The ESC is the same type (EMAX Simon Series 80A) that I have in the Blue Angel, but not the same ESC. This new ESC has sparked a lot since new...perhaps the first spark damaged a component in the PCB and subsequent sparks have made it worse. Once it is connected it seems to run fine...
...however, it does seem to take a long time getting to the arming sequence. I've got a spare so will swap it over and see if it makes a difference. But I'll make the anti-spark modification because this only has to be soldered once instead of regularly replacing connectors