Autopilot likes the Spark again

[Oyibo VFX]

After a lot of testing and tweaking, I have Autopilot working properly again
Yesterday I did both my original Waypoint movie and Waypoint picture mission as I normally used for my Mavic (I never took my Inspire 2 to Nigeria).
The imagery is not as smooth as with the Mavic but actually very usable mits some post production (mainly stabilizing the movements).
So... what have I done

1. Connect with WiFi (never OTG cable)
2. Start DJI GO4. Let the iPhone, RC and drone normally parse (you can see this when it shows the max elevation etc).
3. Close DJI GO4
4. Start Autopilot
5. Fly away
6. Upload your date to AirData manually (there is no Internet connection)

Please note that it is NOT necessary to put your phone into airplane mode. Has no influence.
During the start up, your phone might switch to another WiFi signal. Just reconnect to the RC again.
For me, this works perfectly. No changing of WiFi channels... all on auto.

Where the movie mission works like a charm, the picture mission gives an error (error code: -1007). That says the app is not compatible with the drone. It however takes the photo.
The mission flight is 2km and the furthest point is 600 meters away from me. I'm happy
Only (Spark) issue is that images are 4:3 and not 16:9. Thats about it

For now... I have done several Waypoint missions (film and photo), Orbit, Zip-line and Follow and of course Airspace (although I will play more with this when home). Please note that the Spark (like the Mavic) are not good at the Focus and Target mode. This requires a more flexible gimbal (like P4P and Inspire 1 and 2)

First image is the sensor log from AirData that shows the quality when filming (some weak spots)
Second image is basically the same route but then the sensor quality of the photo route (100%)
Two images from the waypoint mission

 

[Oyibo VFX]

This is the full photo Waypoint route

 

[Lastrexking]

Interesting. I’m thinking of getting this app, but wasn’t sure if it was still in beta for Spark. Thanks for sharing your findings.

 

[Junebug]

So which app is better for the Spark? Litchi or Autopilot?

 

[Oyibo VFX]

I have them both. Never use Litchi. Doesn't do it for me. I know Autopilot very well and have done over 550 flights with it.
I think that says enough

 

[Sparkdriver]

Thanks for posting this Oyibo VFX and tweaking my curiosity. I am now inspired - and my Spark has been waiting patiently for some waypoint missions.

 

[ChargerDad]

The Spark doesn't support waypoints the way Litchi does them, so you need to use an app like Autopilot that has the flight in the app and just flies the drone from the app rather than having the flight plan loaded onto the drone itself..

 

[Oyibo VFX]

The Spark doesn't support waypoints the way Litchi does them, so you need to use an app like Autopilot that has the flight in the app and just flies the drone from the app rather than having the flight plan loaded onto the drone itself..

You're weird

 

[DJ_EYE]

You're weird

I'm guessing that's a 'lost in translation' moment.

Probably meant 'thats right mate!' [emoji6]

 

[Oyibo VFX]

I'm guessing that's a 'lost in translation' moment.

Probably meant 'thats right mate!' [emoji6]

Nope. It means... "I have no clue where I'm talking about"

 

[John Dwyer]

Flew my first autopilot mission today, I am very very impressed with the software, gonna be a steep learning curve, but will be very useful! Shame I didn’t set the engage and disengage settings for the camera properly hahaha!

 

[Oyibo VFX]

Many more nice results will follow. I’m playing with Airspace now where both drones (Mavic and Inspire 2) focus on each other while flying

 

[Lastrexking]

I bought AP last week, but not had time to try it. Snow tomorrow -so, gonna have to wait.

 

[Oyibo VFX]

If any questions, you know where to find me

 

[Ospi]

Also purchased this today and have done a few flights. Still a lot to learn but the waypoint missions I did went well, still learning how to control the gimbal better though but I'm pleased with how accurate the drone flies in comparison to the planned path, isn't GPS a wonderful thing.. The imagination really does become the limiting factor when you have the capabilities of software like this.

Edit: Unfortunately since writing this and going for another fly, I've encountered deal breaking issues with software stability (using an ipad mini with latest iOS). Autopilot crashes every 5 min or so, usually during flight and on one occasion crashed and couldn't be opened, only uninstalling and re-installing the software allowed it to run again. I'll try on an iphone to see if it's more stable but unfortunately if it keeps crashing for me it'll be game over for the software for me.

 

[Mike Fischer]

Also purchased this today and have done a few flights. Still a lot to learn but the waypoint missions I did went well, still learning how to control the gimbal better though but I'm pleased with how accurate the drone flies in comparison to the planned path, isn't GPS a wonderful thing.. The imagination really does become the limiting factor when you have the capabilities of software like this.

Edit: Unfortunately since writing this and going for another fly, I've encountered deal breaking issues with software stability (using an ipad mini with latest iOS). Autopilot crashes every 5 min or so, usually during flight and on one occasion crashed and couldn't be opened, only uninstalling and re-installing the software allowed it to run again. I'll try on an iphone to see if it's more stable but unfortunately if it keeps crashing for me it'll be game over for the software for me.

I'm running into similar problems with Autopilot crashing; usually between 8 - 10 minutes into a mission. I've been working with Hangar tech support but they are very slow with responses. I know the mini is a legacy device so they can easily cop out and say, sorry, not supported. Now Autopilot won't even open in the mini anymore. I was going to uninstall and reinstall but did not want to lose my flight plans. Does anyone know how to save the flight plans so they are available after reinstallation? I've asked Hangar but no response.

 

[Oyibo VFX]

I have had series issues with mr iPad 3 mini cell. My iPhone 6S Plus was far more stable.
Since I changed to an iPad Pro 9.7 I have no more issues.
Autopilot takes a lot of resources of your mobile device

 

[Mike Fischer]

I have had series issues with mr iPad 3 mini cell. My iPhone 6S Plus was far more stable.
Since I changed to an iPad Pro 9.7 I have no more issues.
Autopilot takes a lot of resources of your mobile device

I have an iPad mini 4 cellular; probably not much different compute wise than a mini 3. I'm an Android user for my phones but I may look for a used iPhone 6S Plus or 7S Plus for use with Autopilot. I do not want to invest in an iPad Pro just for this.

Do you have any idea on reinstalling Autopilot and preserving your flight plans?

 

[Oyibo VFX]

No. Reinstalling has no use. The issue is with your device, not the app.
But I agree that Hangar should be a little more clear.
But since my iPad Pro, never an issue
Although it still crashes sometimes. Very rare but it happens.

 

[Mike Fischer]

No. Reinstalling has no use. The issue is with your device, not the app.
But I agree that Hangar should be a little more clear.
But since my iPad Pro, never an issue
Although it still crashes sometimes. Very rare but it happens.

Thanks but even if your iPad Pro crashes sometimes, that tells me there is a programming issue with the app. Hangar charges a lot of money for their app. For the price of the app and an iPad Pro I would expect the app to work all the time. Thank you for the feedback.