We build and pilot (and crash and repair) small drone aircraft – unmanned aerial vehicles, in the parlance of the military-industrial complex. Specifically, we mount cameras on flying radio-controlled models with video transmitters on board, which send us live pictures of what the model is seeing.
On the ground, we wear special goggles that allow us to watch the video coming from the model in real time. Using a conventional aircraft remote control, we fly the model around from its own perspective – just like we were on board.
This concept is not new or unique to us. First-Person View (FPV) flying is an emerging segment of RC aviation, and there are many other folks right around the world who have been doing it longer, and better, than us.
We established this website because we have received an intense amount of positive interest from the public whenever we go out flying. It is difficult to explain everything that we are doing in just a few minutes, so we decided to put it all on the Internet. That way, we could just give people a card with the web address on it, and they could read all about it at their leisure.
Some of the people we’ve met are so excited that they want to do the same thing that we’re doing. Also, there are people all over the world who are trying to figure it out, too. We thought that maybe we could share what we have learned.
Unfortunately, there is no manual for the would-be FPV aviator. If you want to do this, there are a lot of things you’re going to have to figure out for yourself.
However, we have made a few discoveries for ourselves along the way – sometimes by running our machines into the ground at high rates of speed. As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Experience is a dear teacher, but fools will have no other.” In Franklin’s time, the word “dear” meant “expensive,” and his words could not be more applicable to FPV flying.
We’re not ashamed to admit that we have occasionally been foolish, and experience has taught us a few pricey lessons as a result. Our hope is that, if you are trying to fly FPV yourself, you will read something on this site that will save you a few dollars on replacement parts. Semper cadentes!
