Why I probably won't buy the FPV drone

[vindibona1]

... BECAUSE I SUCK AT FLYING FPV!

I mean, seriously, I have been practicing flying my Mini 2 around the local park clear of kids and cars and other living things, and no matter how slow I go I end up pointing right at a tree or getting way too near tree branches. I even gently caught a tree branch this afternoon thinking I had plenty of room. I have no idea from the screen how close is too close or not close enough.
I'd really like to be able to fly FPV competently even with GPS assist. I have no idea how these guys fly through small spaces at blistering speed but would be happy with 1/10th the FPV skill that some of these folks exhibit. That aside, I saw Ken Heron's review of the DJI FPV drone and wondered how many seconds it would take for me to burn $1300 into plastic crumbs?

Any tips on flying with your head in the screen and NOT on the drone (even those it is well in sight if you bother to look up)?

 

[DoomMeister]

You are not alone! It takes endless hours to develop the delicate balance for flying in acro mode. I tried flying my son’s <250g FPV racing drones and just could not get the hang of it. It would take me weeks of flying a sim with the headgear and controller to ever get the hang of it.

Now flying in sport mode with the goggles with minimal lag would be a lot more doable. You won’t be able to do the stunts in that mode, but the flying would be a lot more exciting. The nice thing about using the goggles is the immersion and it is easier to see just where the drone is in relation to where it is heading.

 

[Ron-EP]

Truthfully the only response to this is practice, practice, practice. Do that enough and you'll be doing the same like those people you mention. Thats the best tip.

I agree with you on the price and risk. I get nervous enough flying conservatively with $2k 200 ft in the air. Seems the only people talking badly about it are the OG FPY guys. I think its a good way for people to start if they have $1300 to play with...and i do mean literally play with..lol

 

[britm3]

Practicing on a micro 100mm frame size FPV drone indoors is a quick way of building some skill without the expense risk.

 

[Thomas B]

Practicing on a micro 100mm frame size FPV drone indoors is a quick way of building some skill without the expense risk.

Except no 86 mph! Video lag could be very destructive on the new DJI FPV drone.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

... BECAUSE I SUCK AT FLYING FPV!

I mean, seriously, I have been practicing flying my Mini 2 around the local park clear of kids and cars and other living things, and no matter how slow I go I end up pointing right at a tree or getting way too near tree branches. I even gently caught a tree branch this afternoon thinking I had plenty of room. I have no idea from the screen how close is too close or not close enough.
I'd really like to be able to fly FPV competently even with GPS assist. I have no idea how these guys fly through small spaces at blistering speed but would be happy with 1/10th the FPV skill that some of these folks exhibit. That aside, I saw Ken Heron's review of the DJI FPV drone and wondered how many seconds it would take for me to burn $1300 into plastic crumbs?

Any tips on flying with your head in the screen and NOT on the drone (even those it is well in sight if you bother to look up)?

Couple thing to note:

Without realizing it I have been flying all my DJI drones as if it was an FPV , constantly forcing it do things it was simply not meant for. Such as surfing waves, going thru tunnels , flying close to Tree tops , and of course flying into storms and lightning when i get the chance.

Trying to reason with the SC screen with its latency issues was always a Challenge when it came to Negotiating the drone from a distance.

Everything I wanted to do with the Drone follow another drone, fly with the birds , race a motorcycle , and catch a good Rain storm along the way would have been 100 times easier with some kind of FPV Minus the Acrobats which I did not need,

I just think the Googles on this setup is the best they have ever offered to be able to see clearly where I am at in the sky with my own eyes , and,. not having to rely on DJI telemetry as gospel is a nice plus.

I recently saw a teen girl have her first drone flight ever with the DJI FPV drone and she went under a bell tower through the a small square, it was eye opening because I would still be there lining the shot up with my eye than looking at the Smart Controller and getting completely confused as it showed something different, where as she lined it up within seconds and flew right thu it. UGH are you kidding me she never even stopped

DJI put it this out there , its a feeler drone , buy it , test it , return it Amazon Policy.
Or fly it , keep it, and Cuddle it.

20 minutes for my type of flying , ok
Video Quality kind of Poor in anything less Sun Light. Not good.
No Picture taking: Not Good.
Not planning on ever going Manual so crash proof similar to my other DJI drones .
Getting past the Motion Sickness might be my downfall , may have to fly with 1 eye closed, ?

My First Flight is going to be at Midnight , I will know if this has potential , Will be glad to keep you posted as
i expect this at 9pm tomorrow night , oh whom am i kidding most likely monday as they are a wreck.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your DJI in the Rain and Land on Water.

