I have flew my SPARK 4 times so far and, in non sport mode, I can only reach 7 mph without the propeller guards and 6 mph with them. There was almost no wind and the drone is not in beginner mode.....is this the normal max speed ??? I thought I read it could go to ~12 mph.....what could be the issue ?  Thanks

According to my flight records, the maximum speed I've had my Spark is 23.2 mph and I was not in Sport Mode.  However, I'm not sure how accurate that is because it certainly didn't feel like I was going that fast.

Thanks for your comments/data. Is there anyone else that could tell me the typical speed they get in non sport mode, with almost no wind, on the horizontal only ??  Thanks !!

You have to turn off the obstacle avoidance system to fly at higher speed when using phone bro....it's stated in the manual, pages number 9

Bingo !! Many thanks for this precise information. You are right...the manual says that in non sport mode, with obstacle avoidance on....the nax speed is 6.7 mph ....which is what I got. So the drone is working ok, that is great....but that is too bad that the speed is a little bit too slow. 12 mph with the obstacle avoidance would have been great. Thanks again Ali86.