I apologize if I sounded overly harsh in the last paragraph.
Having a remote control is THAT important for happy Spark ownership. The Spark is a very useable real drone when used properly and with the right equipment. DJI choosing not to include a remote with the basic Spark is just a method to get the MSRP as low as possible and in hopes of making extra profits when the buyer buys a remote at a later time. The remote should’ve been standard equipment. However, DJI isn’t the only company that does this. Even the new $1,000 Skydio doesn’t come with a remote.
My somewhat harsh comment is the result of too many novice drone owners thinking they’re just an unregulated harmless toy and treating it as such. In the bigger picture, drones are still very new to most people and many people dislike them for privacy fears. It does a lot of damage if people’s first in-person impression is seeing a reckless drone pilot, seeing a drone lose control (or even crash), or even seeing a drone owner struggling to get a drone airborne or land again. To add to it, many novice drone owners will get frustrated when things don’t work right and will forever have a bad opinion about them.
Reality is that modern drones are incredibly feature-rich, high performance, and have the potential to be dangerous. That even goes for the “entry level” Spark. They aren’t just toys like Walmart grade RC cars with basic NiCad
batteries. The features and performance items of drones requires the user to have some level of knowledge and experience. The simple example being you learning that DJI
batteries self discharge and the reasons why (you likely don’t like going to bed for the night completely starving for food or completely stuffed with food after a feast, and neither does a LiPo
battery).
My biggest suggestions for you are to get a remote (assuming you don’t already have one), get more
batteries, fly until you get bored of flying, and then fly some more. You’ll learn what works and doesn’t work, get better at photography, you’ll be able to tell when something isn’t right, be able to quickly fix what isn’t right, and be happier overall. More importantly, you’ll become a better pilot and give a better impression of the hobby while doing it safer.
A little secret: Almost all DJI owners roll their eyes when there is yet another airspace update. You can ignore it for awhile but it’ll eventually force you to download it if enough time has elapsed since the last update.