Hello,

I bought a Spark through amazon and I'm gonna have it with me next week.
For the last month I've been reading a lot about the spark, watching a lot of videos, and actually loging in this forum almost every day and reading through the discussions, seing the pictures, videos, etc... (getting really excited to have my dron)

Before I bought it I actually created a thread asking and checking with you guys if I had everything I needed and got a nice responses even when I wrote that It will be my first drone

I've seen and read what you are suppose to do when you have it, tutorials on how to calibrate it, "First 20 steps on what to do with your new Spark first" and all kinds of video like that and I have a list and a plan for it when arrives, however lately I've been reading about the errors and flyaways and getting very very afraid of losing my spark. Even when I have watch videos like this one on how to prevent the crashes and flyaways, I'm still afraid of losing my spark after reading sooo many flyaway cases and people actually saying that there are a lot of hardware and software errors more than user error

So can some of you give me your good experiences on your first times, your recommendations, your actions plans to fly and all that, I need to read more about good experiencies than all the errors happening so I loose fear of actually flying and trying it when it comes.

Save yourself comments like "if you're afraid then don't fly it" or "shouldn have bought it" I think we were all new one time.
Again I've never fly a drone before at least not a "professional one" I've fly some tiny drones and been next to people flying phantom 4 asking questions and learning...

Appreciate all your good comments

Keep it close to you and in line of sight and you should be fine.  Start slow, don't do crazy things like fly high and far away until you have plenty of time using the drone.

As long as you have your AC and all equipment updated and follow some basic rules as not losing your AC from line of sight, checking everything is in place and well attached ( battery, propellers, propguards etc.) before flight, then you will be reducing the risk. You should also let the drone hover for a bit while you observe if it acts in a strange way and check the parameters in the app, and do not fly unless you have at least 16-18 satelites locked on, check also the channel you are connected to and the strength of signal, and do not fly if it's weak... Following these recomendations you will reduce the risk.

Charge everything to 100%, update everything, read the manuals and watch the DJI tutorials - then find a wide open area and start in beginner mode after doing a full preflight check. Scary at first but it's amazing once your confidence reaches that level. The more you fly the confident you will become. Good luck and always return here if you need any clarification.

Don’t read much into the negative comments otherwise you won’t buy any Drone. I recently purchased the Spark and haven’t had any issue with it. But I am also not expecting much from Spark. Honestly I am still afraid to fly it any higher then 25 meters or farther then 100 meters. Some stuff is very unclear. But here is what I understand about Spark.

It is a not a toy but also not a professional drone. If you are a iPhone user you should have no problem connecting it with WiFi. The OTG cable is not officially supported by DJI but I have no issue getting it to work on a iPhone 6. (By the way I like to use the smaller screen iPhone 6 instead the larger 7 plus)

I find no issue using WiFi - it is faster and easier. (Haven’t made a detailed comparison between WiFi and OTG)

Flying it is pretty easy and you should spend time learning how to fly then worrying about taking professional pictures or Videos.

Because of its size is really easy to carry it anywhere. The Fly more package is worth. Extra battery, remote and charger. But the bag is pretty useless.

So my opinion: it is a well designed drone for beginners that are just getting into this world. There are tons of good videos on YouTube from setting it up to recording fantastic videos. Spend some time and get to know this little guy in and out.

By the way don’t spend much time in this forum. Is more like a the real housewives board then a good technical support discussion board.

Good luck and enjoy your spark

Things you should definitely invest in:

Gimbal Cover
Propeller Protector
Landing Legs
Controller Transport Clip
3rd Battery so you have total of 3 batteries

I figure that 3 batteries is well enough. You get about 40 minutes of flight time. (Depends on)

One thing I learned is having a plan. Don’t just start the thing and then figure out what you want to do. Have a flight plan. Have a video recording plan. Have a story and niche something that set you apart.

Tip To Help Avoid compass interference and crash.


1/ Never calibrate Compass unless prompted to.

2/ start AC leave until you receive enough gps lock ,

3/ if you get Compass interference turn off AC and move to another location,
without interference.

4/ In bottom left hand corner on your map you will see small red triangle, check to make sure that this triangle is pointing in the same direction (heading) as your AC, this will show good compass on the ground.

Raise AC to height of 8ft
Hover for 20 seconds
Fly forward 2ft
Backward 2ft
Left 2ft
Right 2ft
Up 2ft
Down 2ft
Yaw left
Yaw right
Each time returning to hover position
If you have a good horizontal each time, you will then know you have good GPS good IMU and good Compass, and your ready to fly.

