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Poll: Should the SPARK be government issued RECALLED?
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6714 72 2018-5-1
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DMX_MLT
Captain
Malta
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2018-5-2
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Sparky_17
Captain
Flight distance : 62349 ft
Canada
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i've had no issues with flyaways.  If one uses common sense before, during and after flight, then flyaways should be no-existant.  Now keep in mind his is my personal opinion; just stating based on personal experience.  I can't share a flyaway experience here, because it's never happen to me.  Maybe i'm lucky or i've been practicing the dos and not to dos.  Fly safe and always respect your surroundings and practice safe flight
2018-5-2
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Sparky_17
Captain
Flight distance : 62349 ft
Canada
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Gunship9 Posted at 2018-5-1 16:33
Drone flies fine.  Users that have lost their drone should be fined.  The ones who's excuse is that they didn't know how to safely fly a drone or that what they did would cause it to be lost, should be fined again for general ignorance.

nice drone .. I completely agree with you.
2018-5-2
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Gunship9
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JimboHUN Posted at 2018-5-1 22:24
While I think most complaints do boil down to pilot errors, it also has to be noted that the Mavic forum has less topics on errors.

So far I am happy with my Spark

Because people spending $1000 for a drone tend to educate themselves on how to avoid wrecking it or losing it.  Plus, a lot of those owners were experienced drone pilots excited about a drone that folds down to fit in their pocket but can film in 4k.  Adding a small portable unit to the shelf holding their big drones.  And, the Mavic has dual compasses so the pilot is less involved in guiding the drone.

People saw the Spark on sale at Sears and gave it to their kid whose only piloting experience was wrecking his kite.
2018-5-2
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DMX_MLT
Captain
Malta
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Comment removed by DMX_MLT
2018-5-2
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DMX_MLT
Captain
Malta
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Tip: The post by the administrator or moderators shield
2018-5-2
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hallmark007
Captain
Flight distance : 9812789 ft
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Ireland
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Where’s Z , Z is dead or maybe just a fly away........;+)[<{####
2018-5-2
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heliman
First Officer
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I think the app should be recalled. Not the spark.
2018-5-2
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sSunsets
First Officer
Flight distance : 311089 ft
United States
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Ha, Thanks for the entertainment... With a grin, No fly aways here... I have a goapp only android w/older version, last # is a 4 I think. I haven't looked onto atti flying only.... I like idea of always in control attitude. Thanks for the social story and social gossips....  hahahaha
2018-5-2
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Blellow
Captain
Flight distance : 1311056 ft
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United States
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Try setting home point first before flying off.
2018-5-2
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andwluv
Second Officer
Flight distance : 167241 ft
Malaysia
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Flown on different geographical regions with 103 flights, include one pilot error crash Nope!
2018-5-3
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Nidge
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Just as a supplement to my earlier posts. Yes many claimed incidents can be attributed to user error but it is a fact that quite a few are not and this is a cause for concern.
In the linked video the owner provides a great narration of events as they unfold. Why would the Spark, while flying in tripod mode, suddenly decide to switch into Sport mode and advance at full tilt when it deems that GPS performance is compromised and reverts to ATTI mode? Another owner local to me experienced exactly the same anomaly last week but unfortunately his Spark was not recovered. He sent his flight logs to DJI and within 24hrs received a notification that a replacement was to be shipped. Unfortunately, and yet again, DJI failed to explain why or what was the cause of the failure.


2018-5-3
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Brian Sigler
lvl.4
Flight distance : 1762510 ft
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105 flights and no issues that I would not take full responsibility for. The spark is my first drone.
2018-5-3
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Northwood
Captain
Flight distance : 2148596 ft
Canada
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IMHO, many of the fly-aways could potentially have been avoided if the pilot first read forums like these, proactively, rather than reactively, once their pride and AC are dented or gone. That is exactly what I have been doing since January this year, I had a toy drone first, lost it to a fly-away, in hindsight, it was most likely my own bad judgement to blame.  I should be receiving my new DJI drone by the end of this month, I will certainly be thinking about all the great advice I've read here before I ever hit "Go Fly".  So big thanks to all you folks for that.  As others have noted that the software could be better... but still in my judgement, its a fleshware problem, not software that brings fly-aways and crashes.   
2018-5-3
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m1n1s
Second Officer
Flight distance : 319915 ft
China
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First bird cashed in august last year with the battery ejection problem, second bird was faulty issued from DJI in Shenzhen , third bird still flying with over 200 flights in many different countries - 3D printed battery clip and the drone seems to think its in the USA
2018-5-3
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Gunship9
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United States
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Nidge Posted at 2018-5-3 01:46
Just as a supplement to my earlier posts. Yes many claimed incidents can be attributed to user error but it is a fact that quite a few are not and this is a cause for concern.
In the linked video the owner provides a great narration of events as they unfold. Why would the Spark, while flying in tripod mode, suddenly decide to switch into Sport mode and advance at full tilt when it deems that GPS performance is compromised and reverts to ATTI mode? Another owner local to me experienced exactly the same anomaly last week but unfortunately his Spark was not recovered. He sent his flight logs to DJI and within 24hrs received a notification that a replacement was to be shipped. Unfortunately, and yet again, DJI failed to explain why or what was the cause of the failure.

