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Can anyone recommend some good drones outside of DJI?
If it's dji like flying, there's skydio .
If it's fpv racing, freestyle etc ... There are many ready to fly options. Starting at 50 grams all up weight for indoor flying to 5" 200+kmph racers to bigger 7" long range quads..
Flying FPV (in acro mode) has a steep learning curve (but is, arguably, much more fun). The way to learn is to use a proper simulator. The most versatile and popular one is Liftoff and costs around $20, but there are many others, including free ones. You should also buy a dedicated controller since normal game controllers don't work well (the throttle joystick needs to stay where it is instead of returning to center). Dedicated drone controllers can be found around $40-50 used.
And then off you go! Be prepared to spend at least 20 hours on a sim before you can fly IRL (it took me around 100 hours to really be comfortable). It's surprising how well the learned skills transfer from the simulator to the real thing.
There are two big families of drones: FPV and non-FPV (sometimes called cinematic). Flying non-FPV, GPS stabilized drones (like the DJI Mavic family of drones) requires almost no training, you just put the drone in the air and it stays there, waiting for your instructions. Flying FPV (in acro mode) has a steep learning curve (but is, arguably, much more fun). The way to learn is to use a proper simulator. The most ve…
There are two big families of drones: FPV and non-FPV (sometimes called cinematic). Flying non-FPV, GPS stabilized drones (like the DJI Mavic family of drones) requires almost no training, you just put the drone in the air and it stays there, waiting for your instructions. Flying FPV (in acro mode) has a steep learning curve (but is, arguably, much more fun). The way to learn is to use a proper simulator. The most ve…
What dedicated controllers would you recommend? Is there a FPV that works for both drones in real life and in games? Any ones in particular you like?
If you prefer game pad style controllers, you can use radiomaster pocket/Zorro depending on your budget.. ELRS version.
There are two big families of drones: FPV and non-FPV (sometimes called cinematic). Flying non-FPV, GPS stabilized drones (like the DJI Mavic family of drones) requires almost no training, you just put the drone in the air and it stays there, waiting for your instructions. Flying FPV (in acro mode) has a steep learning curve (but is, arguably, much more fun). The way to learn is to use a proper simulator. The most ve…
What dedicated controllers would you recommend? Is there a FPV that works for both drones in real life and in games? Any ones in particular you like?
But there are controllers from BetaFPV that are much cheaper. A friend of mine just got started with the BetaFPV Radio Lite 3 ($60 new) and is very happy with it.
Edit: RC2 -> Remote 2.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
What dedicated controllers would you recommend? Is there a FPV that works for both drones in real life and in games? Any ones in particular you like?
I use the DJI Remote 2. It's a little expensive at $150 new / $100 used, but it's justified if you want to use it with a DJI video system in the future (Caddx Vista or DJI O3), or the Avata (but not Avata 2...) But there are controllers from BetaFPV that are much cheaper. A friend of mine just got started with the BetaFPV Radio Lite 3 ($60 new) and is very happy with it. Edit: RC2 -> Remote 2.
Anyway, I just wanted to warn anyone on the market against either DJI or BetaFPV controllers - DJI ones only work with drones that have O3 on them so if you want to fly a whoop you're going to buy another controller. And there's an issue where when your video link to the goggles breaks, your controller is offline for a couple seconds - that's all it takes to lose a drone when flying long range. Not being able to react to video loss by gaining altitude is Not a Good Thing(TM).
Regarding BetaFPV: First, their gimbals are crap. Their build quality is crap as well. Oh, and it doesn't run EdgeTX, doesn't work properly with its own ELRS module when flashed to ELRS v3 and doesn't have a screen so that when you lose your drone good luck using telemetry RSSI to locate it.. Radiomaster Pocket is much better value for the same money
Too bad in most parts of the EU is illegal to fly drones. You can do it if you are far from populated areas but you need to go trough a complicated bureaucracy and obtain a permit before each flight.
This is not true as a blanket statement unless you are talking about commercial flying, large drones or restricted airspace. I'm not sure what country you are referring to but I haven't personally come across one that requires a per flight permit outside of higher risk commercial operations. Most EU countries are pretty harmonised on drone rules at this point. Sub 250g drones such as the DJI Mini series and the Autel…
Portugal requires approval from the coast guard if your planned flight is within certain distance from a beach/the sea, which is quite easy in a coastal and islands country.
Can anyone recommend some good drones outside of DJI?
For FPV drones there are many more options. I think one of the best brands is GepRC but there are so many others, it's impossible to mention them all. Still, for the video transmitting system, DJI is still dominant there as well, but at least you can use alternatives if you really don't like them (Walksnail for digital, or lots of others for analog).
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I use the DJI Remote 2. It's a little expensive at $150 new / $100 used, but it's justified if you want to use it with a DJI video system in the future (Caddx Vista or DJI O3), or the Avata (but not Avata 2...) But there are controllers from BetaFPV that are much cheaper. A friend of mine just got started with the BetaFPV Radio Lite 3 ($60 new) and is very happy with it. Edit: RC2 -> Remote 2.
You probably meant DJI Remote 2. DJI RC2 is the one Mavics use. Anyway, I just wanted to warn anyone on the market against either DJI or BetaFPV controllers - DJI ones only work with drones that have O3 on them so if you want to fly a whoop you're going to buy another controller. And there's an issue where when your video link to the goggles breaks, your controller is offline for a couple seconds - that's all it take…
DJI remotes work with Caddx Vista as well (the predecessor to O3); those are digital video systems that offer much better quality than analog.
I have no experience with BetaFPV remotes, but I know they're cheap...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You probably meant DJI Remote 2. DJI RC2 is the one Mavics use. Anyway, I just wanted to warn anyone on the market against either DJI or BetaFPV controllers - DJI ones only work with drones that have O3 on them so if you want to fly a whoop you're going to buy another controller. And there's an issue where when your video link to the goggles breaks, your controller is offline for a couple seconds - that's all it take…
Yes thanks for the correction, edited. DJI remotes work with Caddx Vista as well (the predecessor to O3); those are digital video systems that offer much better quality than analog. I have no experience with BetaFPV remotes, but I know they're cheap...
Well, you're technically correct (the best kind). They work with first gen VTXes when they're upgraded to the V01.01 firmware. The catch is that if you upgrade your V1/V2 Goggles will no longer work with those VTXes.. And now there are Goggles 3 that aren't even compatible with O3 VTX yet, and it's 50/50 on whether or not they'll work with first gen - it's all a pretty big mess compatibility wise :)