This exercise takes less than 2 minutes and is worthwhile doing before every flight,

...and enjoy your Spark - it is a really nice drone for a beginner like I am

And the after take-off checklist > if you get a compass and or yaw error on the go app screen, don`t continue flying but return home and or land immediately!

Having read all the post and study flight records on here about 'fly-aways ', it makes no sense to continue flying and get the next fail flying far LOS, its so hard to control in ATTI mode when not closeby insight.

Have fun with your Spark

First of all I want to say that I really liked your post above and the frank approach you are taking by gathering as much information as you can before your first take off, it should be a good example for all beginners! I have done very similar because the Spark is also my first real drone. Apart of that I can only echo the good advice given by all except one previous posters here. Please stay in this forum, we shall all be here to support you with any questions or concerns you might have. And there is a very committed DJI team present to assist you as well.

Hi there, welcome to join the Spark group. I know it's not easy to take the first step, but the hands-on experience is necessary to build the confidence. I'd suggest to be accompanied by an experienced pilot for first several practices. Enjoy it and happy flying!

check before taking off that the AC's true orientation matches what app says. Practice hand launch and land - hand launch is good way avoid compass interference and hand landing is good for windy conditions. I actually don't land or take off from flat palm, but instead hold it by the battery.

Thanks for good thread... like this... just got my spark too and will open it at Christmas. Been reading tons of info. And still some confusion such as: Atti mode problem. Can you still control the AC? The AC still hover or not? Why people always crash after Atti?

Your approach to being "worried" about problems is probably good but once you start flying most of that will go away.  But don't let your "common sense" be lost.

I never launch without GPS signals and hope they connect.  I always do something similar as suggested above by moving around a little to test all of the controls (up, down, left, right, forward, back).  I never fly if I think interference could be a problem like near high voltage power lines.  If I am flying close to buildings that might have WiFi or in my neighborhood I don't fly too far.  I turn off or use airplane mode for all other devices like my Apple Watch or iPhone if I am flying with my iPad.  I don't fly so far that I cannot see my Spark and totally rely on the video feed.

I too believe many of the fly aways are somehow pilot error and maybe taking unnecessary risks or not realizing that they have a risk.

I like to do photography and I think of my Spark is an extension of that hobby.  For me to enjoy flying does not involve trying to see how high or far or fast I can fly.

Welcome to the fun.

One of the best things about having a Spark is getting to be a Jedi in front of your friends.  It is so cool and never gets old.Give lots of people turns (with information about not cutting off their fingers of course!).

Also, there are so many people that are interested and want to talk to you about it and find out more information about it - which is good fun.

Hey guys really thanks a lot for all the comment and recommendations, I made some lists on my phone so I can check them "before flight", "during flight", "after flight", "in case of (x) error", according to some of your advice and what comes in the manuals

I'll have my Spark on Friday night and I'm sooooo excited that I'll probably won't sleep that day doing all the updates and charging the batteries!
I'm planning to go for the first flight to one of those sinthetyc soccer fields that have some sort of protective net cause it has been very very windy this days so I won't take the risk to fly it on an open area until the wind comes down

Whosin Posted at 2017-12-18 06:05
Thanks for good thread... like this... just got my spark too and will open it at Christmas. Been reading tons of info. And still some confusion such as: Atti mode problem. Can you still control the AC? The AC still hover or not? Why people always crash after Atti?

Hi

From what I've read

-The two main flight modes on a DJI drone are P-GPS and ATTI ( attitude mode) **There is also the sport mode on the Spark.
Using GPS to stabilise a drone is extremely useful, the drone stops and holds position where it’s told to and even helps you to fly in the right direction in windy conditions guided by the satellites, but the thing to remember is that any time you’re using a GPS mode the drone is essentially flying itself, you might be telling the system where you want it to go, but it’s making the decisions about how to get there itself and maintaining position while hovering automatically. And sometimes things can and do go wrong

-Flying in ATTI: the drone will still maintain its altitude and the controls still function the same. The main difference is that the drone will no longer hold position automatically, it will be affected by any wind as well as its own inertia. A specific altitude but not position

- The manual says: The aircraft will automatically switch to ATTI mode when the GPS signal is weak and lighting conditions are too dark for the Vision System, it will not be able to automatically avoid obstacles and only use its barometer for positioning to control altitude. Intelligent Flight Modes are not available in ATTI mode.
In some comments above they recommend to have at least 11 sattelites showing on the app.

