FPVHub Northern Meet 2013 - Beginner Presentation

Getting Started in FPV

By Steve Woods (Steve W)www.intothebluerc.co.uk

Joined FPVUK in February 2011

Lives: Humber Bridge-ish. Current plane: FPVRaptor + X5 Wing

www.intothebluerc.co.uk www.youtube.com/intothebluerc www.fpvhub.com

Steve Woods (Steve W)

FPV is what YOU make of it – no strict requirements Learn at your own pace, 10km is not required! Experimentation is half of the fun! Explore! You will spend more money than you think! It’s a hobby, so remember to have fun!!!

Don’t stress about getting results!

Join a community – listen to people who have already made the mistakes you’re about to make!

Some Prerequisites…

Getting Started

So, what is FPV?“First Person View”:The art of flying an RC aircraft from the pilots-eye view instead of watching it fly around the sky, by means of a camera and video receiving equipment.

What you need: An aircraft (it helps!) An FPV system (video

transmitter, receiver and camera)

A monitor or goggles to view the video image.

Legality & Safety

FPV is entirely legal. You must obey the

Air Navigation Order. Insurance is not

mandatory but highly recommended.

www.fpvuk.org/fpv-law

Safety first! Don’t fly near

vehicles, cows, people or Lincoln Cathedral ;)

Be a responsible flyer.

Other insurances are also available (RCHA, BMFA)

15 quid gets you £5million public liability cover Renewed annually (or you can go elsewhere) Not mandatory but highly recommended Subject to FPV Legality www.fpvuk.org/fpv-law Grants you specific exemptions from the ANO.

Instant setup at www.fpvuk.org/join

FPVUK Insurance

Ideally: Easy to fly, stable by default Able to carry a fair amount of weight Able to withstand some enthusiasm ;) Repairable (Foam + duct tape + hot glue = ) Able to grow with you as you get better at FPV A popular airframe

Choosing Your Airframe

Choosing your Radio Control

35MHz Band

Decent range >2km Quite reliable but can

glitch

Pilots will clash if using the same frequency

Long-ass-antenna that will snap if you’re not careful!

2.4GHz Band

Less range, but still >1km Very reliable, mostly

glitch free

Uses frequency hopping to ensure no clashing

Small antenna, no worries Becoming very popular

Short + Medium Range

Choosing your Radio Control

UHF Control Systems

Excellent range (many kilometers)

Very reliable signal The only real option for

long range flights

Can be quite expensive

UK Legal frequency is 459MHz

Very clean transmission band.

You can’t buy a UHF radio, it comes as a module which you can install in your existing transmitter.

Longer Range

In the UK, you have a legal choice of: 2.4GHz, max 10mW power output 5.8GHz, max 25mW power output

Will depend on your control frequency. Do not use 2.4GHz with 2.4GHz control!!!

Choose between legal power output and flight safety.

Video Transmission Choices

On-Board Video Camera

The camera you use is your “eye in the sky” and a critical component.

Cheap ones work! Expensive ones do too! WDR is brilliant in the

UK Angle it down a bit! 2.8mm lens is

awesome!

What I use: 2g Nano camera 2.8mm wide angle

lens

Video Antennae

Your choice will probably be based on the type of FPV flying you will be doing:

Linear Polarised for slow, steady flying

Circularly Polarised for aerobatics / hard banking in the air (and is better!)

Types of antenna: LP: Rubber duck

(whip) CP: Clover + Skew

Planar

Video Receiving + Viewing

Goggles are fantastic, but fairly expensive.

Monitors are cheaper but not as mobile and don’t give the same experience.

Ground station or in-built module – you decide!

A completely personal choice – no right answers.

What I use: FatShark

Dominators Skew Planar

Antenna Built in Video

Receiver

FPV Aircraft: AXN, Easy Star or similar pusher-jetRC Control System: Turnigy 9x on 2.4GHzFPV System: FirstPersonView.co.uk 5.8GHz

system including Dominator Goggles

An Ideal Beginners Setup

FPV Aircraft: 50 quidRC Control System: around 60 quidFPV System: around 400 quid Cheaper than a set of golf clubs! Buy cheap, buy twice!

An Ideal Beginners Setup

Important Checklist Choose somewhere familiar so you can orient

yourself in the air – don’t crash without knowing where you are!

Make sure you can conductthe flight safely – no cathedrals!

Plan your flight beforehand so you don’t accidentally fly off and lose your gear – go in circles!

Your First FPV Flight

What it looks like from above!

Flown with: Multiplex EasyStar £14.99 camera Dominator Goggles 100mw 5.8GHz video 2.4GHz RC control

This was my live view!

FPV is what YOU make of it – no strict requirements

Learn at your own pace, 10km is not required! Experimentation is half of the fun! Explore! You will spend more money than you thought. It’s a hobby, so remember to have fun!!!

Join a community – listen to people who have already made the mistakes you’re about to make!

A reminder…

Steve WFind me on www.fpvhub.com

Visit, and subscribe: www.intothebluerc.co.uk www.youtube.com/intothebluerc

Any questions? No? Great! ;)

Thanks for watching!