Getting started with FPV

Posted on Jan 1, 1

FPV drones can be overwhelming at first when you’re trying to figure out where to get started. I’m going to start by offering two options right out of the gate, then we’ll dig more into why we’re doing this.

I highly recommend starting with a simulator, then getting an RTF kit.

You’ll also find out that almost all of the FPV parts are made in and sold from China. As best as I can tell, there are no consumer level FPV drones made in the US, much less parts like motors and flight controllers.

Simulators

First: the more time you spend in the simulator, the better off you’ll be in the real world. I heard a ballpark recommendation of 30ish hours before you actually start flying, though I think I got started flying real drones after about ten hours. The simulators I’ll recommend here also have flight instruction that will teach you how to fly.

I highly recommend getting started in a simulator, and following the tutorials.*

There are three simulators I recommend:

Yes, UFDS is oriented at Ukraine-style FPV, and it’s (obviously) pro-Ukraine. It is still a great simulator. It’s also the only one worth talking about that I’ve found that has the combat FPV parts.

You’ll also want a drone controller. These are different from xbox-style controllers; speaking from experience, flying a simulator with one of these is brutal and will be a hindrance. The cheapest option I’d recommend for a controller is the Radiomaster Pocket. If you’re using it with UFDS, this guide will be invaluable for setting up the controller.

Ready-to-Fly (RTF) kits

Learning to build and repair drones is invaluable and a required skill, but that comes later. You’ll see several different types of kits when you start looking at drones. Ready-to-Fly kits contain everything you need to get off the ground with a real drone. Bind-to-Fly drones are drones that are ready to fly after you bind them to a controller. Your second and on drones are probably going to be bind-to-fly, as you’ll already have a controller. The useful part about RTF kits is that everything works together out of the box: you won’t need to bind the controller or figure out getting the headset working.

I started with a BetaFPV Aquila16 kit, so I can personally recommend it. The controller isn’t great, but it won’t get in the way of you getting started. Once you move on to another controller, it’s useful for teaching other guys how to fly. If you have a 3D printer, you can get a battery adapter to use regular BT2.0 batteries with it as well. It comes with 11000 mAh batteries that give you about 8 minutes of flight time; with the regular batteries, you’ll get 4-5 minutes out of it. There is almost no customization you can do with this setup except maybe scale the throttle. You’ll spend your time focused on flying the drone.

Tinywhoops are our starting point because they are cheap (typically on the order of $100-$150), they are durable (I’ve yet to break a frame), and they translate well to flying larger drones. You can fly them almost anywhere, even indoors. If people see you flying them, they generally aren’t intimidated by them. A later guide will discuss their relevance in the field; it would be a mistake to write them off as toys. While the flight time is limited (3-5 minutes, depending on the drone, conditions, etc), you can buy a bunch of them and the swap can be done in about 30 seconds.

If you decide to piece together your own kit, you’ll need at a minimum:

  • Goggles
  • A controller
  • A drone that works with the controller and goggles
  • Batteries
  • A battery charger
  • A programming adapter if you plan on tweaking the Betaflight setup (you probably do)
  • Spare propellers - I consider these consumables like ammo or magazines. You might not go through them quite as fast as ammo, but especially in the beginning and with a Tinywhoop you’re going to burn through them.

Frequently Asked Questions

One of the motivators for building this site was seeing guys with some of the same questions.

  1. Do I need goggles that work with the simulator? No - this is discussed in the goggles page, but short answer is I found marginal utility from this.
  2. What order should I do this in? Get the controller and simulator first. It’ll run you about $100 for a Radiomaster Pocket and Liftoff (linked above). If you can afford it, get an RTF kit - the Aquila16 RTF kit is what I used, though there are others.
  3. Should I do a custom build first? I don’t think so, though you’ll want to build those skills later. Start with a ready-to-fly (RTF) kit or a bind-and-fly (BNF) drone.
  4. What drone should I get started with? I’m going to recommend Tinywhoops as a starter; the Aquila16 RTF kit is what I got started with, there are other options too.
  5. Is there anything else I need besides an RTF kit? More batteries, depending on the drone, are nice. Definitely spare propellers. Lots of spare propellers. A decent microSD card for your goggles DVR is useful.
  6. How do I get good? Think of it like shooting. You need to start with the fundamentals, which you only get with stick time. Once you’re comfortable flying, start challenging yourself. How fast can you complete a race course? Can you shoot this gap or that gap?

Tips

  • Turn on auto-DVR in your goggles. If you crash a drone and lose the video signal, you can review it (usually even in the goggles) to help you find it.
  • Don’t spend a bunch of time worried about flight rates or tweaking your drone settings at first - just get used to flying it.
  • If you plan on flying indoors (which is a really useful exercise in precision flying and throttle control), it helps to scale the throttle to 80% at first. If you find yourself flying too fast outdoors, you can do the same.
  • Most Betaflight-based drones (and the Aquila16, which doesn’t run Betaflight) allow you to access a drone settings menu in the goggles using left stick full left, right stick up. This is useful for clipping the throttle or changing the video transmitter power.