What anomaly?  ATTI mode require the pilot to get on the sticks to maintain a stable hover.  There is no going to "Sport mode" since GPS stabilization is off line.  He knows he has spotty GPS but flies over water in tripod mode with sticks pushed further forward than any other mode.  In ATTI mode the forward speed is not limited by GPS position updates.  Pilot says he wants tilt via the position of the control sticks, the ATTI mode IMU complies without ever knowing the speed that is resulting.

Is that flying with caution?  Over water with lots of cliff edges and trees around when the Spark is warning you that GPS stabilization is sketchy?  The video indicates he is trying to get rid of his Spark so he can ask the wife for permission for a new Mavic Air.  The video doesn't come right out and say it but that is what the flight shows.

Lastly, the vlogger is flying by a 720p video that is loaded with tons of lag when the drone is about to go into ATTI.  You see him finally react and sorta level the drone a few feet before the cliff edge but he never applies reverse thrust to arrest the forward momentum.  He would have been better flying that low resolution analog video camera on his second drone due to its very low lag.  He would have been able to see what was happening in real time instead of by delayed digital HD broadcast (what the spark uses).

A fool flying by video feed only is soon parted from his drone   Fly in eyesight.
2018-5-3
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chamdew
lvl.3
Flight distance : 47169 ft
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m1n1s Posted at 2018-5-3 19:19
First bird cashed in august last year with the battery ejection problem, second bird was faulty issued from DJI in Shenzhen , third bird still flying with over 200 flights in many different countries - 3D printed battery clip and the drone seems to think its in the USA

hello. you said you had battery ejection problem.
what did the DJI do for you?
and would you take a look at my flight record? i think battery ejection problem was happened to me.

http://www.phantomhelp.com/LogViewer/TR4TQKCFO3YJOAX6AZLY/
2018-5-5
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KlooGee
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Flight distance : 16641309 ft
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Nidge Posted at 2018-5-3 01:46
Just as a supplement to my earlier posts. Yes many claimed incidents can be attributed to user error but it is a fact that quite a few are not and this is a cause for concern.
In the linked video the owner provides a great narration of events as they unfold. Why would the Spark, while flying in tripod mode, suddenly decide to switch into Sport mode and advance at full tilt when it deems that GPS performance is compromised and reverts to ATTI mode? Another owner local to me experienced exactly the same anomaly last week but unfortunately his Spark was not recovered. He sent his flight logs to DJI and within 24hrs received a notification that a replacement was to be shipped. Unfortunately, and yet again, DJI failed to explain why or what was the cause of the failure.

Nidge,
I have reviewed the logs for the flight that you have provided the video link to.  The behavior that is seen in the video is very easily explained based on the data in the logs. Firstly, the pilot was flying in a canyon that severely limited the view to the sky to a very narrow angle. This caused the GPS signal to be teetering on the edge of working and not working. Below is a copy/paste of the rest of the feedback I provided to the pilot in a FB post. While unfortunate the circumstances and results, I think the behavior and result is quite understandable given the circumstances.

I think your situation was a bit unfortunate in terms of the circumstances and timing.  From what I can tell while you were in tripod mode you were in full speed forward (i.e. right stick was full forward).  While you were in tripod mode, this was not a problem given your environment because it was moving slowly.  However, as soon as it switched to ATTI mode, the right stick was still full forward for about 2 seconds.  In ATTI mode, the aircraft will have full power available to it unlike in tripod mode where stick movement results in very little movement.  So the 2 full seconds of full stick forward resulted in the sudden movement you reported and is seen in your video and the logs.  Also as you know, in ATTI mode, letting off the stick does not result in immediate braking.  So from my perspective, it appears to be the unfortunate series of circumstances that lead to the end result.  I’m not passing judgement at all, just trying to provide an objective view based on the data.
2018-5-5
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KlooGee
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KlooGee Posted at 2018-5-5 14:04
Nidge,
I have reviewed the logs for the flight that you have provided the video link to.  The behavior that is seen in the video is very easily explained based on the data in the logs. Firstly, the pilot was flying in a canyon that severely limited the view to the sky to a very narrow angle. This caused the GPS signal to be teetering on the edge of working and not working. Below is a copy/paste of the rest of the feedback I provided to the pilot in a FB post. While unfortunate the circumstances and results, I think the behavior and result is quite understandable given the circumstances.

I forgot to also add that the reason for the hard yaw/rotation right before it impacted with the wall can also be explained.  We can see in the logs that this was due to stick input from the pilot.  

