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Drone Flying 101 – An interactive tutorial for beginners
- avidiax 2y agoIt's quite annoying that every stage of the lesson requires you to recalibrate your controller. When I learned to fly racing drones, I used Velocidrone; I have no experience of FPVSim. Even if you don't plan to eventually fly an acrobatic or racing drone, the sim experience can be a bit relaxing & focused. I used to practice on a 2nd monitor while I was in large mandatory group meetings for work. If you do plan to build and fly drones, then a simulator is absolutely worth every penny. You pay for real drone crashes with time and money, and you probably need 100 hours of practice before you can handle the real thing (and not that well). If I were going to get back into the hobby, I'd probably try to do long range fixed wing aircraft with FPV and flight automation. The view will be much more enjoyable and the batteries will last much longer. I think there's also less community pressure around RC planes vs. drones, especially the loud racing ones.
- saidinesh5 2y agoI think these days things have changed for the better... Free simulators,light weight fun builds that don't easily be damaged/cause damage from crashes.. I just bought my first fixed wing, but it made me realize why i like my sub 100 gram " 3" toothpick" kind of quads even more. i can fly those around the home, i get 10+ minutes of flight time (trust me, it gets annoying after 8-9 minutes and you need a break before you fly the next battery!), and even if i crash that 1S toothpick into something or someone, you barely cause a scratch..
- dkn775 2y agoWhat’s your setup for fixed wing? I am trying to build a fixed wing that has a nice dji camera and good range but I’m not sure if it’s possible
- saidinesh5 2y agoI bought this one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDIgPN9TWS8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDIgPN9TWS8 Yet to fly it though but this will fit o3 nicely. Range is always limited by your Video signal anyway..
- qup 2y agoVelocidrone is a lot of fun. There's also freerider fpv, DRL, and Liftoff. They're all pretty good, honestly.
- senectus1 2y agoI really wanna give this a go. what controller would you recommend?
- mosfets 2y agoI would recommend one of the radios that run OpenTX or EdgeTX (fork of OpenTX firmware: https://www.open-tx.org https://www.open-tx.org. These radios support a wide variaty of RF modules and have good support for simulators. No need to get a too expensive one.
- senectus1 2y agogood to know, thanks!
- 05 2y agoRadiomaster Boxer is probably the goto one for FPV quadcopters. If you want to fly LoS and autonomous missions then Radiomaster TX16S (large touchscreen, community support, all the LUA tememetry widgets you could ever want). For the link, it's either ELRS for manual flying or mLRS for Mavlink telemetry over LoRa.
- saidinesh5 2y agoDepending on your personal preference, go with radiomaster pocket/zorro/boxer - ELRS version.
- muu-g 2y agoCheck out https://www.fpvknowitall.com/fpv-shopping-list-controller-and-receiver/ https://www.fpvknowitall.com/fpv-shopping-list-controller-an... , it describes some of the best different options are depending on budget or requirements.
- 05 2y ago> If I were going to get back into the hobby, I'd probably try to do long range fixed wing aircraft with FPV and flight automation. For me personally that’s too boring.. Long range is illegal in lots of places; in the US you technically need a spotter and the craft needs to be in direct line of sight, and pretty close because it should be visible with unaided eye - so, no binoculars. 3.5" is the sweet spot where you can build a sub 250g (or almost sub 250 - do cops really carry kitchen scales on them?) drone with decent performance that doesn't scare people when you fly around and still has the performance close to a 5" one and you can still do all of the tricks. The only drawback with 3.5" is that they're more susceptible to wind, so if it's always very windy where you fly, maybe consider a 5". Oh, and you also don't need to install a remote ID module on a sub 250g quad.
- btreecat 2y agoStill need a spotter. And if you have 107 for YouTube money, then sub 250g doesn't give you any alleviation from RID.
- btreecat 2y agoWings are just so much fun because of the longer flight times and no need for a flight controller. FC are essential for long range missions typically, but I have pushed several miles on just GPS overlay in my video feed.
