A.O. from the mavic side
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droneguy
Well-Known Member
LOL! The basic message is that a good radio built around the Open TX standard is the way to go. It's not that difficult or complex of a decision. Radiomaster TX16S is a no-brainer choice today. Full featured, open platform that supports basically any drone. Crossfire is a Team Blacksheep control link that gives you 30+kms of range but the range limit for FPV is limited by the video transmission which is around 5-6kms with a good VTX. With crossfire as your control link you never have to worry about your quad having a failsafe (loses communication to the radio and falls to the ground) because your radio link is capable of 30+kms but your video can go 5-6kms.
This is the technology you will want in FPV so when you buy something make sure it leads down this roadmap. The battey size will determin the flight time. Most people fly freestyle FPV drones want the best performance so battery size and weight are kept to a minimum for performance and thus you can expect 5-6 mins of pure performance. Sounds like a very short flight, but when you're flying ( Mod Removed Remark)acro, it's long enough. Other drones have smaller more efficient motos ans some drones like the Flywoo Explorer can fly for 30min with the proper batter, but this will e more of a cruising type style of flying. The point is that you can buy or build a drone to meet any flight characteristic you want.... Super fast insane performance to slow and steady cruiser or anything in between.
Check out RCAddict on YouTube for some sample videos of his race setup.
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That was (Mod Removed remark) Whats a set up like that cost, and how long to learn to control something like that? Or cant most humans do that?
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I have a Tinyhawk 2 (whoop version) and think it is great for learning acro as it holds up very well in crashes. It also flys well outdoors with light to no wind.
It is only $109.
If you have some space indoors, it's great to fly on days when mother nature stops us from flying outside.
I found that flying in some of the sims, really helped to get the muscle memory developed to where I did not crash much at all when I started flying the real thing.
In this vid, the guy shows some of what the TH2 is capable of...
droneguy
Well-Known Member
Acro is a flight mode that is fully manual with no self leveling or angle limits. The pilot needs to control all aspects of flight. This full manual mode allows you to perform flips and rolls.
Angle mode is a flight mode where the quad self levels when the sticks are at zero position. It also has angle limits that prevent the quad from flipping over past a preset angle.
Horizon mode is a flight mode with self leveling like angle mode but without the angle limits so you can still perform flips and rolls.
There are 3 flight modes typically available on an FPV quad; Angle, Horizon, and Acro.
Angle mode restricts the pitch and roll axes to no more than a specified angle to help the pilot maintain control of the quad. The maximum angle is configurable in BetaFlight software when connected to the flight controller and is normally around 20-30 degrees. Angle mode also will self-level the quad when the pitch and roll stick(s) is centered. Though this is not a braking or position hold function like you would have in a DJI-type quad.
Horizon mode doesn't restrict the pitch and roll of the quad, allowing it to do flips and rolls. But it still has the self-leveling of angle mode.
Acro mode removes all restrictions and leveling. This requires the pilot maintain control of the quad at all times. It's generally believed that this is the best mode to learn in, as the pilot doesn't pick up habits of relying on the flight controller to save the quad from crashing.
EDIT: Removed "Air" reference.
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droneguy
Well-Known Member
@okw
Airmode is not a flight mode, but a feature that boosts the throttle authority at zero position. Without Airmode, normally when you lower your throttle stick all the way down, the motors on a quadcopter should either stop or all spin at the same speed (depends on how you set it up).
But when Airmode is enabled, it keeps PID loops active when your throttle stick is at zero, which allows the pilots to steer and control the quad even in a free fall. That enables pilots to pull off some crazy aerobatics, and have better control over the entire throttle range.
Also many people claim that learning in angle mode leads to bad habits for Acro mode, but this is absolutely not true for most people. If you flew angle mode for years before flying Acro, then maybe it would take you longer to transition to Acro then is you only flew angle mode for 3 months, but it is a great idea to learn the basic flight characteristics of a quad in angle mode as it will same you a lot of crashes and potentially a lot of money. I run a quad flight training program and we always start in angle mode, then switch to horizon mode to get a feel for full stick deflection and rates before going into acro mode. In 4 hours I an have a new pilot doing flips, rolls and power loops in acro mode with only a hand full of minor crashes. Where alot of people struggle is the mixing of pitch roll and yaw all together in acro mode as the quad will fall off its turn if you go too far. Angle mode prevents this and is a great way to teach proper techniques of mixing inputs to achieve desired quad control. I have met so many pilots that were convinced by online rhetoric that good pilots only fly in acro, only to be shown that angle mode and horizon mode can be used to learn new skills without destroying your equipment.
In addition, most racers including myself fly whoops almost exculively in angle mode and there are no bad habits formed from that either. The bottom line is stick time... the more you put in, the better you get. The different flight modes should be seen as tools to learn new skills and each has a purpose and great benefit in leaning to be a great pilot.
