My beloved Spark decided to disobey me tonight, took off on its own and promptly crashed into the side of a building. When I launched it, there was no GPS signal. But I have flown in this spot before, and once in the air for a few minutes the GPS signals lock on. I was only about 100 feet up, and 150 feet away from me, when I got a message that I was now in Atti mode. I just needed a quick video clip of the name on the building, so I proceeded as normal. The next thing I know, I get a message saying Signal Lost and I hear a loud crunch, but I can't say for certain in which order those occurred. I just know that I no longer had a picture on my screen.
To make a long story short, I walked over to the building and there was my Spark on the ground, gimbal hanging by one wire, two front propellers gone, battery gone, and collision-avoidance sensors smashed. I'm going to take partial blame for this because I inadvertently had the remote in Sport mode, which turns off collision avoidance.
Not one to cry over spilled milk, I'm trying to decide what to do next: Buy a new Spark (I still have my remote and several batteries for it), or buy a Mavic Mini instead. While I prefer the controls of the Spark, I like the better camera gimbal and longer flying time of the Mini. I would not buy a used Spark because there is no guarantee what condition it is in. And people who are selling the new ones are asking more than the original price.
What would you do?
To make a long story short, I walked over to the building and there was my Spark on the ground, gimbal hanging by one wire, two front propellers gone, battery gone, and collision-avoidance sensors smashed. I'm going to take partial blame for this because I inadvertently had the remote in Sport mode, which turns off collision avoidance.
Not one to cry over spilled milk, I'm trying to decide what to do next: Buy a new Spark (I still have my remote and several batteries for it), or buy a Mavic Mini instead. While I prefer the controls of the Spark, I like the better camera gimbal and longer flying time of the Mini. I would not buy a used Spark because there is no guarantee what condition it is in. And people who are selling the new ones are asking more than the original price.
What would you do?
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