- mosfets 2y agoSorry, this tutorial is meant to be played with the on-screen virtual joystick. Not many people have radios lying around after all.
- chasd00 2y agoI was in to drone racing for a while then got out of it and in to high powered rocketry. Interestingly, a friend is moving and wants me to take over his passion project. A rocket powered glider using an 'M' (pretty powerful) rocket motor. He has a smaller POC working with an ardupilot autopilot launching on 'H' motors. The basic gist is the rocket takes the glider up and the autopilot handles the flying until the altitude is low and then manual takeover for landing. On an M motor, the glider is going to go far out of site so the ardupilot will have to get it back to the flight line where i can see it and land. I need to check the rules closely because there's exceptions for rocket powered gliders but I don't think i'll be able to launch at a sanctioned event and will probably have to go out to FAR (friends of amatuer rocketry) which is a multi-day drive for me. Tripoli, the main governing body for experimental high powered rocketry, has rules about guided recovery with some exceptions for gliders. I have a feeling a rocket powered glider would have to remain in sight at all times which wouldn't be the case with an 'M' motor sending it up. Someone building a rocket that can fly to 100k feet and then land at a waypoint would attract a lot of unwanted attention from authorities and be bad for the hobby which is why those rules exist.
- schiffern 2y agoHey, we gotta get ready for the alien invasion somehow! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armada_(novel) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Armada_(novel)
- DeathArrow 2y agoToo bad in most parts of the EU is illegal to fly drones. You can do it if you are far from populated areas but you need to go trough a complicated bureaucracy and obtain a permit before each flight.
- blutack 2y agoThis is not true as a blanket statement unless you are talking about commercial flying, large drones or restricted airspace. I'm not sure what country you are referring to but I haven't personally come across one that requires a per flight permit outside of higher risk commercial operations. Most EU countries are pretty harmonised on drone rules at this point. Sub 250g drones such as the DJI Mini series and the Autel Nano will give you the most flexibility in places you can fly legally.
- sofixa 2y ago> I haven't personally come across one that requires a per flight permit outside of higher risk commercial operations Portugal requires approval from the coast guard if your planned flight is within certain distance from a beach/the sea, which is quite easy in a coastal and islands country.
- blutack 2y agoI don't read Portuguese but there's nothing specifically regarding beaches in their courtesy translation [1] beyond avoiding areas next to SAR helicopter bases (which is fair enough) and there's nothing on their UAS restrictions map [2] that would be unusual in any other EU country. I have flown (below 120m obviously) in Portugal near the beach with a <250g drone after checking their UAS map so it would be good to know what I missed? Possibly you are referring to some additional local restrictions? 1: https://www.anac.pt/vPT/Generico/drones/operacoes_transfronteiricas/Paginas/Crossborder.aspx https://www.anac.pt/vPT/Generico/drones/operacoes_transfront... 2: https://uas.anac.pt/registry/explore https://uas.anac.pt/registry/explore
- 2y ago
- kqr 2y agoHuh, once I figured out how to switch to first person view and acro mode and hooked up my PlayStation controller this was surprisingly fun – it behaved a little like a more friendly helicopter simulator. The most annoying part was that I couldn't have throttle on a completely separate control from the rotation axes, and the frequent brief freezes I got in Firefox. If this is an indication of what it is like to fly real FPV drones, I'll have to put a lock on my wallet.
- 05 2y ago> The most annoying part was that I couldn't have throttle on a completely separate control from the rotation axes You wouldn't want that because throttle is essential for flight control unlike with fixed wing where it's somewhat set and forget in many situations. It's partially alleviated by 'real' radios not having a spring on the throttle axis, so it stays in the position you've put it and part of it is just more practice..
- kqr 2y agoI was actually thinking more in terms of helicopters having the collective on a separate input from yaw... bur then again, helicopter pilots use their feet to yaw, not their fingers. Not springing back the throttle to neutral makes a lot of sense and would probably help!