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Not referring to "Airmode." I don't have a computer with BetaFlight in front of me, but when configuring the flight modes to one of the AUX switches using BetaFlight, does it not call it "Air"? I could be wrong. I'm also thinking that the OSD switches between ANGLE/HORIZON/AIR when flipping the switch.
droneguy
Well-Known Member
This can get confusing, so I'll do my best to explain the history here. Betaflight puts your quad in acro mode by default unless you setup an aux switch to enable angle or horizon mode. In betaflight, airmode is always on for acro mode because you wouldn't be able to steer your quad at zero throttle or in those floaty upside down situation were your throttle is at zero. In older versions of betaflight the OSD would display AIR when you were in acro mode because the two were related in the sense airmode was on when you were in acro mode. This became confusing because we wanted airmode available in different flight modes and having AIR in the OSD was misleading. Since 4.x airmode is now a toggle in Other feature in the configuration tab to enable it all the time for angle or horizon but it's still on for acro mode since it's necessary to be able to control the quad at zero throttle so it's always on in acro. In 4.2.x?? versions of Betaflight, the OSD text AIR was changed to ACRO (even though airmode is enabled in acro) when flying in acro mode as airmode is it's own feature and AIR was misleading since it was really acro with airmode enabled. So if you are using an older version of Betaflight you may still see AIR id the OSD whrn in acro mode, but it;s acro mode with airmode enabled
I can see where the confusion is coming from as there have been many changes in the way betaflight allows you to turn airmode on and off for other flight modes other than acro and they have used AIR as an OSD txt in the past to show you were in acro mode with airmode enabled. The important thing to note is despite the changes in betaflight over the years and version, airmode has never been a flight mode despite being in an exclusive relationship with acro only for a while. Once airmode jumped into the dating pool with other flight modes the confusion around acro versus airmode became much more clear.
Hopefully this clears up this very confusing history in airmode.
I can see where the confusion is coming from as there have been many changes in the way betaflight allows you to turn airmode on and off for other flight modes other than acro and they have used AIR as an OSD txt in the past to show you were in acro mode with airmode enabled. The important thing to note is despite the changes in betaflight over the years and version, airmode has never been a flight mode despite being in an exclusive relationship with acro only for a while. Once airmode jumped into the dating pool with other flight modes the confusion around acro versus airmode became much more clear.
Hopefully this clears up this very confusing history in airmode.
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droneguy
Well-Known Member
It's an impressive bit of flying especially line of sight. (LOS) A typical 5in quad will set you back $300-500. Radio $150-250. Good goggles $300-500. You can get cheaper gear but you will find yourself upgrading it before too long if you go too cheap and cheap gear is hard to resell. As far as how long to learn to fly like this, most pilots get in the air quickly and can do basic maneuvers (flips, rolls etc..) within 5-10 hours of flight time. In order to build your proficiency, you need to get flight time with a quad or simulator. Both help refine your skills. Incorporating LOS flying at the end of your sessions is a great way to build that skillset. Many pilots won't achieve The RCaddict's level of skill but it's all about practice and flight time. The more you put in the more you get out.
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Oscar explains it pretty well here.
Acro Mode vs. Self-Level Mode - Oscar Liang
You can look up many of the terms here.
FPV Acronyms and Technical Terms Explained - Oscar Liang
Hope this helps...
droneguy
Well-Known Member
This is a great write-up but beware the betaflight info in this article is very dated (2016-2017) and is for older versions and no longer applies to Betaflight 4.X.
At your/my age you may want to opt for box goggles that you can wear with glasses. I bought this pair, at $170 they are a way to ease in to FPV. I am coming from a DJI Phantom 4 drone and built my own Cinewhoop, which is a lot of work and learning. It might be easier to buy something prebuilt as suggested. I bought the FrSky Taranis X9 Lite Xmtr, at $89, also very affordable. I took the advice of many and started learning to fly on a simulator on my laptop. You can connect your xmtr to your computer and crash all day long, while eating a sandwich, and never damage your new drone. There are a lot of videos out there to help. One great source for me was Joshua Bardwell, I'm sure others have suggestions too.
FrSky Taranis X9 Lite RC Transmitter - Choose Your Color
The FrSky Taranis X9 Lite RC Transmitter is available in black, white, or blue. This is a fantastic, affordable transmitter with all the features you need!
droneguy
Well-Known Member
He falls mostly in the category of professional reviewer like Drone Camp RC. Good videos if you want one person's biased opinion on what drone you should buy. They get all their drones for free from the mfg. so they tend not to say anything too negative... You don't want to bite the hand that feeds you.
Well I just jumped in with both feet! Not traditional FPV or racing stuff but I just pulled the trigger on a DJI FPV Combo.. I think it will suit me fine. We shall see I guess.
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