Introduction
If you've ever watched mind-blowing FPV drone videos on YouTube, Drone Racing League on TV, or tried on FPV goggles, you might have been intrigued by the world of First Person View (FPV) drones. FPV drones can seem intimidating, but fear not! This article will provide you with a brief introduction to the world of FPV drones, including gear, skills, and tools needed to get started.
What is FPV?
FPV stands for "First Person View," which allows you to virtually sit inside the drone and control its movements while viewing real-time footage through a display. You can compare it to flying a real aircraft through a real environment instead of a virtual aircraft.
More about FPV Drones
FPV drones are small unmanned flying machines that rely on multiple propellers to sustain flight. They are classified as multi-rotors, and the most common type is a quadcopter, which has four rotors. FPV drones can move in any direction, including hovering in place, moving sideways, up and down, forward and backward, and even doing tricks.
FPV Drone Freestyle
FPV Freestyle is a form of creative expression where pilots flow through a landscape or structure while performing impressive tricks. It's like a skateboarder tearing up a half-pipe or a dancer moving to the music.
Cinematic FPV Drones
Cinematic FPV Drone flying is similar to FPV Freestyle, but instead of focusing on stunts and tricks, it presents expansive landscapes, breathtaking scenery, or fast-moving subjects in an aesthetically pleasing way. Cinematic FPV pilots aim to minimize camera movement to draw attention to the environment rather than the drone.
FPV Drone Racing
Drone Racing involves racing drones around a course, with the first one to pass the finish line winning. Drone Racing tracks usually have gates, which are rectangular or circular obstacles, and flags, which are vertical obstacles. Drone Racing appeals to those who are highly competitive and like going fast. It's cheaper and physically safer than other racing disciplines, while being just as exciting.
An FPV (First Person View) Drone System comprises several components that work together to enable the drone to fly and transmit real-time video to the pilot. In this guide, we will break down the basic parts of an FPV Drone System.
The Frame
The frame of the drone is the structure that holds everything together. It is typically made of carbon fiber combined with metal or plastic parts. The frame needs to be durable to withstand damage caused by crashes and should be easy to work with, giving easy access to electronics to make repairs quick and easy.
The Flight System
The Flight System includes everything required to give the drone the ability to fly. The components that make up this system are the battery, propellers, motors, the motor controllers (ESCs), the receiver, and the flight controller.
The Battery: Provides power to all the airborne systems. Lithium Polymer batteries or LiPo’s are typically used due to their ability to deliver high power in short bursts.
The Propellers: These are fan blades that blow air in one direction, producing a force in the opposite direction. Different sizes and shapes of props are used depending on the size of the drone and the desired "flight feel".
The Motors: The high-performance brushless motors make the propellers spin at speeds up to tens of thousands of revolutions per minute. The motors require accurate control, which is achieved by using a device called the ESC.
The ESCs: Electronic Speed Controllers give the motors the ability to run smoothly and reliably at a wide range of different speeds. Each motor requires its own individual ESC, but 4-in-1 ESCs are also available.
The Receiver: Receives the pilot's commands and sends them to the flight controller.
The Flight Controller: This is the central connecting part of a drone and acts as the "brain" of the drone. It processes the commands from the pilot, translates them into separate instructions for each motor, and corrects for turbulence, wind, drifting, and other external factors.
The FPV System
The FPV System allows the pilot to view the flight in real-time, making it the most exciting part of the drone experience. There are currently two types of FPV systems - Digital and Analog. The most basic FPV system comprises the following components:
The FPV Camera: A small camera that sits at the front of the drone and captures video in real-time.
The Video Transmitter: Converts the video signals from the camera into wireless signals and transmits them to the pilot's FPV goggles.
While there are many specialized components and accessories that make up an FPV Drone System, this guide covers the essential parts required for stable flight and real-time video transmission.
The Ground Equipment
The Remote
The Remote is what the pilot uses to give commands to the drone. The drone’s remote usually has two control sticks, which offer precise piloting control, and a few switches or buttons that can be configured to perform certain functions on the drone.
The FPV Goggles
The Goggles are probably the most important part of a great FPV Experience. They have an antenna that receives the wireless video signals from the drone and a video screen that displays the video feed that’s streamed from the FPV camera. There are other devices that are able to receive and display the FPV video feed, such as small monitors, but since goggles are mounted close to your face and block the visibility of your surroundings, they provide an unmatched level of immersion.
The Gear, Equipment & Tools
The stuff we’ve gone over is all you need to fly, but before you can head out to fly again, you’ll need a good Charger that’s capable of recharging your LiPo batteries. There are many ways to go about charging batteries, but we won’t go deep into that in this article.
When it comes to building or repairing your drone, you’ll need some basic tools. Here are the essentials:
Quality Hex Drivers are required to assemble most frames. The most common sizes are 1.5mm, 2mm, and 2.5mm.
A good soldering iron, along with some solder and flux, will allow you to connect certain components that do not use plug-in connectors, such as the motors.
A propeller tool will let you install, replace, or remove propellers. For most standard-sized FPV drones, this would be a M8 nut driver.
That covers the essentials, but there are many tools, gear, and accessories that can improve your experience. A good example is a bag or backpack to carry your gear safely - not essential, but definitely practical!
How do I get into FPV Drones?
So you’ve learned a thing or twenty about FPV Drones, and now you want to get your own. But where should you start?
Start with a FPV Drone Simulator!
If we could only make one recommendation for your journey into FPV Drones, it would be this. A FPV simulator is a computer game or phone app that allows you to try FPV virtually before investing in brand new FPV equipment. In the simulator, you can practice for hours, trying new moves, learning new skills, and crash hundreds of times without having to buy a single replacement part! It’s a good idea to fly at least 5 hours in the simulator before going for the real thing. You’ll thank us later!
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