- mosfets 2y agoNice! Glad you liked it. Try a webkit based browser instead like Chrome/Safari/Edge, I'm not sure how much WebGL optimization firefox carries.
- z3phyr 2y agoCan anyone recommend some good drones outside of DJI?
- saidinesh5 2y agoWhat's the purpose though? If it's dji like flying, there's skydio . If it's fpv racing, freestyle etc ... There are many ready to fly options. Starting at 50 grams all up weight for indoor flying to 5" 200+kmph racers to bigger 7" long range quads..
- bambax 2y agoFor cine drones DJI is so dominant, other brands don't stand a chance. Potensic is trying to exist, and their drones aren't bad, but not as good as those from DJI and costing about the same. Hubsan was once promising but seems to have entirely dropped the ball. Anafi's long dead. One sometimes hear about Skydio but they seem to only exist in the US? I don't know anyone who flies them. For FPV drones there are many more options. I think one of the best brands is GepRC but there are so many others, it's impossible to mention them all. Still, for the video transmitting system, DJI is still dominant there as well, but at least you can use alternatives if you really don't like them (Walksnail for digital, or lots of others for analog).
- 05 2y agoSkydio has abandoned its consumer business - DJI basically killed them and now they're busy lobbying to ban DJI from government use (or ideally just ban them from being used in the US altogether - yay protectionism). iFlight is probably among the top BnF brands together with GepRC, but nowadays it's cheaper to build your own (used to be BnF/PnP ones were cheaper than parts, no longer the case).
- palata 2y agoIf you want to go the DIY way, it can be a fun experience to build your drone (from a kit). If you want a commercial off-the-shelf drone, nothing is remotely close to DJI, really.
- wepple 2y ago
- bambax 2y agoThere are two big families of drones: FPV and non-FPV (sometimes called cinematic). Flying non-FPV, GPS stabilized drones (like the DJI Mavic family of drones) requires almost no training, you just put the drone in the air and it stays there, waiting for your instructions. Flying FPV (in acro mode) has a steep learning curve (but is, arguably, much more fun). The way to learn is to use a proper simulator. The most versatile and popular one is Liftoff and costs around $20, but there are many others, including free ones. You should also buy a dedicated controller since normal game controllers don't work well (the throttle joystick needs to stay where it is instead of returning to center). Dedicated drone controllers can be found around $40-50 used. And then off you go! Be prepared to spend at least 20 hours on a sim before you can fly IRL (it took me around 100 hours to really be comfortable). It's surprising how well the learned skills transfer from the simulator to the real thing.
- NicoJuicy 2y agoWhat dedicated controllers would you recommend? Is there a FPV that works for both drones in real life and in games? Any ones in particular you like?
- saidinesh5 2y agoThe drone controllers usually have more resolution than your typical PlayStation controllers. They can get recognised as USB joystick anyway. If you prefer game pad style controllers, you can use radiomaster pocket/Zorro depending on your budget.. ELRS version.
- mosfets 2y ago+1 on the controllers resolution part. Just add to it, gamepads usually do things like dynamic frame rate for power saving reasons, these features are not the good if you do fly drones for competitions. Good to get a OpenTX/EdgeTX based controllers, which offers 1Khz frame rate in newer versions.
- bambax 2y agoI use the DJI Remote 2. It's a little expensive at $150 new / $100 used, but it's justified if you want to use it with a DJI video system in the future (Caddx Vista or DJI O3), or the Avata (but not Avata 2...) But there are controllers from BetaFPV that are much cheaper. A friend of mine just got started with the BetaFPV Radio Lite 3 ($60 new) and is very happy with it. Edit: RC2 -> Remote 2.
