It's been 2 weeks since I had reading posts here in DJI Forum. I am very anxious to fly my Spark now, after reading a ton of stories about Spark suddenly went crazy in the air; there is also a ton of incident where the battery suddently pops out of the drone because of the defective battey lock. I am enjoying to fly my toy drones more than the Spark, because of trust issue build up in me

I've had no issues with my Spark.

If you are worried about the battery falling out,  use a rubber band around the battery and back motor arms to hold it in.

As for the stories about the spark going crazy..  I think if you are very careful when flying,  make sure that there are no errors before lifting off,  make sure the home point is recorded,  and most importantly,  know what to do and how to fly the drone if it goes into ATTI mode -- if you have toy drones to practice with then you should be very good at ATTI flying.   If not, find someone with an older Phantom that allows you to manually start ATTI mode -- and practice.   ATTI mode flying is actually fun.

Most importantly --- keep it VLOS.  That way if you lose GPS, and/or video, you can visually fly the drone back home.

There still might be hardware/software glitches that cause your drone to fly-away.   However, I think the possibility is small, and you can safely fly as long as you take adequate precautions and pay attention to errors while flying.


Sid

You'll get over it, but it's a gradual process. I was exactly like you, and still am somewhat. I started flying my Spark outside this week after owning it for a month. All the horror stories were front and centre in my mind, and it was with more than a little trepidation that I tapped the take-off button for the first time. There's a reason for the "chicken" in my username.

After a few flights, I've maxed out at a hundred yards distance and 30 metres in altitude. That's peanuts for the big boys around here, but last week I couldn't have done even that. Now, I'm no longer so nervous flying around my yard like I was at first. I'm going keep letting out the leash a little longer so that by spring, I'll feel comfortable enough to fly it the way it's intended. Hell, I might eventually send the first drone into orbit!

Bottom line, it's just a matter of overcoming your fear, and you can only do that by flying it and learning to get comfortable with it. Best of luck. It will be worth it.

Hi RjMllr, no worries, all shipped drone has been tested and quality assured, if any incident happens, we will help to make data analysis to find out the reason as long as the drone is warranty period, the warranty service will be provided if the accident is caused by non-pilot error after data analysis, but we still recommend to be familiar with the user manual and make pre-flight checklist to make sure everything is in good condition. Hope you enjoy flying.

If you just let it sit on the shelf and don't use it, then may as well have already lost it.  Learn how it works, don't put it up in bad situations, do a good pre-flight check, and make a plan for your flight.

I started off in Beginner Mode in my front garden and survived minor bumps and falls. After awhile the confidence and experience grows. Most important is to do the Pre Flight Checks and ensure you have enough Satellites (GPS) recorded plus Home Point updated.. soon you will be happily flying and enjoying the Spark..  it grows on you....

As Sidtx says below do all of your pre flight checks, fly in a decent location with good signal and keep it VLOS you will be fine. I have had mine since launch, never crashed it and only real issue i had was a loss of signal when i was pushing the absolute wi-fi limit, I got 400ft away in a straight line and panicked but it came back no problem. Of course i am not denying there have been a few issues with others but 95% of Spark users have nothing but fun. I have some minor technical moans at the moment but they are pretty minor and as a new user you wouldnt probably have the same compplaints as most of the issues i'm dealing with are things like images not appearing in the app to download when it used to work fine, video format etc all of which there are workarounds for!

Every piece of technology has problems from time to time, but with proper care, pre flight checks and all the usual things you should do when flying an aircraft then all will be well. Go out and enjoy yourself you will be glad you did.

No problems with my spark so far. No battery loss, no fly away, no crazy movements in the air.

Study Kloo Gee's video. He has some good pointers in it. Don't try to do too much too soon. Familiarize yourself with FAA or whatever your country's laws are for flying drones.

I am still getting comfortable with mine and have moved from practicing indoors to practicing in my back yard and getting more elevation. I spent several weeks practicing indoors in Beginner mode with the prop guards on before I felt comfortable taking it outdoors. I'm in no hurry to get that epic cinematic footage or that fabulous pano. I want to feel comfortable with the controls and flying it with a steady hand first.

A very good app to get for your iPhone is the UAV Forecast App. It gives you info on the weather, wind conditions, solar activity, GPS satellites, etc., for the area in which you want to fly. What's even better is that it's free. If you have an Android, it's also available on Google Play. I find the wind conditions information particularly useful.

You have the wrong hobby!

S-e-ven Posted at 2018-3-26 07:54
You have the wrong hobby!

No he doesn't. The entitled yahoos who fly their drone out of the box without reading the manual and scream bloody murder when they lose it are the ones with the wrong hobby. I'd encourage and welcome the OP as a fellow flyer anytime over them.

I’ve (had) the exact same fear. Last weekend I flew a lot more, and I realized I shouldn’t watch the video’s anymore. Most of the circumstances they have are rare. (Flying in fog, flying close to buildings, went ‘quickly up in a forest’’, etc)

I’m following the most guidelines of other Spark Pilots. Always keep it in sight, don’t go 100 meter in the air straight away, and know what’s around you.

If you never use it, you will never ‘know’ your Spark. Try it, keep it in sight. If it crashes and you couldn’t help it, you can claim warranty.

Check this recent email of DJI btw

Thank you guys for all of your advise. I need to do some loosen up my nerves and start exploring new heights with my Spark! I will keep all your advise in mind

I've done well over a 100 flights with my Spark and can tell you that at times the skill to be able to fly without compass or GPS is invaluable. You just never know if something will interfere. Generally, my experience with the Spark has been good but since the last DJI Go update it has lost it's mind a few times for no apparent reason - switching to ATTI mode mid-flight.