The obsession with increasing distance...

[Buddy411]

I thought the FAA requires day time flying?

Commercial pilots need a waiver to fly past civil twilight, but hobbyist are free to fly at all hours - there's no law or regulation prohibiting it.

You should follow the AMA Safety Code:
"RC night flying requires a lighting system providing the pilot with a clear view of the model’s attitude and orientation at all times. Hand-held illumination systems are inadequate for night flying operations"

The lighting on DJI drones meets this requirement, but they aren't all configured the same. The Mavic seems to have the best stock lighting system. My testing shows the Mavic's lights can be clearly seen up to about 1.5 miles. Strobons will about double that with about 3 miles visibility.

If you think about it, flying a UAV at night with a proper lighting system is much safer than flying in the daylight. I can expand on this if need be, but it's pretty self-explanatory.

 

[RaspPiGuy]

Commercial pilots need a waiver to fly past civil twilight, but hobbyist are free to fly at all hours - there's no law or regulation prohibiting it.

You should follow the AMA Safety Code:
"RC night flying requires a lighting system providing the pilot with a clear view of the model’s attitude and orientation at all times. Hand-held illumination systems are inadequate for night flying operations"

The lighting on DJI drones meets this requirement, but they aren't all configured the same. The Mavic seems to have the best stock lighting system. My testing shows the Mavic's lights can be clearly seen up to about 1.5 miles. Strobons will about double that with about 3 miles visibility.

If you think about it, flying a UAV at night with a proper lighting system is much safer than flying in the daylight. I can expand on this if need be, but it's pretty self-explanatory.

Thanks a bunch! I'll be visiting from Canada (where recreational night flights are prohibited), and I'm now very much looking forward to some night flying. Cheers!

P.S. Anyone have a source for the strobons in Canada?

 

[Buddy411]

Thanks a bunch! I'll be visiting from Canada (where recreational night flights are prohibited), and I'm now very much looking forward to some night flying. Cheers!

P.S. Anyone have a source for the strobons in Canada?

I order all mine from PhantomHelp.com (he's an approved vendor on this forum and provides excellent service):
STROBON Cree LED Strobe Light - Phantom Help

This video quality is pretty crappy, but it shows where I mounted them. Of course you don't need that many, but I like to look like a UFO.

 

[Oyibo VFX]

I think the issue is a correct one. I have a Mavic (and an Inspire 2) but I use the Spark as a back up machine in Africa. Can't have the machine fixed here and besides some cheap Chinese drones, nothing available that can do what I need.
My point is not exactly have 3000m of distance, I hardly fly further then 400m but my issue is that the transmission/controls are really poor after more then 250 meters. Just touching the yam gives a unusable result. That is my main issue.
But agree, the Spark is a toy (with a high end toy price) where the Mavic is more a "better" toy with an even higher price but also much better results.

 

[Jared Reabow]

Maybe I'm an old fart - but what's with the obsession on increasing the Spark's flight distance? I kind of get it in the CE regions, although I'm in the UK and the distance is more than enough for me.

Surely, if you want something that flies further then you'd just buy a Mavic or a Phantom?

actually the reason for increasing the sparks range is because its size makes some laws not apply to it..

 

[delovelady]

actually the reason for increasing the sparks range is because its size makes some laws not apply to it..

... for example...?

 

[Virtual1]

Everyone just naturally likes to push their limits, it's human nature. I was just out in the park today and honestly I'm still a bit nervous flying it beyond where I can easily see it. "There's NO way I can see that little guy down there without binoculars. I known it's down there though, I can turn the camera around and see the area I'm standing in but not really see much more than a spec of where I am standing". OK time to turn around! But then again I live in a city the immigrants have named "the city in the forrest" because of all the trees we have in town. NOT safe for drones at low altitude! There have only been a few good days left to fly this year, and they've been waaaay too windy for me to trust for RTH. The two times I've tested it I've had to dump out and into sport mode to bring it back because it automatically climed up to RTH altitude and got caught in the higher winds and was being carried away despite trying to come back. Can't wait for next summer where I can have a bit more trust and bravery. As it is now, if I DO lose it, there's about an 80% chance of it getting treed somewhere, and we grow them to an average of 75ft around these parts.

 

[Maldades]

Maybe I'm an old fart - but what's with the obsession on increasing the Spark's flight distance? I kind of get it in the CE regions, although I'm in the UK and the distance is more than enough for me.

Surely, if you want something that flies further then you'd just buy a Mavic or a Phantom?

Maybe you have a car and maybe your car is able to reach more speed than the regulation of your country has.
Maybe you never go faster than the speed limit on the road, but you will agree limit your car from factory?

 

[Maldades]

I don't look for more range, just for consistent connection which I'm unable to reach in CE: I lose connection in a range of 100m with RC and Samsung S8+.
In my opinion it is a fail product. They can't sell it to me showing me amazing video clips.
Or, at least, don't have an insane obsession for avoid users can maintain their devices under FCC.
At the end of the day it is me how can be fine if I'm doing something bad.