- fvdessen 2y agoNot entirely unrelated, but FPV drones are now the main weapon of the Ukraine war. They started using them against tanks, then groups of soldiers, but have now found that they are cost effective enough to go against individual soldiers. The drone soldiers operate in small teams from underground bunkers close to the front from which they launch hundreds of drones a day, with different types of drones for different targets. The limiting factor is the amount of drones, Ukraine plans to build one million of them this year domestically. Apart from jamming, there's not much to defend yourself against drones except staying underground, or moving fast enough that there is no time for you to be spotted and tracked. But drones can see kms away and move at hundreds of kmph, then go after you personally, even inside buildings, and even at night with infrared vision. In an interview they asked a drone-ace how many ennemies he killed, he said he couldn't remember; "Do you remember how many cups of coffee you drank last year?". I am not sure what to think about all this, but it is certainly fascinating
- coldtea 2y ago>In an interview they asked a drone-ace how many ennemies he killed, he said he couldn't remember; "Do you remember how many cups of coffee you drank last year?". On the other hand, that's also what someone bragging insincerely would say...
- 05 2y agoBombs and artillery is the main weapon, FPV drones are a novelty and they're being limited by being tied to the remote pilot. Pilots don't really scale that well - it takes a long time to train, and they have to be relatively close to the drone, so they're vulnerable to counter attacks. Autonomous drones are supposedly already used for oil refineries (vision based navigation, to mitigate GPS jamming), once this tech trickles down to smaller drones things will get really scary..
- is_true 2y agoI think the problem is with the autonomy. Someone is gonna end up using something like a global hawk (spy drone) to deploy smaller kamikaze drones.
- btreecat 2y agoIs there a native Linux client yet? That's why I stick to velocidrone, liftoff, and wings.
- mosfets 2y agoYou can play FPVSIM web simulator on any devices with a Chrome/Safari/Edge browsers. Which means - Windows/OSX/Linux/Chromebook/Android/iOS etc.
- smallerfish 2y agoDoes anybody fly Ardupilot? Last time I was really into flying I used DRonin, which sadly got abandoned. I have a real aversion to BetaFlight, though I know it's got 90% of the market; however, Ardupilot seems to have a reasonably active community. I don't really care about freestyling - I'm more interested in cruising over forest canopy, and having a reliable return to home function if radio signal gets lost. (I have probably 15 built out airframes; over time I probably need to replace defunct hardware, but a lot of it still seems reasonably acceptable. Quite a few f7 controllers for example.)
- thadt 2y agoArdupilot is quite good, but I would say it's kinda similar to Linux in terms of an operating system for your drone. It can be configured to work with a wide array of hardware and operations, but its 'off the shelf' interface isn't going to be as polished as some other more hardware specific systems. If you want to build your own, and have full control over your system, Ardupilot is a great place to start.
- kqr 2y agoHaving been intrigued by this (see my other comment) I decided to try out one of the more featureful higher-fidelity simulators, and discovered something else: I get really motion sick after just a few minutes. Is this (1) because my turns are uncoordinated, (2) because I have an incorrectly configured viewport, (3) because I'm not cut out for FPV flying, or (4) a matter of persevering and getting used to the perspective?
- avidiax 2y agoIf you don't get motion sickness from a simple flight simulator, I'd suggest that improving your skill so that the motions are smooth might be enough.
- exabrial 2y agoIs there an alternate control system other than sticks? Looking for the mouse-keyboard combo
- l3x4ur1n 2y agoFor those considering getting a drone license in Europe, this is free and official and applicable to whole EU https://learningzone.eurocontrol.int/ilp/pages/login.jsf?faces-redirect=true https://learningzone.eurocontrol.int/ilp/pages/login.jsf?fac...
- padfootprong 2y agoHi, just registered and logged in, but your link just takes me to the catalogue page - is that intentional? Is there a specific course I should be searching for? I've been thinking of pulling the plug on getting a dji mavic (maybe mini pro which is 249g and doesn't need a licence, but also thinking of another dji mavic pro also). A1/A3 is around £200 elsewhere.