- People crash it on this mode because they expect the drone keeps on doing thing automatically like hovering or maitaing position when now you are the one in charge of that and since they've always rely on the automatic features they don't know how to controll it

This brings an interesting question that hopefully some guys here can helps us with

Is it recommended at some point enable ATTI mode intencionally to learn how to fly it like that?

I've read that by default DJI doesn’t allow access to ATTI mode on the controller, there’s a little switched marked P and A but moving the switch to A will not engage ATTI mode unless you first enable it in the DJI Go app.
But in Multiple Flight Mode” enabled you can switch to ATTI mode using the mode switch on the controller.  

Elantiel Posted at 2017-12-18 07:13
One of the best things about having a Spark is getting to be a Jedi in front of your friends.  It is so cool and never gets old.Give lots of people turns (with information about not cutting off their fingers of course!).

Also, there are so many people that are interested and want to talk to you about it and find out more information about it - which is good fun.

Yeah! I've seen in videos people getting crazy when they try that mode.

Can't wait to have my Spark!

Elantiel Posted at 2017-12-18 07:13
One of the best things about having a Spark is getting to be a Jedi in front of your friends.  It is so cool and never gets old.Give lots of people turns (with information about not cutting off their fingers of course!).

Also, there are so many people that are interested and want to talk to you about it and find out more information about it - which is good fun.

Yeah! I've seen in videos people getting crazy when they try that mode.

Can't wait to have my Spark!

Follow the great advice given here and you'll be on your way to some fun times with your spark. I've had mine for a little under a month and have a had a blast with it.

To the list of compass prechecks I’ll add the following suggestions. This might be over doing it but I always do the following. Turn off bluetooth. Check the sensors in the DJI Go App and make sure compass and IMU are in the green. Calibrate the phone compass by waving in a figure 8 pattern while the phone is connected to the remote. Use an analog compass to verify magnetic north, then orient the Spark and yourself in that direction. Verify on the map that all points the same direction. If it doesn’t, or it at any point after take off you notice that the Spark is not flying in a straight line when it should, consider ending the flight and trying in a new location. Some non compass related factors such as low light or flying over non textured ground could effect this, but in my opinion experience, this phenomena has been connected to compass/yaw errors. Cheers.

I'm new to "Expensive" drones as well. had a £40 drone which broke the ice for me, still learning the art of slow and gentle maneuvers for filming, there is an interesting RTH (return to home) youtube video, you may have seen it, here is the link - its not me and the audio is not great later on but hope it helps before you do what I did, and press RTH under a tree and up it went to 20 mtrs, into the tree, came down at a sideways angle at which point I managed to grab it, motors spinning, hands cut but still in possession of my drone beginners error I guess, the RTH link -
and earlier tonight my test flight pic

Wow, I wish i knew as much about DJI drones as you.  I lost my first spark after 2 weeks ( 6 flights ).  Rushed to the garden to fly it and it was on ATTI mode, didnt notice and the wind blew it into houses behind mine.  Brought another one straight away, and ive had it for less than 2months now, crashed it twice.  Once palm control in the house went wrong and it flew and hit the roof.  Other time compass error when flying indoors and it drifted onto my laptop.  Cut my finger stopping the propeller and slight damage to my laptop screen.

I'm new-ish to Spark and really enjoyed the thought and information given here. Thank you to all the contributors.

With common sense Spark seems like a great RPA and a reliable, safe camera platform.

Enjoy exploring your world through your Spark.

LouisP Posted at 2017-12-14 12:03
Keep it close to you and in line of sight and you should be fine.  Start slow, don't do crazy things like fly high and far away until you have plenty of time using the drone.

Very good advice.

Todd in Chicago

A CW Posted at 2017-12-14 12:12
Charge everything to 100%, update everything, read the manuals and watch the DJI tutorials - then find a wide open area and start in beginner mode after doing a full preflight check. Scary at first but it's amazing once your confidence reaches that level. The more you fly the confident you will become. Good luck and always return here if you need any clarification.

Very key point...start slow....the more experience you get, the more comfortable you will become.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

hallmark007 Posted at 2017-12-14 12:46
Tip To Help Avoid compass interference and crash.

This should be part of the manual.  ;-)

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

Todd in Chicago Posted at 2017-12-19 21:48
This should be part of the manual.  ;-)

Cheers...

I agree, sometimes I think safety in the manual is just about dji covering themselves, there should be a best practice for users manual particularly to help new users in best practice.

Has anyone had the experience of flying in the dark?

Snipes_Blaster Posted at 2017-12-20 08:01
Has anyone had the experience of flying in the dark?

