Ok - I have had my Spark for a few weeks now.  My flying has been limited because I live accross the street from a major airport so to fly even in the house is a no go.  But even with so little time I have learned some valuable lessons.  

1. Guesture mode works - but you have to remember that for Guesture mode to work you have to make sure the Spark can see you.  Nothing works unless it can see you - hand landing fails - is the drone seeing your face.  Fly back not work - well make sure you are not to far away and the spark can see you clearly. Last on guesture mode - if you take off in geustrue mode you change to controller mode before flying because it limts what you can do if you don't - want to land in guesture mode switch back.  I almost always take off and land by hand.  

2. If something does not work - check the manual - you are most likely in a mode that prevents what you want to do from happening.  Read the manual.  Example - I was trying to take a pano but was in video mode and could not find the option seems obvious after the fact but at the time it was not.  

3. Do not calibrate compass near metal  - like car - da.  The further away you are from metal the better - also do not be surprised it you get compass error if you fly close to large metal object.  

4.  This is something I have not done yet but plan to - record your DJI Go 4 screen - so you can go back and review any issues you had - in the heat of the moment as a newbie the Go 4 app tells be a lot of things but I miss a lot of them.  If I remember to start recording the screen on my phone then I can go back and see what I missed.  

5 Start recording as soon as your bird is in the air.  I have forgot way to many times - This is a work in progress for me - I have missed some good shots because I forgot to record.

6. Take time and learn all of the intelligent flight modes.  I still have tap fly and quickshoots to work on - still a work in progress

7.  Distance - Speed - and proxcimity to other objects are not your friends at first.  

8.  The Spark is small if you get it up and away fast very few people will notice you enven have a drone. - Rembember rules - do not fly to high, do not fly over people or events or get near any emergency, Always make sure you can see your drone and have safe path home.  

9. Take the time to make sure your home position is correct.  Fly a very short distance away and hit return to home if not sure.  I have lost my drone in the sky - its small and sun was bright - return to home saved the day - once I had visual again I canceled return to home - but not knowing was very scaring.

10. Practice take off - basic flying and - Return to home as soon as possible - it helps with everything else above.  

Good advice. Your eighth point resonates with me. I feel very selfconcious flying a drone, and I've learned to grab some altitude ASAP when flying around people (after doing all the proper flight worthiness checks, of course).

that's a great list!
well done!

Here is some more Information to help you learn about Errors eg. ATTI Mode etc... If you have time watch the Tutorials, maybe you will learn something new.

https://forum.dji.com/thread-151297-1-1.html

You did a Really Good Job with that List. Being Prepared for the Worst is the best thing a Pilot can do. Welldone !

Thanks for this informative thread, this would help others.

DJI Tony Posted at 2018-7-4 15:31
Thanks for this informative thread, this would help others.

Thanks - like most things patience, practice, and learning from your mistakes help - I have made some mistakes but also learned from them also - figured others could also.

Good list of suggestions   

Number 3 is obviously wrong and misleading... you can calibrate near the metals, as long as they are not ferromagnetic.
On the other side, magnetite is not a metal technically but mineral (Fe3O4) but is still ferromagnetic and you should not calibrate near it.

So, correct rule is Don't calibrate near ferromagnetic materials.

And yes, close fly-by near a ton or two of pure gold won't affect compass so go for it next time you get a chance.

This is a great list for beginners and those that don't fly often.  I've created my own list; from taking out of case, to take off to landing.  This has helped me not forget anythng and not get over excited and concentrate on what i'm doing.  Cheers,

eYeSkYeYe Posted at 2018-7-5 05:20
Number 3 is obviously wrong and misleading... you can calibrate near the metals, as long as they are not ferromagnetic.
On the other side, magnetite is not a metal technically but mineral (Fe3O4) but is still ferromagnetic and you should not calibrate near it.

Oh ya, we all carry a mass-spectrometer in our drone bags. Whilst you are correct, newbies are not so likely to look at exact science.  As a general rule, I would say #3 makes sense in a practical terms.  She mentioned a car, that's a pretty common metal object which has potential to interfere.  I believe best practice is to be in open space away from all potential sources of interference, someone even mentioned belt buckles the other day!


Send some of that gold my way so I can get a Mavic Pro!

Great list!  
Have a question though that I have not seen addressed before; but mentioned in other places.   Your point # 4 about recording your DJI Go 4 screen.  Any advice on how to do that?  Is that an option in the app?