 

[JoostGT3]

I’m with you here phantomrain! I bought the fpv on a whim beacause it appealed to my desire to really feel like flying, rather than seeing the footage of something else that is flying. I have had the drone since thursday, and can’t stop flying or thinking of flying it. It is só easy to fly it in sports mode an buzz the treetops, in between obstacles, etc, it’s a blast!

Now, I dó want to make the switch to manual. I have been practicing three long nights, and in the sim I have ok control over the drone in manual. Maybe not enough to do close proximity stuff, but I can fly it quite well. But I am so apprehensive to try it for real! I’m so afraid to crash it immediately... well you have to try it one time I guess...

 

[Formosa Straight]

I really love my Air2, but have smaller quads that I fly when I want to do FPV. They cost less than US$100 and don't break very often when I hit things. I'm really not sure who (what demographic) DJI is trying to target with this. Don't get me wrong, their product is pretty exceptional in a lot of ways, but flying FPV equals a LOT of crashes and their pretty fragile. Joshua Bardwell hit a tree lightly during his review and snapped the leg off of it. That was a few hundred to repair. At the end of the day for me anyways, this product doesn't really do anything more than what other FPV quads can do for a lot less cost and a lot cheaper to repair when that inevitable crash occurs. I really can't see me buying one of the DJI FPV drones anytime in the near future, but I might buy there FPV system and plug it into one of my existing drones.

 

[boldblue737]

I really love my Air2, but have smaller quads that I fly when I want to do FPV. They cost less than US$100 and don't break very often when I hit things. I'm really not sure who (what demographic) DJI is trying to target with this. Don't get me wrong, their product is pretty exceptional in a lot of ways, but flying FPV equals a LOT of crashes and their pretty fragile. Joshua Bardwell hit a tree lightly during his review and snapped the leg off of it. That was a few hundred to repair. At the end of the day for me anyways, this product doesn't really do anything more than what other FPV quads can do for a lot less cost and a lot cheaper to repair when that inevitable crash occurs. I really can't see me buying one of the DJI FPV drones anytime in the near future, but I might buy there FPV system and plug it into one of my existing drones.

I mean an FPV begs to be flown low and fast, but you DON'T HAVE TO. I'm a 45 year old guy and I know while I hope to do far more aggressive flying with my FPV than with my Mavics, for me it is more about the experience of flying a drone with the googles and doing something for the sake of the flying rather than the photography (for me the Mavics are flying cameras, more than something you use for the joy of flying). That all adds up to I'll be hopefully careful enough after lots of practice to not totally wreck it... others though... a 750g drone hitting something at 90 mph is no joke for what it hits.

 

[brisouth]

I really love my Air2, but have smaller quads that I fly when I want to do FPV. They cost less than US$100 and don't break very often when I hit things. I'm really not sure who (what demographic) DJI is trying to target with this. Don't get me wrong, their product is pretty exceptional in a lot of ways, but flying FPV equals a LOT of crashes and their pretty fragile. Joshua Bardwell hit a tree lightly during his review and snapped the leg off of it. That was a few hundred to repair. At the end of the day for me anyways, this product doesn't really do anything more than what other FPV quads can do for a lot less cost and a lot cheaper to repair when that inevitable crash occurs. I really can't see me buying one of the DJI FPV drones anytime in the near future, but I might buy there FPV system and plug it into one of my existing drones.

I just bought an Air 2 a couple months back for my first drone and love it. I know the DJI goggles won’t work with the air 2 so I’m trying to figure out a combo for that. Just curious what $100 FPV quads and goggles are you using?

 

[Oneball 1971]

I’m with you here phantomrain! I bought the fpv on a whim beacause it appealed to my desire to really feel like flying, rather than seeing the footage of something else that is flying. I have had the drone since thursday, and can’t stop flying or thinking of flying it. It is só easy to fly it in sports mode an buzz the treetops, in between obstacles, etc, it’s a blast!

Now, I dó want to make the switch to manual. I have been practicing three long nights, and in the sim I have ok control over the drone in manual. Maybe not enough to do close proximity stuff, but I can fly it quite well. But I am so apprehensive to try it for real! I’m so afraid to crash it immediately... well you have to try it one time I guess...

You have the pause button which will put it in a hover if get into any sort of difficultly

 

[JoostGT3]

You have the pause button which will put it in a hover if get into any sort of difficultly

Yeah, today I flew it in full manual mode two times. It was awesome! Needed the emergency button twice; once during the first flight where I was getting desoriented by the "counter rolling" with the left stick. As I was low, I made te split-second decision not to try to save it (which would probably have resulted into rolling into the ground rather than levelling of), but to push the emergency stop and it saved me. The second time, I was coming into an amazing shot, descending into a turn between two rows of trees, when the video signal started cutting out... Scared the **** out of me, so again: emergency button!

