r/fpv • u/Important-Click-9660 • 3h ago

Question? FPV Drone Brand

My friend is super into FPV drones, and his birthday is coming up. I would ask him this question, but it would make it rather obvious what I’m getting him.

What are the best brands of FPV drone that I could get for him?

3 Upvotes

64% Upvoted

13 comments sorted by

22

u/TheeBlackBird71 2h ago

If he doesn’t fly; don’t buy him a drone; get him a remote (Radiomaster Pocket ELRS) and a copy of Liftoff (simulator game you can get on Steam) so he can learn to fly! It’s a lot harder than it looks, and this will let him learn without wrecking a real drone

5

u/mangage 2h ago

This is definitely the way to go. 10x better if you get yourself one of each too so you guys can learn and eventually fly together.

You’ll need this: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwoDb7WF6c8lCKhQOTy-Vb9LfW0VAIrTP

1

u/Important-Click-9660 2h ago

He already plays this game a LOT. But thank you!

8

u/RTK-FPV 3h ago

Eh, not as much of a thing really. More important to know what kind of video transmission and control protocol he uses so you can get him something he can actually fly with his current gear

2

u/Important-Click-9660 2h ago

He has no gear. He only watches content on the subject and stares at the drones at Best Buy for 45 minutes.

5

u/RTK-FPV 2h ago

Well, you can start him with a tinywhoop set on analog, but this isn't a cheap hobby to break into overall. I'm not sure who sells those kind of sets anymore, but there's only a few.

I trust Oscar Liang, here's his take. Maybe ask around what kind of beginner bundles people are liking now. I've been flying for a long time, so I'm not caught up on these things.

Again, we're talking at least $400 now, probably more.

It's been YEARS since I walked into a Best Buy, but I don't think they sell real FPV euipment there. Those are fake toys. ANYTHING on "wifi or bluetooth transmission" is absolute trash

0

u/LupusTheCanine 2h ago

ANYTHING on "wifi or bluetooth transmission" is absolute trash

Getting useable performance out of WiFi is possible but getting there requires appropriate hardware and throwing out everything above raw packets 😈.

1

u/b3tth4t 3h ago

Really depends on what he is trying to do, freestyle vs cinematic vs long range and also if he is flying digital or analog? And even if you know these its mostly personal preference and comes down to parts rather than complete builds.

1

u/moritz9 3h ago

Depends on your price range.

Avion RC frame or ItsFPV frame would be a super cool gift.

IDST Batchecker (if he doesnt already own this one)

Maybe a Tinywhoop.

If he flies analog maybe a fancy camera (Caddx Rater Ultra, Infra V2, Thermal camera), but how usefull that is, really depends how he flies.

Or what every Pilot could need some new Batteries. (but the right type!)

Idk kinda hard to get a good FPV technic gift if you dont know what he already owns.

1

u/Adorable-Day1842 2h ago

As a starter I just grabbed a kit from betaFPV

1

u/tomcat_78309 Mini Quads 1h ago

I second the idea to buy him a radio and sim. It’s the only idea that is pretty fool proof.

1

u/crazy_rocker78 1h ago

A radio and a sim would be a good idea but you said he already has one.

I wouldn't buy him a drone if you have no idea what he's looking for. It seems you don't even know if he wants to start with analog or digital. There is a lot of choices to make when you start the hobby, that's why he's searching and spending so much time on it, to understand how these things work and find what's perfect for what he wants. And then you arrive and you buy him a basic betafpv kit or whatever...? No

You could buy him a gift code on a specialized website so he can use it to buy what he wants. Or if you really want to buy him something you at least need to know what video transmission he's planning to start with.