Learning FPV
- Thread starter Kilby
- Start date
Droider
Drone Enthusiast
I'm about to start the learning/crashing curve myself. Installed an Eagle Tree OSD this past winter and as I brush up the flying skills I'll either use the goggles or 7" monitor. Just don't want to rush into this thing if you know what I mean.....
Too bad there isn't a MK sim with FPV that we could do all our crashing on-screen instead of on-field.
Too bad there isn't a MK sim with FPV that we could do all our crashing on-screen instead of on-field.
Learning FPV with an Mk is actually pretty easy especially if you have Navi and GPS. What I did the first couple of times was setup a waypoint route that made a circle around a large open field (the RC Heli club flying field) with the first waypoint close to the takeoff point with a fairly long delay before moving to the next. Get the MK and FPV gear all setup, load in the GPS waypoints, take off normally, set altitude hold then start the waypoints. While the MK is loitering at the first waypoint get the goggles down over your eyes and go along for the ride. The first time you'll be a bit nervous but the Mk will be driving so just go along for the ride and enjoy the view, when you get to the last waypoint which should be near to the takeoff point, hit position hold and take the goggles off. Once you get reoriented you can land the MK.
Keep doing the same routine but add more interaction on each flight, the second time, try using yaw to keep the view pointed in the direction the Mk is moving while on the GPS route. The next time when the MK gets to the final waypoint, you could try landing with the goggles on. The goal is to get used to the perspective and controlling the MK with minimal risk.
If you just want to dive in head first and go for gold then either a Gaui 330X or a low budget KK quad would be a better choice to start with. I did my first FPV as I described above with the MK then when I felt I was ready I swapped the gear over to a Hoverfly quad and did the full flight. Even with the prior practice on the MK that first "solo" on the Hoverfly I was pretty nervous and a bit overwhelmed but it worked out fine. Another point about the MK, if you finally get to the point where you're flying FPV without GPS assistance and you get disoriented as to where you are you can always hit come home and let it find its own way back to the starting point.
Have fun and make sure to record the video off the downlink for later review, it's always interesting to watch it after the fact and see that what felt like a half hour of flying through the goggles was actually only a few minutes.
Ken
Keep doing the same routine but add more interaction on each flight, the second time, try using yaw to keep the view pointed in the direction the Mk is moving while on the GPS route. The next time when the MK gets to the final waypoint, you could try landing with the goggles on. The goal is to get used to the perspective and controlling the MK with minimal risk.
If you just want to dive in head first and go for gold then either a Gaui 330X or a low budget KK quad would be a better choice to start with. I did my first FPV as I described above with the MK then when I felt I was ready I swapped the gear over to a Hoverfly quad and did the full flight. Even with the prior practice on the MK that first "solo" on the Hoverfly I was pretty nervous and a bit overwhelmed but it worked out fine. Another point about the MK, if you finally get to the point where you're flying FPV without GPS assistance and you get disoriented as to where you are you can always hit come home and let it find its own way back to the starting point.
Have fun and make sure to record the video off the downlink for later review, it's always interesting to watch it after the fact and see that what felt like a half hour of flying through the goggles was actually only a few minutes.
Ken
If you're really daring load up the latest version of firmware, use Points of Interest and set it up to autoland at the end of the route. At least that way you might be able to grab control of it if it decides to go walkabout or fall out of the sky for no good reason.
Ken
Kilby
Active Member
And these are the reasons that I'm thinking about building a MK. I do everything by hand, including designing & building the craft, but the idea of having GPS way-points mapped out, position & altitude hold is calling out to me! I can't imagine how fun FPV would be under those conditions. ;-)
Anyone have a recommendation for which MK I might want to look at first? Cost is always a concern, but I'm more concerned about getting the right craft for FPV & AP/AV.
Anyone have a recommendation for which MK I might want to look at first? Cost is always a concern, but I'm more concerned about getting the right craft for FPV & AP/AV.
Since you have previous experience with multi copters, why not just build your own. Buy the MK FC board, Navi, MKGPS, MK3mag, and MKUSB. That will give you the brains to do waypoint flying etc.
Then use an I2c convertor board so that you can use cheap off the shelf ESCs.
The Ardupilot is another cheaper DIY option but I really don't know where they at in the waypoint coding. Or wait for openpilot.
Kilby
Active Member
I have been looking into Ardupilot & openpilot and that is a possibility, but to be honest, I would like to take a lot of the guess work out of it. It seems that having a kit that was made to all work together would be a lot easier to deal with in the long run. The tricopter I have now started off as a "weekend project" that was supposed to only cost about $150 to get in the sky. Fastforward 6 months later and I've spent enough money to have bought a MK with out all the extras. I've learned tons, but I think I might be ready to just take a few steps up the ladder.
I'm not sure though. Thoughts? There is something extra rewarding about building it entirely yourself, but there are other times when I just want it to work as advertised, or have an answer why it's not instead of guessing.
I'm not sure though. Thoughts? There is something extra rewarding about building it entirely yourself, but there are other times when I just want it to work as advertised, or have an answer why it's not instead of guessing.
Kilby
Active Member
I've been having great luck with the weather lately and getting some time in the goggles before work every morning. I'm trying to practice certain techniques now like higher altitude hover and tracking objects. Here are some videos I made while practicing this week. It feels great to watch the first video in this thread and see a little bit of progress in just a couple months.
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