Before we get started let’s clarify what FPV means. FPV stands for First Person View. In other words, you as the FPV drone pilot are able to see exactly what your FPV drone sees through its lens. Now that you’ve learned the basic terms, let’s figure out how we get you up into the air.

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Start with a Drone Simulator

As a first step we recommend you buying a drone controller like our TBS Tango 2 Pro. The next step is starting to practice with a FPV simulator. We ourselves use Drone Racing League, but from our FPV Community we often hear that Liftoff is also doing a great job.

In the FPV simulator you start practicing the basics. Test how your FPV drone turns on all axis and get a first feel for it. Invest at least 5 hours in FPV simulator training before doing your first real world flight. We warmly recommend you not to skip this step.

Why? That’s easy to answer– we want you to avoid unnecessary crashes. Crashing early on might leave you frustrated. Additionally, you save time and money on FPV drone repairs. Even our most experienced pilots use the FPV simulator for practicing and learning new tricks.

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Get your FPV Equipment

In case this is the first FPV drone you build or you’re looking for an approved FPV set, we’ve got a little something for you. Here’s a list of featured FPV equipment for your next FPV drone. This is one of the FPV sets which we use ourselves at the moment.

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Drone Controller

• TBS Tango 2 Pro
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FPV Drone: iFlight Titan DC5

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

• DJI FPV Goggles V1/ V2
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Power Systems

• Lipo Batteries - Tattu 1300 or 1400 mAh
• Lipo Charger - ISDT D2
• Parallel Charging Board - ISDT
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Tool Kit

• TBS TS100 Iron
• Ethix Tool Case
• Ethix Prop Tool
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Camera Setup (optional)

• GoPro - Hero 10
• FPV Action Camera Mount - iFlight GoPro Mount
• ND Filters - PolarPro ND Filter

FPV Video Transmission Products

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

DJI

Let’s start with DJI FPV HD-Transmission. FPV as a technology started with analog transmission systems. Those systems are reliable but don’t work for high resolution FPV video transmission. This means that you’re flying with limited vision, because you can’t see all details.

I did my first flights with analog transmission systems. As a consequence, I never saw the branches of a tree coming, which is why I repeatedly bumped into them. You can probably imagine me climbing on trees, swinging from one to another, trying my best to rescue my FPV drone.

My life got so much better, when I started using DJI’s digital transmission system for my flights. This system allows HD video transmission from your FPV drone to your FPV goggles. Due to better vision, I’ve become a better pilot. I now navigate much more precisely trough gaps and tight environment.

TBS Crossfire

Now let’s move on to TBS Crossfire. TBS Crossfire is the protocol between drone controller and FPV drone. It’s super reliable and a perfect fit for long range flights. Before you lose the link to your drone controller, you usually lose your video feed.

For most drones the TBS Crossfire Nano RX will be a perfect fit. Cinelifters recommends using the TBS Crossfire Diversity Nano RX because of its two antennas. It won’t increase your flight range, but it’s is a level up on reliability, especially if you have an expensive cinema camera rig up in the air.

Trust the Process

From my own experience I can tell you that you’ll be facing a steep learning curve with FPV drones. It takes a while to understand the technology and master it. As mentioned already, it’s good to start with a controller and a drone simulator. The rest is patience and a whole lot of practise.

I’m someone who takes forever to learn something new, so it took me about 30-40 hours on the drone simulator before doing my first flight outside. Honestly, the feeling flying outside for the first time is such a special one, very exciting! I can’t wait for you to make your first real world flights soon!

Next Up

In Part II of this Blog series we will dive deeper into the topic and explain why FPV drones are great equipment for content creators.

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So long,

Nikolay Keller