I guess a few of us with the DJI FPV are new to fpv, and full manual mode - so perhaps we can share some tips, and our experiences.
I'll give the obvious ones to start...
(Im a noob, flew mavics, but new to fpv, but now flying M mode - still early days)
- Practice on a SIM first (!)
the DJI FPV is too expensive, fragile, takes too long to repair to attempt to learn to fly M with the drone (imho)
sure, sims feel different to flying the real drone... but they allowed me to build up muscle memory for the controls...
I started on the sim as soon as I got the fpv, flying it in the evenings... it was frustrating at first, but it comes to you.
after about 6 hours (?) in the sim, I was very confident with controls and knew i was ready to give it a go for real ... at high altitude, with little risk, ready to hit pause!
that sim practice made the first manual flight enjoyable!
- DJI Sim or another sim?
I found the goggles + dji sim gave me motion sickness,
I actually learnt using Velocidrone...so don't worry if you don't have an iOS device, you actually are not disadvantaged.
the DJI sim is good later, to get used to the goggles and M mode, but it not vital ( I think physics are not as good)
(I used Velocidrone, as I didnt want to install Steam, but Im sure Liftoff / DRL are also just as good)
- disable coordinated turns for S mode (settings)
automated coordinated turns are a nice feature, but you are not going to have them in M mode, so better get used to doing them yourself in S mode
- cruise control
Ive heard getting used to cruise control in S mode is a good step to M mode, since its closer to throttle/pitch in M mode.
however, I did not try this... but I can see the logic of it
- unsprung throttle
so as recommended , I made the throttle/altitude stick unsprung... as I found in the sim, it was hard to control with it still sprung.
Im sure you can make it work with it sprung, but as a beginner... I wanted as easy as possible !
at this point I was still flying in N/S mode (not M), so I used this time to get used to flying N/S with this unsprung throttle. this is important, as you need to get used to watching your altitude and climb/fall rates.
important tip: the drone does NOT show you +/- vsi (vertical speed indicator) , so when nearly centred 1.2 m/s could mean you are climbing or falling (!) at this rate. (the Sim does have +/-!)
this step in N/S mode, is actually very useful since in M mode, watching VSI/altitude is something Im very careful with.
- first manual flight
thats it... once your comfortable in the sim,
take it up high, put in M mode... and use what you've learnt in the sim.
keep it high, practice turns ... watch you dont lose height...
if in any doubt, press pause !
(oh, I always land/take off in N mode... thats probably never going to change... I see no reason to even try to use manual mode )
biggest tip... take it slow, easy... unlike a diy drone, the dji fpv is more like learning to drive a car/motorbike. you cant just crash n' burn till you get it right, its building skills one step at a time.
how long it takes depends on many factors - not only your skills, but how much time you have, what flying conditions are like where you are.
so it doesn't matter if it takes you one week, one month, one year... as long as you are having fun.
anyway, this is all pretty obvious stuff, but I thought useful to have in one place,
its how I learnt so far, there is no magic, its just practice, nice easy steps that anyone can do.
---------------------------------------------------------
on to some specific observations,
- wind
I live on a mountain side, so its often windy, and thru the valleys we can of course get high gusts.
in N/S mode, the drones just take it all in thier strides.... you often only notice it, becuase the drone tilts at a hover.
on my first M flight I took it high, and of course this meant higher winds
wow, was this noticable... everything felt a bit wierd initially, since Id not experience the wind before (in a sim or on the drone),
it was 'sliding' around, and turns were not as expected (downwind = faster/wider , upwind = slower/tighter)
now after a few M flights, Im getting used to it - but even today, I hit a really strong gust and felt like the drone went into a spin (more likely I over compensated?!)
no big worries, I hit pause, to just gather my thoughts.
I guess this is just one case where sim and reality differ. (Ive now tried wind on velocidrone, but its not really the same)
- altitude/attitude
this is the thing Im trying to improve , my first flights I found it really easy to be unintentionally lose or gain (a lot) of height rapidly. this has been worst in turns.
so now Im keeping an eye on it.... so i dont fly into the hillside
this is going to be really important to 'master' before I can do lower level flights.
one thing, I do think that perhaps flying higher makes this a bit harder.... as you lose alot of the sense of height.
Ive been going a bit lower recently, as Ive gained more control/confidence - and its definitely easier for me to see climb/descent (rather than relying on VSI)
- camera tilt
It defaults to 15 deg, Ive changed it to 20 deg, as I think i was going a bit too slow at times... which was messing with my turning.
but not really sure... I know what it does (from the sim) but Im not confident enough to really mess with alot.
- rates/exp (and other settings)
Ive just left as-is, Ive seen some comments off adjusting them to be a bit less sensitive/jittery.
but again, I thought id leave this until I build up more confidence/experience
I think whilst we need the same skills to fly the DJI FPV as other FPVs, I think its features and 'qualities' require a different approach to aquire them, so it'll be interesting to hear how others make that move.
(of course, not all will want to use M mode... thats cool, the drone is fantastic fun in N/S mode too !)
anyway, Id love to hear others thoughts, and tips ...
also Id love to hear more on 'where next', once you are flying M mode .... what are good things to practice?
my current thoughts are...
slowly get lower, then fly between objects (trees) , also to try to make all movements smoother/more cinematic , learn to hover.
