FPV Drones for Beginners: From the Simulator to Your First Flight (Part I)

Before we get started: FPV stands for First Person View. As an FPV pilot, you see exactly what your drone sees through its lens. Now that the term is clear, let’s get you up into the air.

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Start with the simulator

As a first step, we recommend a drone controller like our TBS Tango 2 Pro. Then practice with an FPV simulator. We use Drone Racing League ourselves, but from our FPV community we often hear that Liftoff does a great job too.

Test how your drone turns on every axis and get a feel for it. Put in at least five hours of simulator training before your first real-world flight. Don’t skip this step.

Why? We want you to avoid unnecessary crashes. An early crash is frustrating, and repairs cost time and money. Even our most experienced pilots keep using the simulator to practice and learn new tricks.

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Our FPV equipment

If this is your first self-built FPV drone or you’re after a proven set, we’ve got something for you. This is exactly the set we’re flying right now.

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Drone controller

• TBS Tango 2 Pro

FPV drone: iFlight Titan DC5

• Frame – iFlight DC5
• Motors 4× – Xing 2207 1800KV
• Flight controller – SucceX-D F7 TwinG
• ESC – SucceX 50A 4in1
• VTX – DJI Air Unit
• Receiver – TBS Crossfire Nano RX

FPV goggles

• DJI FPV Goggles V1/V2

Power

• LiPo batteries – Tattu 1300 or 1400 mAh
• Charger – ISDT D2
• Parallel charging board – ISDT

Tool kit

• TBS TS100 iron
• Ethix Tool Case
• Ethix Prop Tool

Camera (optional)

• GoPro Hero 10
• iFlight GoPro Mount
• PolarPro ND filter

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Video transmission: DJI and TBS Crossfire

The only transmission products we use for our ARTICO FPV drones are DJI and TBS Crossfire.

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DJI

FPV started with analog transmission systems. They’re reliable but can’t handle high-resolution video, so you fly with limited vision and miss the detail.

I did my first flights on analog. As a result I never saw the branches of a tree coming and kept bumping into them. You can picture me climbing trees, swinging from one to the next, doing my best to rescue the drone.

My life got much better once I switched to DJI’s digital transmission system. It sends HD video from the drone to your goggles. With better vision I became a better pilot and now navigate gaps and tight spaces far more precisely.

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TBS Crossfire

TBS Crossfire is the protocol between controller and drone. It’s super reliable and perfect for long-range flights. For most drones the TBS Crossfire Nano RX is a perfect fit, because you usually lose the video feed before you lose the link to the controller.

For Cinelifters we recommend the TBS Crossfire Diversity Nano RX with its two antennas. It won’t increase your range, but it’s a step up in reliability – especially with an expensive cinema camera in the air.

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Give it time

From my own experience: FPV drones come with a steep learning curve. It takes a while to understand the technology and master it. As I said, start with a controller and a simulator.

I’m slow to learn anything new, so I spent about 30 to 40 hours on the simulator before my first flight outside. Honestly, that first flight outdoors is a special, very exciting feeling. I can’t wait for you to make your own real-world flights soon.

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Next up

In Part II of this series we go deeper and explain why FPV drones are great equipment for content creators.

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Any questions about FPV or your next project? Reach out to our team without any obligation – we’re happy to help with advice and hands-on support.

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So long,
Nikolay Keller