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Is the short flight times really prohibitive.

matt n.

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Sep 14, 2017
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Does anyone find the 10-12 minute real world spark flight times a hindrance for casual flying? Is it just too short? I would guess by the time I flew a mile out, I would only have a few minutes of looking around time before I had to return to home.
That's the only thing keeping me from getting a spark right now is the flight times of 10 minutes or so under real conditions (head wind, etc...). Or do most spark owners or even Mavic owners only fly for around 10 minutes anyway when having fun (not video/photo shoots or commercial use)?
 
Yes it's a bit on the short side compared to the 20' of my old Bebop 2 (and to the Mavic) but with the current battery technology there's really no way around it...but I doubt there are too many cases where you NEED to fly out 1 mile to take interesting footage/pictures. It's going to be for the fun of it so with a 3/4 batteries you can do both. Take same nice footage/pics and then do some flights where you're just having fun ;-)
 
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The good think is that it come quickly in Sport mode and changing the battery is very fast.

Cost of battery per flight minute, advertised flight time (real)
Spark battery: 59 EUR, 16 (12) minutes, 3.70 (4.90) E/min
Mavic battery: 99 EUR, 27 (??) minutes, 3.66 (?.??) E/min
PH4 battery: 189 EUR, 30 (??) minutes, 6.30 (?.??) E/min
PH3 battery: 149 EUR, 23 (20) minutes, 6.47 (7.45) E/min

From economical point of view, even if the Spark has a short autonomy, the battery price is reasonable. DJI even dropped a lot battery prices when compared with Phantom.
So buy an extra battery.
 
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The good think is that it come quickly in Sport mode and changing the battery is very fast.

Cost of battery per flight minute, advertised flight time (real)
Spark battery: 59 EUR, 16 (12) minutes, 3.70 (4.90) E/min
Mavic battery: 99 EUR, 27 (??) minutes, 3.66 (?.??) E/min
PH4 battery: 189 EUR, 30 (??) minutes, 6.30 (?.??) E/min
PH3 battery: 149 EUR, 23 (20) minutes, 6.47 (7.45) E/min

From economical point of view, even if the Spark has a short autonomy, the battery price is reasonable. DJI even dropped a lot battery prices when compared with Phantom.
So buy an extra battery.
Great analysis! Thanks.
 
Does anyone find the 10-12 minute real world spark flight times a hindrance for casual flying? Is it just too short? I would guess by the time I flew a mile out, I would only have a few minutes of looking around time before I had to return to home.
That's the only thing keeping me from getting a spark right now is the flight times of 10 minutes or so under real conditions (head wind, etc...). Or do most spark owners or even Mavic owners only fly for around 10 minutes anyway when having fun (not video/photo shoots or commercial use)?

I do always have flights time higher than 10-12 minutes. The average is more 13-14.
Having two batteries (I have the Fly More) brings you to 26+ minutes with a short pit-stop.

Considering I fly mostly for photography and considering the picture quality you get from the Spark, I do not feel the battery life an issue.

Again, mileage may vary according to your needs and expectations.
 
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By the way, it seems that the faster you fly the more time you fly. Today I got 15 mins with most of the time in Sport mode where usually I got 12-13 minutes with majority in normal flight mode, some pano and return in sport mode.
 
Sure 30% more flight time would be great but the trade off's for me may not be worth it. Easy button for me was to buy more batteries - with 1/2 dozen I can fly it in the AM, PM and not worry about having to charge in between.
 
No. When I purchased the Spark I knew the limitations. I wasn't fooling myself that somehow it was a miniaturized Mavic or something more than it is. My Spark works perfectly for what I bought it for.
 
I see the spark as something I can pull out really quickly if I'm exploring/hiking and want to take some video real quick of something I find along the way. Im not using it to explore from the air and see what I find. I bought an extra battery along with a battery charging hub that I found used at B&H. I find the spark very fun and I also own a Mavic. Lately I fly the Spark a bit more.
 
I find the flight times a little short sometimes. It's not a big deal though. I have another drone to fly as well so I get a good bit of time.
 
The good think is that it come quickly in Sport mode and changing the battery is very fast.

Cost of battery per flight minute, advertised flight time (real)
Spark battery: 59 EUR, 16 (12) minutes, 3.70 (4.90) E/min
Mavic battery: 99 EUR, 27 (??) minutes, 3.66 (?.??) E/min
PH4 battery: 189 EUR, 30 (??) minutes, 6.30 (?.??) E/min
PH3 battery: 149 EUR, 23 (20) minutes, 6.47 (7.45) E/min

From economical point of view, even if the Spark has a short autonomy, the battery price is reasonable. DJI even dropped a lot battery prices when compared with Phantom.
So buy an extra battery.
The spark has a 1400mah battery where as the mavic is dble the size...... I think if you where to put a bigger battery on the spark flight times wouldnt make much difference due to the weight and current motors
 
No, because I don't fly 1 mile out, that would be illegal. You must maintain visual with the drone at all times, that means no more than a few hundred meters out.

Flying within 500m radius, I never found the battery life to be prohibitive. I've got 3 batteries, never have I used all 3 down to critical levels. Usually taking 3 from 90+% down to 40-50% (or 2 down to 30%) is enough to produce DJI app auto generated clips.

I managed around 1 hour total flight time in one day away from mains power by charging the Spark in the car using the USB. No special charger needed, just plug in the micro-USB. You can't do that with any other DJI drones.
 
I too field charge, I like to take the spark on hikes. I just throw it in the camel pack with my 20,000 mah Aukey charging pack. After a flight I plug that puppy in and hike to a new spot. I did just buy a second battery, and really wish there was a way to usb charge the batteries alone.
 
I too field charge, I like to take the spark on hikes. I just throw it in the camel pack with my 20,000 mah Aukey charging pack. After a flight I plug that puppy in and hike to a new spot. I did just buy a second battery, and really wish there was a way to usb charge the batteries alone.

I was thinking the same... simple dock like the charger there is for the spark but that the dock can take a usb input so you can charge in your power pack, something that doesnt have top be physically connect to the spark like go pro have.



Waiting for bangood to release something, fingers crossed
 
It really depends on your expectations and practices. I have 3 batteries, and I've not felt constrained by the battery life.

If you have multiple batteries and you're not a daredevil who wants to go over a mile away and make sure you can get home, the battery life shouldn't be an issue. Dozens of youtubers have already done those distance tests, the super sport mode config hacks, etc, etc, etc, so there's no reason to retest those limits at this point anyway.

Just be realistic: You just need to think about the REALISTIC uses of the drone and what you'll REALLY be using it for. I find I can break it out and fly it all around me, getting lots of shots, and still have plenty of battery left over for coming home when I'm done. In my head I know the battery life is shorter than my Phantom 3, but in actual use it never really struck me as shorter. It really "feels" about the same.
 
No, because I don't fly 1 mile out, that would be illegal. You must maintain visual with the drone at all times, that means no more than a few hundred meters out.

There are a couple ways you can fly over a mile and still be within VLOS rules. The most simple way is fly at night with STROBONs strobes -- you have VLOS well over a mile. The other way is to use spotters with walkie-talkies.
 

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