I suspect this will take some time... which is ok, Im in no rush
I'll give the obvious ones to start...
(Im a noob, flew mavics, but new to fpv, but now flying M mode - still early days)
- Practice on a SIM first (!)
the DJI FPV is too expensive, fragile, takes too long to repair to attempt to learn to fly M with the drone (imho)
sure, sims feel different to flying the real drone... but they allowed me to build up muscle memory for the controls...
I started on the sim as soon as I got the fpv, flying it in the evenings... it was frustrating at first, but it comes to you.
after about 6 hours (?) in the sim, I was very confident with controls and knew i was ready to give it a go for real ... at high altitude, with little risk, ready to hit pause!
that sim practice made the first manual flight enjoyable!
- DJI Sim or another sim?
I found the goggles + dji sim gave me motion sickness,
I actually learnt using Velocidrone...so don't worry if you don't have an iOS device, you actually are not disadvantaged.
the DJI sim is good later, to get used to the goggles and M mode, but it not vital ( I think physics are not as good)
(I used Velocidrone, as I didnt want to install Steam, but Im sure Liftoff / DRL are also just as good)
- disable coordinated turns for S mode (settings)
automated coordinated turns are a nice feature, but you are not going to have them in M mode, so better get used to doing them yourself in S mode
- cruise control
Ive heard getting used to cruise control in S mode is a good step to M mode, since its closer to throttle/pitch in M mode.
however, I did not try this... but I can see the logic of it
- unsprung throttle
so as recommended , I made the throttle/altitude stick unsprung... as I found in the sim, it was hard to control with it still sprung.
Im sure you can make it work with it sprung, but as a beginner... I wanted as easy as possible !
at this point I was still flying in N/S mode (not M), so I used this time to get used to flying N/S with this unsprung throttle. this is important, as you need to get used to watching your altitude and climb/fall rates.
important tip: the drone does NOT show you +/- vsi (vertical speed indicator) , so when nearly centred 1.2 m/s could mean you are climbing or falling (!) at this rate. (the Sim does have +/-!)
this step in N/S mode, is actually very useful since in M mode, watching VSI/altitude is something Im very careful with.
- first manual flight
thats it... once your comfortable in the sim,
take it up high, put in M mode... and use what you've learnt in the sim.
keep it high, practice turns ... watch you dont lose height...
if in any doubt, press pause !
(oh, I always land/take off in N mode... thats probably never going to change... I see no reason to even try to use manual mode
) biggest tip... take it slow, easy... unlike a diy drone, the dji fpv is more like learning to drive a car/motorbike. you cant just crash n' burn till you get it right, its building skills one step at a time.
how long it takes depends on many factors - not only your skills, but how much time you have, what flying conditions are like where you are.
so it doesn't matter if it takes you one week, one month, one year... as long as you are having fun.
anyway, this is all pretty obvious stuff, but I thought useful to have in one place,
its how I learnt so far, there is no magic, its just practice, nice easy steps that anyone can do.
---------------------------------------------------------
on to some specific observations,
- wind
I live on a mountain side, so its often windy, and thru the valleys we can of course get high gusts.
in N/S mode, the drones just take it all in thier strides.... you often only notice it, becuase the drone tilts at a hover.
on my first M flight I took it high, and of course this meant higher winds
wow, was this noticable... everything felt a bit wierd initially, since Id not experience the wind before (in a sim or on the drone),
it was 'sliding' around, and turns were not as expected (downwind = faster/wider , upwind = slower/tighter)
now after a few M flights, Im getting used to it - but even today, I hit a really strong gust and felt like the drone went into a spin (more likely I over compensated?!)
no big worries, I hit pause, to just gather my thoughts.
I guess this is just one case where sim and reality differ. (Ive now tried wind on velocidrone, but its not really the same)
- altitude/attitude
this is the thing Im trying to improve , my first flights I found it really easy to be unintentionally lose or gain (a lot) of height rapidly. this has been worst in turns.
so now Im keeping an eye on it.... so i dont fly into the hillside
this is going to be really important to 'master' before I can do lower level flights.
one thing, I do think that perhaps flying higher makes this a bit harder.... as you lose alot of the sense of height.
Ive been going a bit lower recently, as Ive gained more control/confidence - and its definitely easier for me to see climb/descent (rather than relying on VSI)
- camera tilt
It defaults to 15 deg, Ive changed it to 20 deg, as I think i was going a bit too slow at times... which was messing with my turning.
but not really sure... I know what it does (from the sim) but Im not confident enough to really mess with alot.
- rates/exp (and other settings)
Ive just left as-is, Ive seen some comments off adjusting them to be a bit less sensitive/jittery.
but again, I thought id leave this until I build up more confidence/experience
I think whilst we need the same skills to fly the DJI FPV as other FPVs, I think its features and 'qualities' require a different approach to aquire them, so it'll be interesting to hear how others make that move.
(of course, not all will want to use M mode... thats cool, the drone is fantastic fun in N/S mode too !)
anyway, Id love to hear others thoughts, and tips ...
also Id love to hear more on 'where next', once you are flying M mode .... what are good things to practice?
my current thoughts are...
slowly get lower, then fly between objects (trees) , also to try to make all movements smoother/more cinematic , learn to hover.
I suspect this will take some time... which is ok, Im in no rush