Yes, it works well but one should really keep VLOS and not fly too far away.

Wachtberger Posted at 2017-12-20 08:19
Yes, it works well but one should really keep VLOS and not fly too far away.

Thanks, but will it RTH ok ?  There is a lantern display at my local park, was planning of flying straight up and trying to get a picture of all of it.

Snipes_Blaster Posted at 2017-12-20 08:01
Has anyone had the experience of flying in the dark?

You can fly it by just watching its lights at night.  I positioned it where I wanted and then looked at the video feed to aim at a distant ball field.  Flew it back and landed in my hand.

Snipes_Blaster Posted at 2017-12-20 09:19
Thanks, but will it RTH ok ?  There is a lantern display at my local park, was planning of flying straight up and trying to get a picture of all of it.

RTH works as well if you have stable GPS, you just won't get a precision landing because VPS can't see the ground properly. Happy landing for your project, might become a nice picture!

Wachtberger Posted at 2017-12-14 13:34
First of all I want to say that I really liked your post above and the frank approach you are taking by gathering as much information as you can before your first take off, it should be a good example for all beginners! I have done very similar because the Spark is also my first real drone. Apart of that I can only echo the good advice given by all except one previous posters here. Please stay in this forum, we shall all be here to support you with any questions or concerns you might have. And there is a very committed DJI team present to assist you as well.

Hi! Thank you very much for the response, I've try to inform myself as much as I can in order to really enjoy the spark!

I've seen a lot of your comments and some of you threads, seems like u have quite a lot of experience so I want to ask you

Is it recommended to intencionally put the spark on ATTI mode and learn to fly it like that...

Hello Hila....

I believe that most here would say NOT to intentionally try some hack to put Spark in ATTI mode.  I say hack, because the Spark was not designed to intentionally be put into ATTI mode, although there are always some that will figure out ways to do it.  If you want to learn how to fly in ATTI mode, there are many cheap drones you can get for anywhere from $15 - $100 to learn to fly ATTI.  I've heard the Syma is a good one to practice with.  My latest fun little toy, especially in the house, is a Eachine E013.  It was $35 and you have to be very active flying it, which of course is very unlike flying a Spark.

Have fun!

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago

hila3010 Posted at 2017-12-21 18:35
Hi! Thank you very much for the response, I've try to inform myself as much as I can in order to really enjoy the spark!

I've seen a lot of your comments and some of you threads, seems like u have quite a lot of experience so I want to ask you

Hi, thank you! You actually can't put the Spark intentionally into ATTI mode. Ok inhouse you normally don't have GPS but due to the normally lower altitude the visual positioning system will stabilise the Spark and there is no wind either. Thus not comparable conditions to train in.

You definitely won't lose your SPARK because you have researched so much like what I'm doing right now

At some point you will loose the Spark , that is a given, anything that flys has an element of risk
Just be prepared to loose it and enjoy it for what it is
I even expect my P4P to go flying off one day or to come crashing down to earth
You can be the best RC pilot in the world and the most experienced but the AC can still fly away,  so don't get upset just chalk it down to experience

As a new Spark owner myself, the one piece of advice I can give you is too make sure that you don't rush to take off. Before you fly, allow the Spark to get a good GPS fix12+ satellites. Wait for the DJI Go 4 app to tell you that "Home Point is set, Check the map", if it is all good you can take off. You at least know then that if something does go wrong the Return to Home will bring the Spark back.

Have had no issues at all with mine. I started off slowly and am now upto flying it about 500mtrs away. That is the furthest I will take it. Hope you enjoy your Spark and look forward to seeing some pictures in the future.

Duncandonut...

You make a good point.  I was mostly terrified after reading this forum as if every Spark ever built ignored all commands from the pilot and proceeded with a mind of its own.

Luckily, that is not actually the case.  Is it true for some, I'm sure there are some software/hardware defects which cause the Spark to fly away.

By preparing well and understanding the do's and don'ts and utilizing good common sense, flying in wide open areas in good conditions, ensuring good GPS lock, you can certainly minimize your risks.  Additionally, getting back to what Duncandonut said, start small.  Keep the Spark in beginner mode in the settings to "fence you in".  Don't go very far, don't go very high.  Familiarize yourself with how the aircraft responds to your input.  Learn all the nuances of what the screen is telling you.  Try some of the pre-programmed "QuickShots" (in a wide open area), they are good and a lot of fun.  If you go into this slow, utilize good common sense, you'll find you have many good flights.

Cheers...

Todd in Chicago