Stambo
Well-Known Member
Like many, I learned to fly FPV on my own.
I bought the gear, installed it on my quad and just did it.
Took me a good 15 minutes to stop buzzing after the first flight.
The quad was a 500 sized machine that I built up with parts from Hobbyking.
Notably a KK2 8 bit flight controller, airplane ESCs and motors and Turnigy 9x radio.
I learned to put it together by watching videos and reading instructions.
There was no such thing as Betaflight and this thing really did not fly well.
Back then FPV was in it's infancy but after seeing videos from Juz70 and a few others I just had to do it.
Fast forward to today and things are so much easier.
The equipment is way better, the FC firmware is not just streets ahead, it's whole countries ahead of where it was. Cameras are clearer and not just re purposed mini security cameras.
Everything is just better.
Now to get to the point.
There are so many things I wish I had known back then so I will try to pass them on.
I won't go in to selection of FPV gear as that is a whole other subject, chances are good though that whatever you start with will be replaced fairly soon as you will crave a better quality video feed.
Most of us started cheap before moving on to quality gear.
There is so much choice, read reviews and decide for yourselves, but don't be afraid to ask if you are not sure.
Before you don the goggles for the first flight there are some simple tips and preparations you can make.
Put your FPV gear on an RC car or truck, this will get you used to the view you will get when flying, you can go as slow as you like and stop if you need to.
A crash does not harm people, pets, property or your aircraft. (Unless you are a little crazy and use a 60MPH truck) Things will be a little bouncy so try finding a smooth surface initially.
Have a spotter and start with a cheap, slow toy quad. You can get cheap mini camera VTX combo units that you can stick on with blutack or similar that run off a 1s battery.
Be careful, many of these toys have limited radio range so stay close.
Or you could go Tiny Whoop style and fly around indoors initially, although many of those are really twitchy and not so easy to fly.
When you think you are ready to progress, prepare your aircraft.
I will concentrate on quads here because I think they are the easiest to learn FPV on.
Set up your modes so you have self level available and use it for the first few flights.
Back off your rates so you have a less responsive but far easier to control quad.
Once you have a few flights under your belt switch to acro, do not continue to use self level as this will hamper your progress.
If you have an F4 or better flight controller you can install Betaflight 4 which has Acro Trainer mode which is even better.
Pick your flying area, a football field or large park is best for now, less obstacles is better.
Have a spotter with you, they can see when people wander in to your flying area and tell you where they are. They can also point you to the scene of the crash, you WILL crash, spare props is a must.
Stay reasonably close, flying the perimeter of a football field is good, and most importantly, KEEP GOING FORWARD, you can only see what's in front of you, what you can see you can avoid.
You don't have to be going fast, but don't stop or try to hover, that is one of the harder things to learn and will come later.
Now it's time to fly, altitude is your friend, you can't crash into the sky.
I suggest initially to try and maintain the height of an average house, or if you can fly around a paddock, use the fence as a reference and fly above it.
Your spotter is important here to tell you if you are getting too high or too low as it is difficult to tell when you first start FPV flight.
Keep flying forwards, I cannot stress this enough, what you can see you can avoid.
Don't be afraid to land and have a rest before you take off again if things get too stressful, and they do.
After my first FPV flight my hands were shaking so bad I could not hold the sticks still.
Most of all, enjoy yourself.
To be continued if there is enough interest.
I bought the gear, installed it on my quad and just did it.
Took me a good 15 minutes to stop buzzing after the first flight.
The quad was a 500 sized machine that I built up with parts from Hobbyking.
Notably a KK2 8 bit flight controller, airplane ESCs and motors and Turnigy 9x radio.
I learned to put it together by watching videos and reading instructions.
There was no such thing as Betaflight and this thing really did not fly well.
Back then FPV was in it's infancy but after seeing videos from Juz70 and a few others I just had to do it.
Fast forward to today and things are so much easier.
The equipment is way better, the FC firmware is not just streets ahead, it's whole countries ahead of where it was. Cameras are clearer and not just re purposed mini security cameras.
Everything is just better.
Now to get to the point.
There are so many things I wish I had known back then so I will try to pass them on.
I won't go in to selection of FPV gear as that is a whole other subject, chances are good though that whatever you start with will be replaced fairly soon as you will crave a better quality video feed.
Most of us started cheap before moving on to quality gear.
There is so much choice, read reviews and decide for yourselves, but don't be afraid to ask if you are not sure.
Before you don the goggles for the first flight there are some simple tips and preparations you can make.
Put your FPV gear on an RC car or truck, this will get you used to the view you will get when flying, you can go as slow as you like and stop if you need to.
A crash does not harm people, pets, property or your aircraft. (Unless you are a little crazy and use a 60MPH truck) Things will be a little bouncy so try finding a smooth surface initially.
Have a spotter and start with a cheap, slow toy quad. You can get cheap mini camera VTX combo units that you can stick on with blutack or similar that run off a 1s battery.
Be careful, many of these toys have limited radio range so stay close.
Or you could go Tiny Whoop style and fly around indoors initially, although many of those are really twitchy and not so easy to fly.
When you think you are ready to progress, prepare your aircraft.
I will concentrate on quads here because I think they are the easiest to learn FPV on.
Set up your modes so you have self level available and use it for the first few flights.
Back off your rates so you have a less responsive but far easier to control quad.
Once you have a few flights under your belt switch to acro, do not continue to use self level as this will hamper your progress.
If you have an F4 or better flight controller you can install Betaflight 4 which has Acro Trainer mode which is even better.
Pick your flying area, a football field or large park is best for now, less obstacles is better.
Have a spotter with you, they can see when people wander in to your flying area and tell you where they are. They can also point you to the scene of the crash, you WILL crash, spare props is a must.
Stay reasonably close, flying the perimeter of a football field is good, and most importantly, KEEP GOING FORWARD, you can only see what's in front of you, what you can see you can avoid.
You don't have to be going fast, but don't stop or try to hover, that is one of the harder things to learn and will come later.
Now it's time to fly, altitude is your friend, you can't crash into the sky.
I suggest initially to try and maintain the height of an average house, or if you can fly around a paddock, use the fence as a reference and fly above it.
Your spotter is important here to tell you if you are getting too high or too low as it is difficult to tell when you first start FPV flight.
Keep flying forwards, I cannot stress this enough, what you can see you can avoid.
Don't be afraid to land and have a rest before you take off again if things get too stressful, and they do.
After my first FPV flight my hands were shaking so bad I could not hold the sticks still.
Most of all, enjoy yourself.
To be continued if there is enough interest.