 

[DPK]

I don't look for more range, just for consistent connection which I'm unable to reach in CE: I lose connection in a range of 100m with RC and Samsung S8+.
In my opinion it is a fail product. They can't sell it to me showing me amazing video clips.
Or, at least, don't have an insane obsession for avoid users can maintain their devices under FCC.
At the end of the day it is me how can be fine if I'm doing something bad.

Same thoughs..
Flying beyond LOS is not safe for any R/C aircraft especially with the Spark.

I owned Hubsan H501 before the Spark and never ever had a disconnection issue while testing its range @800m. So flying at 500m was safe enough.

Today I flew the Spark in different locations in very good weather with no obstacles in LOS.
At a distance of 100m, it lost its video feed completely and RTH Kicked in but I cancelled since I was still able to control it.

Before landing, flying just 10m above me the video feed returned (choppy with massive delay). I have the controller and tried with and without OTG cable in both flights. No difference at all.

I haven't performed the last f/w update yet but updated DJI Go app (Android) 4.1.18. It seems most users are experiencing video feed issues.

The stability is a huge fail on the Spark in CE mode.
[emoji45]

 

[MASERONE]

hi, I do not agree that spark is a "toy" .. it is a well-constructed drone and with lots of technology I have had so many drubs hubsan, blade chroma, cheerson cx 20 etc but since i dji I was really very happy.my would like dji to build a drone even smaller than spark but with the same features

 

[dwallersv]

I might get upset (some may get frustrated if they like) by the fact that my auto won't do 200 miles per hour.

I can assure you, with absolute certainty, that I harbor not one spec of frustration that your auto won't do 200 miles per hour.

 

[delovelady]

I can assure you, with absolute certainty, that I harbor not one spec of frustration that your auto won't do 200 miles per hour.

Thanks for that. Me either, even if I was was true. [emoji41]

 

[Harlequin66]

Maybe I'm an old fart - but what's with the obsession on increasing the Spark's flight distance? I kind of get it in the CE regions, although I'm in the UK and the distance is more than enough for me.

Surely, if you want something that flies further then you'd just buy a Mavic or a Phantom?

With my failing eyesight, I can't see my Spark more than 150m away anyway and have to rely on the video feed. I usually keep it within 3-400m range so that there's no video breaking up on my phone

 

[MASERONE]

I nn had video problems up to 1.8km ... it always depends on where you are and how much radio frequency is in that area

 

[delovelady]

I nn had video problems up to 1.8km ... it always depends on where you are and how much radio frequency is in that area

Yes, and what's between you and the craft (trees? Power lines), and so many other factors... none of which are under DJI's control.

 

[MyLittleDrony]

For me I found the spark in the UK was not keeping a solid connection within legal distance and I felt the drone was more dangerous that way than the way it is now.

I have done some long range flights on mine since the hack and its a lot of fun to have that power and tech on something which is so affordable, portable and small. I'm telling you, small drones are the future.

£700 for a drone which was not capable of a reliable sub 800m connection was not sitting well with me on top of the other compromises with regards to no raw photos, two axis gimbal which loves to twitch, and 1080 video at lowish bitrates. Now I'm happy with all those compromises because at the least, I can use the spark as an exploration tool & use the x5r with intention.

I am now in awe of my spark, I don't care if the photos, gimbal, video quality is not great, I just love having a little eye in the sky which I can take everywhere and not want to kill myself (joke) if something happens and I lose it or damage it.

I am really looking forward to the spark II, but I fear these drones are going to be locked down more and more, and I'm sure DJI are putting in anti hack methods.

However good a drone is, if its on such a short leash where its locked down, it takes away the freedom I feel when flying it.

So worse case scenario is I buy a bunch of sparks when the price comes down and fly them for fun for years to come.

Most of the time when I fly my spark its well within legal distances, but knowing it can go way beyond the stated distances makes the whole process more enjoyable.

Someone flying outside a prison or airport with bad intentions and a legal range drone is still a problem. As with anything, its the person at the end of the object which is the main concern.

We also live in a world where so many greater wrongs are accepted as the norm.

In the grand scheme of things, I have no ethical concerns of flying a 300 gram luxury toy a bit further than I should. When every day the same people approve planes flying over my head loaded with jet fuel which could wipe out my entire village.

And yes, there are tons of accidents and deaths every year with planes, yet look at what they allow to go on.

Airshows over peoples heads.
Long range flights.

Its all about money and control.

 

[Blue Baron]

I am not obsessed with reach. But I am keen to actually master the little demon. Going far is part of my training practice now (from time to time). I don‘t freak out at the edge of vlos and can focus on photography. Much more now than before I practiced to go far. I managed to go 3km and that implies I now have better control nearby, within vlos.
I observe it with bystanders. They almost freak out when they start to loose sight. And are very surprised to then see me calmly composing my shots ...

Moreover, a 3km flight in sport is 200s footage, 4km in P is 400s. Given a spectacular landscape, it nicely condenses to a fly over hyperlapse. Wouldn‘t want to miss on that kind of cinematic footage.

Also sometimes, my planned point of view simply can‘t be reached by walking, it is a few km out (e.g., in the Alps). Then, I am glad I can fly a Spark to there.