My point in bringing these data points up is not to place blame anywhere, but rather to try to point out from an objective perspective that what on the surface can look like a device just randomly going wild, quite frequently can be explained fairly easily if one dives into the details.
2018-5-5
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Bright Spark
First Officer
Flight distance : 22129 ft
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Yet another non flyaway.
2018-5-6
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FarmerMac
First Officer
Flight distance : 1215079 ft
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Denmark
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Have had no flyaways at all.
I think most flyaways is caused by user him selv.
Not waiting for sats enough locking before takeoff (homepoint record)
Flying in to strong wind with the result of the drone being carried away by the wind if by some reason the ATTI mode is activated.
Launching from an area with magnetic inteference.
Etc..
2018-5-7
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Blellow
Captain
Flight distance : 1311056 ft
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United States
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What he said!
2018-5-8
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Jeetley
First Officer
Flight distance : 123944 ft
United Kingdom
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JMR58 Posted at 2018-5-1 12:34
Don't recall a winner, educate the user..

totally agree
2018-5-8
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m1n1s
Second Officer
Flight distance : 319915 ft
United Kingdom
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chamdew Posted at 2018-5-5 13:27
hello. you said you had battery ejection problem.
what did the DJI do for you?
and would you take a look at my flight record? i think battery ejection problem was happened to me.

DJI took another 1500 rmb for a faulty replacement before replacing bird two with a brand new one from the store in ShenZhen , this was back in the day before DJI started replacing crashed and lost sparks.
2018-5-9
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Paco572
lvl.3
Canada
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So far 127 people have placed their votes, with 27.56% wanting some kind of a recall. These numbers may not look like much but if you count also the ones that don't get reported, these figures are of concern. If 500,000 units are sold and roughly 30% are having flyaways, then this issue is very serious. I will wait for the poll to run it's course. In the meantime, I will continue to do more research and be speaking with as many drone flying clubs as possible to get a better picture of the fly aways that doesn't get reported.

PACO
2018-5-13
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sergio.flor
Second Officer
Flight distance : 798301 ft
Spain
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Gunship9 Posted at 2018-5-3 19:39
What anomaly?  ATTI mode require the pilot to get on the sticks to maintain a stable hover.  There is no going to "Sport mode" since GPS stabilization is off line.  He knows he has spotty GPS but flies over water in tripod mode with sticks pushed further forward than any other mode.  In ATTI mode the forward speed is not limited by GPS position updates.  Pilot says he wants tilt via the position of the control sticks, the ATTI mode IMU complies without ever knowing the speed that is resulting.

Is that flying with caution?  Over water with lots of cliff edges and trees around when the Spark is warning you that GPS stabilization is sketchy?  The video indicates he is trying to get rid of his Spark so he can ask the wife for permission for a new Mavic Air.  The video doesn't come right out and say it but that is what the flight shows.

I had 284 flyes without issues. I check every flight, the compass, the IMU and the GPS I never had any issues. I was flying normally when I got a Magnetic field error message and it change to Atti mode,I try to bring it all back but suddenly the drone got out as a Rocket, The drone pass from 12 km/h to 76 km/h without control until that it crashed in a tree. This is a big issue, if the drone pass to Atti mode I shoud had a certain control over it and not go out without control. I have a lot of experience flying in ATTI Mode and this behavior is not logic.
My unit was replaced under waranty. This behavior is not a puntual issue, I know more user that had have the same issue. Despite this, I have voted that the spark dont be recalled but it is obvious that this behavior must be solved.
2018-5-13
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S-e-ven
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Flight distance : 5910961 ft
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Paco572 Posted at 2018-5-13 09:15
So far 127 people have placed their votes, with 27.56% wanting some kind of a recall. These numbers may not look like much but if you count also the ones that don't get reported, these figures are of concern. If 500,000 units are sold and roughly 30% are having flyaways, then this issue is very serious. I will wait for the poll to run it's course. In the meantime, I will continue to do more research and be speaking with as many drone flying clubs as possible to get a better picture of the fly aways that doesn't get reported.

PACO

And you think, 150.000 fly aways wouldn't create a stormy season in the DJI/Spark/Drone-forums?
2018-5-13
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Bing Err
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Flight distance : 9249964 ft
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Nope. I've clocked in 50 hours, 2.1 million feet of travel, and 433 successful flights. Majority of crashes and flyaways are pilot error. Sorry to say.
Screenshot_20180514-043539.png
2018-5-14
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ChrisJG
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Flight distance : 1725341 ft
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Bing Err Posted at 2018-5-14 01:37
Nope. I've clocked in 50 hours, 2.1 million feet of travel, and 433 successful flights. Majority of crashes and flyaways are pilot error. Sorry to say.

And educated many on here with your helpful videos and advice too.
Chris
2018-5-14
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djiuser_GDNEfJQ2yax3
New

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Well my drone just fell out of the sky and broke my finger and windshield me and my buddy were flying the drone and it froze in air and would not go wear l was directing it and crashed and fell from about 60 too 90 ft
2019-9-22
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djiuser_GDNEfJQ2yax3
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Well my drone just fell out of the sky and broke my finger and windshield me and my buddy were flying the drone and it froze in air and would not go wear l was directing it and crashed and fell from about 60 too 90 ft
2019-9-22
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djiuser_GDNEfJQ2yax3
New

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Should have never did this I'm really not happy at all
2019-9-22
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ssylca44
Captain
Flight distance : 434721 ft
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Both issues can be easily fixed by the pilot, no recalls needed!
2019-9-23
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