[Naomarik]

DJI digital video has been out for quite awhile now for hobbyists to include in their custom builds. Transmission range is not a valid point because a clean analog video signal and Crossfire outpaces DJI enormously.

The 20 min flight time is a lie, Joshua Bardwell measured 10 minutes hovering. That's extremely easy to surpass on typical light weight 5 inch freestyle drone with a 1300mah battery that cost a fifth of the price of the DJI ones.

It is an impressive drone, but for experienced FPV pilots it's very limiting.

[dagmx]

I think the biggest thing is accessibility. DJI continues to break down the preexisting knowledge required to get into a space.

For better or worse, because there's a lot of irresponsible drone flyers as a result too, but this product makes fpv flying much readily available for those who want to try it without investing the time/effort to learn about how to do it better with other setups

[robomartin]

> For better or worse, because there's a lot of irresponsible drone flyers as a result too

The industry is doing a horrible job of educating people and, as a result, they are ruining it for everyone else. I have been flying all manner of radio control craft for over thirty years (planes, helicopters, drones and "things"). As a simple example, I would never --ever-- fly anything over people, homes, roads or high fire risk brush areas. I have crashed enough time to understand that that these things are toys that are not designed to the standards of real aircraft, often suffering from multiple single-point failure risks that could bring them down and either hurt someone or cause serious damage to property.

Our neighborhood FB group is, at times (usually around Xmas and people's birthdays) filled with videos from people flying their new drones over roads (as in, directly over cars), over homes, over bone-dry brush surrounding our neighborhoods, over people (crowds, kids, at parks, without anyone knowing), etc.

The other kind of post is "I flew my drone for the first time in front of my house and I lost it". Which, of course, makes me crying at multiple levels. The crash could easily cause a brush fire that could take out an entire neighborhood [0], and, of course, hurt or kill someone [1].

At first I tried to educate people as to the realities of these devices. I own RC helicopters that cost well in excess of $3,000 and I still consider them unsafe toys. Yet people get offended and verbally abusive when you explain that their $300 drone, despite the hype, is a toy that could fall out of the sky at any time and potentially cause great harm. I mean, I have worked on the design of space capsules that are docked at the International Space Station and people are arguing with me about their toys actually being "reliable". Jeez.

It's only a matter of time until a tragedy occurs. Thankfully the large fires caused by drone crashes have, so far, been limited to open areas. One day someone is going to crash a drone into the bushes in a neighborhood, the LiPo is going to rupture and half the neighborhood will burn down. Sadly people seem to value their fun far more than the safety of others.

[0] https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/03/drone-crashes-in...

[1] https://www.theverge.com/2017/2/27/14755116/jail-sentence-dr...

[dylan604]

>without investing the time/effort to learn about how to do it better with other setups

I do not believe that this is a good thing at all.

[mynameisvlad]

Why is gatekeeping FPV drones so important to you? Opening it up to new potential users some of which will want to eventually invest in better setups seems very much like a good thing.

[dylan604]

I don't consider it gatekeeping. I consider it responsibility. Low barrier to entry is not always such a good thing. The idiots that would not get into it because of some sort of required training but would get into it without hesitation without training are typically ones that cause the problems for everyone else. There are lots of things in life/society that requires some sort of responsibility. I feel that something you can fly in a manner that you can only see in one direction without fully knowing what else is around you is one of those things. Caveat being designated areas setup and maintained as a UAV operating area.

[05]

Rotor Riot's infamous bridge dive [1]

Mr Steele's failsafe when diving a building [2], Reddit discussion [3]

Nurk's train video (for which he was fined by the FAA) [4]

But surely, those trained professionals that learned how to solder wires to the ESCs can't be dicks.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJgRuMXBHHI

[2] https://gfycat.com/freshthisinsect-multicopter

[3] https://old.reddit.com/r/Multicopter/comments/5hajmh/lets_al...

[4] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQDcDZ6rmGE

[Naomarik]

Yup. I've been flying long enough to know that even though my radio and video link can easily take me several kilometers out, it can fail at any moment and I have to treat it as such.

RTF packages have always existed, but DJI making this widespread will allow every random person to buy one from their local store and have the ability to fly acro, which is pretty horrifying.

[matsemann]

> The 20 min flight time is a lie, Joshua Bardwell measured 10 minutes hovering.

To be fair, hovering time is often lower than flight time for copters.

[harperlee]

So 10 minutes up, then 10 minutes falling?

