How to get started with FPV drone racing

As you can tell by the title, we will be exploring the world of the first-person view (FPV) drone racing today. Drones have only recently gained popularity as they have become more accessible to the general public. Let me tell you a little bit about my story of how I got into this wonderful hobby.

During my freshman year, I heard about a small club called Flying Huskies and decided to check it out. I had only known drones through cheap plastic toys that stop charging after two days and professional photography tools that cost $1000 or more. But then I tried FPV drone racing, essentially, you have a camera onboard that streams live video to a set of VR goggles in real-time. It really feels like you are flying in the sky. The best part about it is that these drones are built to crash so you can always keep flying and exploring. 

The very first step to get on this journey is to see if you actually like it. Fortunately, you don’t need any fancy equipment to get started with the basics. Joshua Bardwell and UAV Futures are great YouTubers that have tons of introduction content. You can start practicing using a simulator such as Quad It or Tiny Whoop Go. Some are free but the paid ones have a more realistic simulation. Starting with a keyboard and mouse is great, but it does not compare with the experience and practice of using a real controller. The FrSky platform is great because it allows you to have many buttons and switches for things beyond drones such as model airplanes and hovercrafts. You only need the one controller that pretty much works with everything in the RC hobby. They also hold their value really well so if you ever wanted to sell it, you can get pretty much the same price you bought it for. Personally, I use the Taranis QX7. 

Once you have learned the basics of flight and are ready to buy a drone, my recommendation is to get something tiny like a Tiny Whoop which are small drones that fit in the palm of your hand. They are also easy to control and can’t really damage property if you crash because they are so light and will just bounce off walls. The Mobula 6 is a great option for under $100 dollars. You will also need a pair of FPV goggles which are about $50 for the Eachine EV800. But goggles are something that you should make a good investment in because you use them for so long, so if you have the budget, I recommend getting an upgrade. 

I also encourage you to get creative with your race tracks around your house, use chairs and random obstacles to practice new tricks. In Flying huskies, we repurposed hula hoops and lined them with LED strips which look great in a dark room. Remember to fly with a lot of friends, because that’s where the real fun is. If racing is not your thing, you can just fly around freestyle and spook random teachers in the hallways of NNHS. 

Now here is my safety rant. As you get into larger drones that require larger batteries, the risk gets larger. Although size can be deceiving and you should always be cautious. The reason for this is that the lithium polymer batteries in these drones are made to be as light as possible, so all the safety measures that come with regular batteries are stripped out from them. So make sure to keep them in a lipo-safe bag if possible. Always monitor the charge/discharge levels so they are in operating range and discharge batteries if you are not going to use them for a long period of time. 

Now that you have become familiar with the basics of drones, you can start exploring on your own. You can make a bigger drone with a carbon fiber frame that will allow you to fly outside with speeds going up to 130 miles per hour. Make sure to keep checking the guidelines and always follow airspace rules. So the world is yours to explore. 

I will leave you with this insanely cool video that I show everyone who is considering getting an FPV drone. This guy has made a career out of flying drones for professional events and it’s really crazy how capable these machines have become.