How To Fly FPV Drones

How To Fly FPV Drones

Here are some helpful definitions that will leave you with a few the terms that may be thrown around quickly when people are referring to FPV racing.

FPV(First Person View): Incorporating the use of a screen, monitor, or goggles to visually experience what the camera on the UAV is gleaning in real time.

The line of Sight: The term referring to being able to see your drone the same time you are piloting it.

FPV Racing: The quickly growing recreational activity during which pilots select a pre-defined track, and race their small quads around it for sport.

RTF (ready to fly) racing drones: These are the drones made for FPV racing that you can race right out of the box, without worrying about assembly.

DIY racing drones: A drone made from scratch that is modified to the user’s personal taste.

FPV camera: Special kind of camera used for first-person view racing, photography, piloting, or the capturing of videography.

FPV goggles: A special set of goggles used to views exactly what the UAV's camera is seeing in real time.

Head tracking: An FPV goggle modification that allows you to adjust the angle of the camera mid-flight when the pilot tilts their head up or down.

Interpupillary distance: This is the term for the distance from the center of the pupils to the lens of the goggles being worn.

LCD monitor: A screen, usually attached to the controller, used to view what the drone’s camera is seeing; in most cases an alternative to goggles.

Transmitter Relays the camera’s feed to the receiver.

Receiver Accepts the camera’s feed and sends it to the other screen or viewing device of pilot’s choice.

Frequency: The radio frequency FPV equipment runs on. Usually allows for multiple channels, so pilots do not cross signals with each other.

FPV system: The all-inclusive and entire drone setup. This usually includes the multirotor itself, the controller, connecting parts, and the video display.

On Screen Display: Gives you specifics such as altitude, battery life, current speed, and other necessary elements to assure smooth flight.

TVL (Resolution): The resolution of the camera which helps determine the clarity and overall feed quality of the video.

CCD camera type: This is the camera that uses a specific image sensor that is charged by a coupling device, and is typically more suitable for FPV.

CMOS camera type: This is a camera that uses a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor image sensor. These usually cost less than CCD cameras but are not as suitable for the job.

Video Latency: This is the lag involved into what your camera sees, and when it transmits to your screen or viewing goggles. It can lead to problems with flight, the maneuvers you want to accomplish, and trouble with aerial shots.

Jello: This is the vibration that occurs in the video that is caused by the running of the multirotor inside the UAV.

How FPV Racing Works:

The quads that are flown during these races are able to hit 50 MPH, and sometimes even faster. They may fly through obstacles such as hoops, around trees, and others like brightly lit bars. Some of the biggest and worst races are so challenging, that you may have to know how to do some pretty fluid maneuvers just to get through the track.

Understandably, spectators can get very excited during these races, as they look a bit like what would happen if slot car racing was set up in mid-air. When you take a look at a very professional track, you realize that a beginning drone pilot would simply not stand a chance.

The different types of FPV Drone Races:

For the most part, there are 3 major types of races that you’ll find when you begin to engage in or watch this sport:

1. Time Trial: This is the test where competition is had to see how fast each drone can make it through a specific course.

2. Drag Race: Race that is held in a very straight line, and takes place over a short distance. Not geared to obstacle handling, this has much more to do with acceleration, and how a pilot handles a drone at top speed.

3. Motocross: This is a traditional competition during which the drones race through an obstacle course, and see who can cross the finish line first.

How do you go about joining a racing team?

Much like the racing that takes place in the automobile realm, pilots are broken up into different teams, and there are different criteria for the teams that are out there. Some teams are all about flaunting a specific design that they may have had a hand in creating, and some are more focused on gaining attention for their ability to complete difficult maneuvers and stunts.

The Various Leagues and Championships Available

You can use the search engine of your choice to find out where the leagues and championships in your area are: the popularity of the sport is rising all of the time, and we guarantee that you will see many different types of leagues popping up this year alone.

The Drone Racing League: The season for this action-packed league has various races, where pilots accumulate points for standing. The pilots who are skilled enough to get the highest number of points eventually qualify for the very thrilling World Championship.

The MultiGP Drone Racing League: This one has chapters worldwide, and is known for having classes and events for many different categories of racer. Considered a leader in the drone industry for sure, they are considered at the front of the pack as far as high-profile events and races in the drone world.

The World Drone Racing Championship: Last year the star-studded finals were held in beautiful Hawaii for this league, which had pilots from over 30 nations trying their luck on four different courses. There was $100,000 in cash, prizes, and trophies, and they did a great job of creating a very high-profile and action-packed event.