[ben7799]

Anything with rotors generates extra lift when moving vs hovering, so it requires less power to hold altitude when moving vs hovering.

Imagine if you stopped the blades but the craft is still traveling forward... lift is being generated by the air flowing over one side of the rotor just liked a fixed wing aircraft.

At the extremes some full size helicopters can't climb straight up, they have to have forward motion to generate enough lift to climb. This allows use of a smaller motor to bring operating cost down.

In the case DJI drones the battery times are usually quoted with some amount of forward speed.. it generates a longer run time than a hover test.

[benhurmarcel]

There's also simply the effect of not staying in a downstream you created.

A drone/helicopter accelerates air downward, and it's easier to accelerate still air than air that's already moving downward.

[alkz]

in this case the drone is so fragile that the only way to get 10mins of flight from it without breaking it, is to hover

[ionwake]

I dont know why this comment was downvoted I found it both funny and informative

[sangnoir]

It's obviously hyperbole - but the problem is that without the hyperbole, the comment communicates nothing substantive. How was it informative?

[alkz]

it informs you that you're going to crash it when you try to actually fly it, and it will break badly. fpv drone frames are usually made from thick carbon fiber, with replaceable arms, and are designed for durability and repairability and they still get wrecked in crashes. so even if i put it in a funny way, it's not as much an hyperbole as much as a fact: unless you're pretty much hovering, you're going to end up with a very expensive and unserviceable pile of broken electronics and plastic

[hactually]

You seem in the know, any recommended sources or communities I should look into, or even if you're happy to share more I'm keen to hear it

[meheleventyone]

I got into it a few months ago Joshua Bardwell as the sibling mentioned is a great source of info: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCX3eufnI7A2I7IkKHZn8KSQ

The main thing anyone starting needs to realize is that it takes quite a bit of time to get used to how Quads fly in Acro/Rate mode. I started on a simulator (Liftoff) with an XBox pad and that was super punishing as gentle and precise control is needed. Switching to a proper radio was a night and day difference. I'd guess it took 5-10 hours of flying time to get to the point where I could comfortably go where I wanted 99% of the time. I'm up to 50 hours of sim time now and flinging the things around with wild abandon. Looking forward to summer and getting out to try the real thing.

My recommendation for starting out would be to grab a cheap radio that is easy to connect to a PC and a copy of a simulator.

[faeyanpiraat]

This is super important!

Clock in 20-30 hrs of flight time in a sim using a real radio, before even thinking about building a quad.

You might realize it is not for you, and save the hassle, but more importantly it is really dangerous, even when you are an experienced driver.

Without sim experience you are guaranteed to crash quickly and do some damage in stuff and/or people!

[throwaway6734]

Recs for a cheap radio that is easy to connect to a pc? I also had the same result when trying to use a gamepad

[meheleventyone]

After research I went with the Radiomaster TX16s. There are several specs and I went for the mid-range version that has Hall effect gimbals for the sticks. You can get more console controller style radios as well but I fancied the bigger screen and a bit more space.

[throwaway6734]

Thanks!

[muu-g]

I haven't personally used these radios but they seem to be highly recommended budget options from people in the know: - BetaFPV LiteRadio 2 - Jumper T-Lite

In terms of a pc simulator I have used Velocidrone which everyone says has the most realistic physics but is not necessarily the prettiest.

You might also find the following site useful as a shopping guide: - https://www.fpvknowitall.com/fpv-shopping-list-controller-an...

It's an addictive and fun hobby for which I'm still in the initial stages of.

Happy flying!

Edit: first time posting / trying to format properly.

[throwaway6734]

Thank you!!!

[aramachandran7]

UAV futures is also a fun youtube channel to get started with and is a little less technical than joshua bardwell at first.

to have your mind blown by experienced fpv pilots, check out Nurk FPV, Johnny FPV, Mr. Steele, and Rotor Riot.

FPV is a disproportionately expensive hobby ... every hard crash can cost you between $20 ( broken motor bell) to $200 (cost of entire drone when dropped in water and electronics go poof). Still great hobby, highly recommend!

[somehnguy]

UAVFutures is a Banggood/affiliate marketing shill unfortunately. Can't trust a word that comes out of his mouth when it comes to product reviews (which is the vast majority of what he does).

[StavrosK]

There are various FPV groups on Facebook, and Joshua Bardwell shares a lot of knowledge on YouTube. Also, prepare to lose a lot of your life soldering things.

[Naomarik]

Facebook is the #1 community resource for drones unfortunately. If you want to get started check out Joshua Bardwell on Youtube.