Another thing: I tried taking off in Manual mode, but was a bit hesitant, twice resulting in the drone trying to tunnel itself through mother earth. My trick: take off in normal or sports mode to a safe altitude, then swith to manual. I love that it then shows you where the sticks need to be to make the drone hover. If you do, the icons in the view turn green and the drone switches to manual mode, dip the nose, raise the throttle and you're good to go!

 

[Brockrock]

I posted this awhile ago, but it's probably more applicable now with DJI's latest offering.

The App is called Drone on my Phone (iOS only unfortunately), and I find it to be easier to use on my iPad Mini 5 versus my phone, and although its concept is simple, it does give one a sense for the required skills of FPV. I fiddle with it now and again, and I've certainly gotten better. Whether this type of brain 'wiring' would equate to having an actual controller in your hands - which you can use with this App by the way - I'm not sure, but it is fun.

Drone On My Phone

Want to learn how to fly a drone or improve your FPV flying skills? Drone On My Phone has been designed by the makers of Electric RC Sim to help you learn and improve faster. It includes challenges for both FPV (First Person View) and LOS (Line Of Sight). Many challenges are free and there is no...

apps.apple.com

 

[Oneball 1971]

Yeah, today I flew it in full manual mode two times. It was awesome! Needed the emergency button twice; once during the first flight where I was getting desoriented by the "counter rolling" with the left stick. As I was low, I made te split-second decision not to try to save it (which would probably have resulted into rolling into the ground rather than levelling of), but to push the emergency stop and it saved me. The second time, I was coming into an amazing shot, descending into a turn between two rows of trees, when the video signal started cutting out... Scared the **** out of me, so again: emergency button!

Another thing: I tried taking off in Manual mode, but was a bit hesitant, twice resulting in the drone trying to tunnel itself through mother earth. My trick: take off in normal or sports mode to a safe altitude, then swith to manual. I love that it then shows you where the sticks need to be to make the drone hover. If you do, the icons in the view turn green and the drone switches to manual mode, dip the nose, raise the throttle and you're good to go!

Sounds good. Toying with the idea of getting one. I used to fly 4 ch radio control planes when I was younger, hoping that might help.

 

[Barbara]

I would dearly love to try DJI's FPV drone, but my biggest worry would be possible motion sickness induced by the VR Goggles.

As other's have said, for me this would be more about the flying than the camera.

 

[Deleted member 133794]

I would dearly love to try DJI's FPV drone, but my biggest worry would be possible motion sickness induced by the VR Goggles.

As other's have said, for me this would be more about the flying than the camera.

A friend of mine who does FPV racing has advised me that if you do
a little often and build up flight times slowly you get used to the motion
of using goggles.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I am preparing to take my first flight out the window from inside the house , but I also fear motion sickness so will be interesting to see how long i can last , because 15 seconds can do me in. lol Im thinking because I am controlling the movement i might not be so bad. The Firmware updates took the batteries down to 25% so back on the charge.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain and land on Water.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Had my first flight down the River , I felt like a butterfly on top of a Catapillar it was a blast, I thought I would loose signal going around the River bends , I had my Girl Friend who has never flown, fly it back now she wants her own. Putting her in the Hot Seat with the googles strapped on was a game changer for her. She never stopped laughing ..

I have a small video to post of my first 10 minutes of flight.

 

[zeusfl]

Nice camera. Did you see the deer ???? was looking the drone LOL. Nice stuff !!

 

[vindibona1]

I really love my Air2, but have smaller quads that I fly when I want to do FPV. They cost less than US$100 and don't break very often when I hit things. I'm really not sure who (what demographic) DJI is trying to target with this. Don't get me wrong, their product is pretty exceptional in a lot of ways, but flying FPV equals a LOT of crashes and their pretty fragile. Joshua Bardwell hit a tree lightly during his review and snapped the leg off of it. That was a few hundred to repair. At the end of the day for me anyways, this product doesn't really do anything more than what other FPV quads can do for a lot less cost and a lot cheaper to repair when that inevitable crash occurs. I really can't see me buying one of the DJI FPV drones anytime in the near future, but I might buy there FPV system and plug it into one of my existing drones.

So if one wanted to dip a toes into FPV, how do you get a decent FPV drone that "cost less than $100"? Can you provide a shopping list?