Hi, am poised to buy my first drone, a Spark.
What would your top 2 tips (advice) be to a newcomer to this hobby be please?
Thanks,
Chris

1. Read the manual cover to cover and take your time with the whole set up and prep before you even turn on the drone
2. Read up on the UK CAA drone code and ensure you have safe to fly areas near to where you live and know the laws and rules of safe flight

A CW Posted at 2018-3-17 11:44
1. Read the manual cover to cover and take your time with the whole set up and prep before you even turn on the drone
2. Read up on the UK CAA drone code and ensure you have safe to fly areas near to where you live and know the laws and rules of safe flight

Thank you.
Chris

ChrisJG Posted at 2018-3-17 11:51
Thank you.
Chris

No worries Chris - one other big one for you - do NOT fly it indoors until you know everything about it! Find a quiet, large, open space with little to nobody around for your first few flights and charge the batteries up to 100% before updating everything. DJI has a load of tutorials for you to view too.
Good luck and do get one soon - they are amazing! If you can push your budget a bit further I would get the Mavic Air.  
Andy

Welcome to our world.
As mentioned above
1) Know your drone (Take your time to familiarise yourself with Drone, remote control, DJI apps, etc)
2) Know the rules (CAA’s drone code, by laws of councils etc)

Hope you enjoy flying your drone.

youtube , and youtube....its got everything you nee to know tbh , it helped me loads when i started, and on a serious note is be confident, but not too confident ..and secondly ENJOY it is brill fun ...

Watch related videos in Youtube, they teach a lot of real-life lessons for Spark

A CW Posted at 2018-3-17 12:32
No worries Chris - one other big one for you - do NOT fly it indoors until you know everything about it! Find a quiet, large, open space with little to nobody around for your first few flights and charge the batteries up to 100% before updating everything. DJI has a load of tutorials for you to view too.
Good luck and do get one soon - they are amazing! If you can push your budget a bit further I would get the Mavic Air.  
Andy

Man do I ever second the "do NOT fly indoors until you know everything about it"  and I know there are a few others here that will as well.  I have flown toy helicopters from cheap to expensive as well as cheap drones but nothing compares to the way the Spark reacted indoors.  I went through a few props because the winter grounded outdoor flights and I was anxious to fly.  I cannot tell you how many YouTube videos I watched as well as reading the manual and I would say I still wasn't prepared when I first fired it up.  Definitely take it slow.  

Yep - never do it until you can fly in ATTI mode

#1 pack up your drone.
#2 mail it to the address I send you, I can never have enough. Happy flying !

The Bash's Posted at 2018-3-20 19:35
Man do I ever second the "do NOT fly indoors until you know everything about it"  and I know there are a few others here that will as well.  I have flown toy helicopters from cheap to expensive as well as cheap drones but nothing compares to the way the Spark reacted indoors.  I went through a few props because the winter grounded outdoor flights and I was anxious to fly.  I cannot tell you how many YouTube videos I watched as well as reading the manual and I would say I still wasn't prepared when I first fired it up.  Definitely take it slow.

Thanks all, ordered a Spark in Yellow, the Fly More Combo from a large photographic retailer here in Norfolk, UK... Was open - box, so got it for £499.
Collecting it tomorrow, will probably spend tomorrow evening updating / checking firmware / calibrating IMU & Compass, with a view to flying on the weekend.

The yellow looks very sharp, you'll love it.  Having the Fly More Combo you get the remote, it makes it easier to fly in my opinion.  Don't forget the prop guards indoors!!!!

The Bash's Posted at 2018-3-29 17:08
The yellow looks very sharp, you'll love it.  Having the Fly More Combo you get the remote, it makes it easier to fly in my opinion.  Don't forget the prop guards indoors!!!!

Thank you.
I'm wading through all the tutorial videos. Have managed to get my iPhone to connect and can use the DJI Go 4 app okay on the Spark, but the controller is not paired to the Spark, and getting that beyond the 'Activate Spark' screen is a pain in the neck...

The first few times seemed to be tricky but, after you get the hang of it you'll be doing it without thinking.  

Hi Chris,

Read all the manuals cover to cover , read the horror storys on here.

Take your first flights in a big area clear of everything but don't fly too high or far away.

Follow the check lists on the forum.

You will probably need some accessories to continue flying , more batteries, signal reflectors, battery strap,
OTG cable and FCC mode

I was lucky, my kids gave me my Spark on New Year's Eve for my birthday.  The lucky part was that the weather was AWFUL.  So, all I could do for several days was read the manual, this forum, watch Youtube videos and practice with the flight simulator in the DJI App.  I really found the simulator to be helpful once I read the manual and watched some videos.

But, the one thing I wasn't prepared for was the "panic" of my first flight.  The Spark didn't react exactly as I had expected because I didn't wait until I had full GPS lock.  I panicked.  Fortunately, I landed without incident, but it taught me to be calm.  As long as you remain calm you can work through any issues.

Have fun.  They really are an amazing little bird.  I just love flying it and I get better each time I fly.