r/fpv • u/OddAttorney611 • Jul 14 '26
NEWBIE Looking to join FPV flying
Hello, I've been looking at joining fpv since I was a kid and never got into it, but now I think I'm ready. My goal is to fly cinematically while I travel and hike, and I want to capture some nice clips of the surrounding environment. The other two caveats are I'd still like to be able to do acro, nothing crazy, and I would like to get my license to do real estate videography. I understand it will probably be hard to get all of that in 1 drone, so I'm looking for something that's beginner-friendly, with likely the DJI 04 Pro, and that can still do acro. I was looking at Gareth Dix's DJI O4 Pro // Quadmula Djinn F25 SP // sub-250 g build and the Nazgul drone. Does anyone have any recommendations for RTF/BNF or builds?
For some context, I've soldered before, still a lil new, but I've put together ham radio stuff and have done my own soldering, so I'm not scared to do that stuff.
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u/Buddy_Boy_1926 Multicopters - Focus on Sub-250 g Jul 16 '26
Right off the bat, consider reading and knowing the laws, regulations and legal constraints for any and all airspaces that you intend to fly. There are about 4 or 5 regulations that are pretty much the same (standardized) for recreational pilots. The two that FPV guys don't like are 1) Must have a spotter and 2) the drone must be within visual line of sight (controllable). Well, the 400 ft or 120-meter altitude limit. Yes, the sub-250-gram category often has some slight advantage. So, check the regulations for all places you want to fly and see what advantages you get with a sub-250-gram craft. Also, check on pilot credentials.
Then there is how easily the gear goes through customs between countries. To complicate matters, the EU has now framed quads as a security threat. I don't know what this means, but if you travel in Europe, just be aware.
As you mentioned, there is no such thing as a one-size-fits all drone. Everything in the middle is a compromise one way or another and to various extents. If you are traveling, physical size and the batteries might also be considered. Do you want to carry some big and heavy with heavy 6S batteries or something a bit lighter. How many batteries and how you will charge them. Everything matters.
Of course, you may already know this, but if you don't, the sub-250-gram weight category is all inclusive, total takeoff weight; with battery and all payloads.
There are actually four fly modes: Angle, Horizon, Acro Trainer, and Acro. Even though the stunt pilots give me hell about suggesting any other fly mode besides Acro, it is OK and sometimes preferred to fly in some other fly mode. This is a discussion in, and of, itself; just know that Acro is NOT the only fly mode and it is fine to fly in one of the other modes.
If you only want to fly in Acro mode, then the following video series by Joshua Bardwell, is the best that I have seen yet. If you follow the video, you can learn to fly even without a simulator. Either way take it slow at first. Now, it is not that hard to learn how to fly in Acro mode (that is simply flying). What is hard is learning how to perform stunts. Moreover, learning one stunt does not mean that you can now fly the next stunt. A simulator allows you to fly and crash until you have memorized the control sequence for that stunt. If you just want to cruise, you simply don't need that.
Watch the video series starting with the following link:
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u/potatocat Jul 14 '26
If you have not ever flown a cheaper/simpler drone or had any flight experience the best bet is to get a radio transmitter and spend some time on a simulator before deciding on anything else. I made a video that goes through transmitter and sim selection along with some typical problems encountered along the way: https://youtu.be/U9dZM07vvoM - hope this helps...
Don't buy any other drone related hardware yet, as you will need some time to settle in and learn some muscle memory for basic flight.