Anyone have any experience with this particular model? Pros/Cons
Most of the time it will be used for monitoring areas of my property not easily accessed on foot.

I've got one. Pros - extremely small and portable, easy and fun to fly. Cons - limited flight time and range, camera is adequate but not great, and while it can be flown with just a phone or tablet, you really need the remote controller to be able to fly it well.

The battery is small and realistically will give you about 12 minutes of flight time per charge. I bought several spares and usually take 3 or 4 with me when I go to fly. Range is good in open fields/line of sight, but far more limited in wooded terrain.

For your purposes, it probably turns on how far away you're needing to fly it to see what you need to see, and what sort of terrain you're dealing with.

You need the remote controller to get any real range with it. With the added price of the remote controller, the DJI Mavic becomes a better value proposition, even if it's more expensive.

If your goal is to inspect parts of your property that you can't get to, you might consider a standard resolution Phantom 4. The Phantom is more powerful and robust.

The most popular sites for drone enthusiasts are the phantompilots.com,sparkpilots.com, inspirepilots.com, etc web sites. At sparkpilots.com, you can get a lot of information.

I have a Phantom 4 and a Mavic Pro, and you will get better video/pictures and longer flight time with the larger birds, but the Spark is no slouch. You only get up to 1080, but it still looks good. Watch a few Spark videos on YouTube to get a good idea of the performance.

Personally, I will never get another Phantom due to the cracking airframe shell. At least DJI replaced my original bird with a new one.

The Mavic Pro is small, but it is as big as the Phantom series when unfolded. The build quality is better, and I think it will be the main design of their future drones.

I crashed my Mavic Pro Christmas Day on its first flight by being in a rush, but it was a pleasure to fly since it was so stable. The Spark, being smaller, won't be as good in the wind, but it's lower price, portability and good performance make it a contender.

YouTube videos, again, provide. A lot of info in addition to those websites above.

Just bought the Spark with the "Fly More" package for $399 today. Batteries are still charging, so I have not flown it yet.

For $399 brand new with an extra battery, remote, carry case, extra propellers, etc., I could not pass it up.

This is an in-store only deal at Microcenter and only comes in Artic White.

Don’t forget to complete your drone registration with the FAA. Also, while not required, I’d recommend taking the free FAA wings courses pertaining to drone usage. There’s a lot of good information pertaining to airspace usage and regulations, and while you may not be a commercial operator, it’s important to understand that the Federal Aviation Regulations apply to you.

What most folks aren’t made aware of is that, depending on how you use your drone, different parts of the regulations apply to you. From the sounds of it, you can get away with using it as a model aircraft, as defined under Part 101, section E. With that, the entirety of Part 91 regarding weather, reckless operation, and even things you might not have considered such as 8 hours between alcoholic beverages and flying your drone all apply to you.

What I would be leery of is the FAAs propensity for loosely interpreting how they apply the rules and which ones they think are applied to you. I wouldn’t think you’ll have any issues, but if someone complains, or an aircraft reports you as having had a close encounter, the FAA may determine that monitoring your property isn’t a recreational activity, and therefore your operations fall under Part 107, pertaining specifically to UAS operations, which requires an FAA UAS Certificate. It’s not a likely thing to happen, but I just wanted to provide some insight as to how the feds think when they’re looking to go after someone. I’d recommend looking into getting the Part 107 license just as a CYA for that reason.

FAA Safety

Federal Drone Registration

Part 101

Part 107

Part 91

didn't the registry get tossed by the courts?

who overturned it?

The Spark is pretty limited on range. I would grab a Mavic and not look back. Faster, handles wind better, better camera and MUCH longer range/flight time.

I own a Mavic and an Inspire 2.

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
didn't the registry get tossed by the courts?

who overturned it?

It was included in the National Defense Authorization Act.

Trump signs bill reinstating FAA drone registration

quote:

Originally posted by Aquilon:

quote:

Originally posted by nhtagmember:
didn't the registry get tossed by the courts?

who overturned it?

It was included in the National Defense Authorization Act.

Trump signs bill reinstating FAA drone registration

Welcome to the world of the FAA. Just when you thought you understood and were in compliance, BOOM, the rules change and you get violated. Don’t have an FAA issued certificate for them to go after? No problem, they’ll levy federal charges against you instead. Get the part 107 license. At least this way, if you ever have any problem, they’ll simply suspend you for a length of time and say you can’t fly your drone.

Also, NASA reports are your best friend. Any time an airplane flies over you while operating your drone, fill out a NASA report. Something along the lines of “I was below 400 feet AGL, and an aircraft flew over that looked too low. In an effort to avoid a potential close encounter I immediately reduced my altitude so as to avoide a potential collision. I had previously checked the Be4UFly app, and believe that I was not in a flight restricted zone, and also performed my due diligence in notifying all of the airports within a 5nm radius of my intended flight.”

Essentially, it’s a get out of jail free card for when the FAA comes knocking for when you UNINTENTIONALLY violate a FAR.


NASA Aviation Safety Reporting System

B4Ufly app This is important. If you don’t want a knock on the door from the Secret Service, pay attention to the flight restrictions. I’ve seen firsthand what they will do to folks who don’t respect their flight restrictions.