All About FPV Drones

When you first hear of drones, your mind might turn to the drone building kits for children, conveniently found on Amazon or at toy stores. Or, you might think of drones you’ve seen in a sci-fi movie. Either way, there’s a simple reason the public is becoming obsessed with UAVs: drones are fascinating technology.

For kids that grew up playing Space Invaders or other joystick games, drones fulfill our wildest dreams of the future, all while triggering a sort of collective nostalgia. Whichever way you look at it, drones are fun and they’re quickly becoming a widespread hobby that nerds, content creators, and even parents can get behind.

For anyone that isn’t currently a drone aficionado and is trying to get on the drone bandwagon, you’ll quickly notice there are a lot of acronyms and terminology you may have never heard of before, including FPV, RPA, UAV, UAS, VLOS, etc.

The list can go on and on…and on.

So let’s get started with the basics—what’s the difference between a regular drone, and an FPV drone?

For all intents and purposes, they are exactly the same thing. Both are unmanned aircraft, which are maneuvered by pilots using a controller. The main difference lies in the FPV drone or a first-person-view drone.

Equipped with an onboard camera, the pilot maneuvers the aircraft based on the drone’s perspective, not the visual line of sight the pilot has on the ground. Typically, you fly FPV drones with face goggles equipped with portable screens to view the live video coming in from the UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle). Many FPV drones allow users to live stream to FPV goggles, smartphones, or other devices.

What has made FPV drones popular is FPV racing; recreational pilots come together and fly through some of the wildest courses in the world—one of the more popular leagues is MultiGP which hosts multiple racing events throughout the year.

Users pilot around challenging obstacles to achieve the fastest flight time, while their views are transmitted to audiences, making the events fun for spectators. For some fellow Star Wars nerds out there, it might remind you of the Boonta Eve Classic; the pod racing event on Tatooine that Anakin won before he went evil.

boontaeve

Why pick an FPV drone?

FPV drones are fun; it’s really that simple. They provide an immersive flight reality in which the pilot can react immediately to obstacles and changing flight conditions because they are experiencing it all live. As a pilot, you can capture incredible imagery, photographs, or video, because you can position your drone based on a live perspective.

If you fly drones professionally, you can still use FPV drones where you would normally use traditional drones; whether it’s for surveying, inspection, or any other activity, FPV drones will allow you to have a first-person view. You can learn how to level up your drone activities with an FPV drone here.

Keep in mind that FPV drones are trickier to maneuver, and you may need someone to look out for you while you’re flying to keep you safe and aware of your surroundings.

FPVs make excellent hobby drones, and can be an inclusive activity for friends and family.
Get started with the FPV lifestyle; here are our top FPV picks to get you started:

1. DJI FPV Drone Combo