog or cloud. The bottom sensors use infrared, and in infrared, the fog or cloud looks solid like the ground (water vapor blocks infrared). And of course the Spark's little CPU knows you can't fly through the ground, so it doesn't. This is not about telling someone not to do something, but there are technology limits here.

Would you override it if you were in sports mode?

 

[BobD]

I don't think you shut off collision avoidance in Sport Mode. That's part of what these sensors do.

 

[pmshop]

The only alert I ever got flying in fog was the ultrasonic was not reading properly and to land immediately.
Fog just covered the "eyes" underneath.
Just remember when coming down, the Spark cannot "see the ground" and will hit the ground as fast as you allow it.
Just throttle back when you get close to the ground for insurance.
I'd be guessing at 12/12 sucessful fog flights for me so far.

 

[Rocco Germani]

The only alert I ever got flying in fog was the ultrasonic was not reading properly and to land immediately.
Fog just covered the "eyes" underneath.
Just remember when coming down, the Spark cannot "see the ground" and will hit the ground as fast as you allow it.
Just throttle back when you get close to the ground for insurance.
I'd be guessing at 12/12 sucessful fog flights for me so far.

So when in decent, push the throttle stick all the way down?

 

[pmshop]

So when in decent, push the throttle stick all the way down?

Sorry to confuse.
"Throttling back" to me is just "stop what you are doing as much".

So in this case, return your throttle to almost center as you get closer to the ground.
You can actually let go of the throttle and it will stop before smacking the ground if you do that about 10' (3m) above.

 

[Rocco Germani]

Sorry to confuse.
"Throttling back" to me is just "stop what you are doing as much".

So in this case, return your throttle to almost center as you get closer to the ground.
You can actually let go of the throttle and it will stop before smacking the ground if you do that about 10' (3m) above.

But it thinks it's landing in the cloud, do I flip it into sport?

 

[pmshop]

Actually, the Spark is blind underneath after going into a fog bank.
So it cannot tell the difference between a cloud or the ground - just goes straight through.

Normal operation (normal or Sport mode) when coming down full throttle down and you hold it that way, the spark will see the ground at about 10'(3m) and slow down no matter what throttle you give.
Then about a foot (30.5cm) it will pause to confirm landing and land if you still keep the throttle down.

Now, if you go into a fog bank and bring it down with the throttle full down, it will hit the ground at 9.8 ft/s (3 m/s) and in Sport mode a bit faster.

 

[peejay]

I don't think you shut off collision avoidance in Sport Mode. That's part of what these sensors do.

to be totally correct: front sensors are turned off in sport mode - which I understand is because with the speed Spark's nose is pointing more and more down, so sensors won't see what's in front of them [I almost destroyed my flyer because of that]. but yeah, bottom sensors should be still operating in sport mode - so all the bells and whistles of landing assistance could be used.

 

[Rocco Germani]

to be totally correct: front sensors are turned off in sport mode - which I understand is because with the speed Spark's nose is pointing more and more down, so sensors won't see what's in front of them [I almost destroyed my flyer because of that]. but yeah, bottom sensors should be still operating in sport mode - so all the bells and whistles of landing assistance could be used.

I know someone who crashed into the ground because he was flying too low in sports mode though...

 

[peejay]

I know someone who crashed into the ground because he was flying too low in sports mode though...

don't want to hijack the topic, but - I can see it totally possible. with higher speeds Spark is heavily tilted, any manouvering, breaking etc. takes a lot of "3d space", if you know what I mean, and you can easily hit something. bottom sensors in sport mode are used mostly for landing, not for obstacle avoidance [because of reasons I explained earlier] - so yeah, speed is nice, but you're on your own with avoiding crashes then

 

[Mike Brown]

Fog occurs when temperatures drop sufficiently , al9ng with other factors, that moisture is deposited on surfaces and nuclei in the air. Once the Spark, or any other aircraft reaches tha temperature then moisture will form on the surfaces of the craft inside and out. A potential for failure of the electronics and another breach of safety, at least for us in the U.K. I cannot stop anyone choosing to do it, but I, like others, would advise against it, 7nless you have a disposable aircraft.

 

[pmshop]

Or have DJI Care Refresh + they offered back in May; an additional 4x exchanges in the second year for an additional $35 USD

 

[wsalopek]

Although view is wonderful above, in fog spark looses reference to ground and altitude. In fact he considers that you are close to surface and when you lower down he goes immediatly in landing mode whatever your real height (so descent is at landing rate). In addition, fog attenuates sound so he is difficult to spot and you dont hear the drone when he really gets close to the ground.

Fog does NOT make the Spark "lose reference to the ground and altitude". The Spark knows where it is based on GPS, and knows it's altitude based on a barometer. Neither of which are affected by fog.