Escaped the city to the lake this morning. Clear, sunny skies with a light breeze. The only downside was that there was still a chill in the air.
Took the Spark the furthest out (about 2,800 feet), which was a little nerve-racking. The Spark was nothing more than a dot in the sky. It was a challenge to keep the Spark spotted and gauge battery life where I had plenty of juice to return home.
I did almost lose the Spark on the last return trip home. Completely lost sight of it and the Spark seemed to hit a headwind that slowed its forward progress a bit. The video feed slowed as if the signal was lost and combined with the slower forward speed, I feared the Spark had flown off. I looked at the water to see if I could see a splashdown and to be safe, I hit the "return to home" button. When the Spark picked up speed, I could hear it and eventually spotted it in the sky. I was able to land with single digit battery life remaining.
While the fear of losing a $600 drone was intense, I was impressed how well the Spark flew and returned home. It made a bee-line to the shore where I was and the Sport Mode made more noise than the standard mode that helped me spot the Spark. While this was a potential blunder that worked out, I did screw up and forget to tap the record button for one flight. I am taking the advice of several and recording my full flight but had been hitting the record button once the Spark took off. I really need to work hitting the record button into my pre-flight routine so I don't lose out on any footage.
One thing is for certain after practicing around the lake this winter is that I'm going to need more batteries for the Summer. It's fun getting a bird's eye view of the lake and with one battery only lasting about 13 minutes, three is just not enough. It would be nice if DJI offered a high capacity battery for the Spark that added about 10 minutes to flight time. I like the Spark and it more than meets my needs. If I was to ever move up to the Mavic or Phantom, it would solely be for longer flight times.
lvl.3
Captain
First Officer
