LOS to FPV - really struggling - any tips?

[jbl]

Hi

I have been flying fixed wing  LOS for 30+ years. I recently bought a Cheerson cx-20 (with all the gps bells and whistles) and a Walkera runner 250. I prefer flying the walkera.

I thought it would be cool to try out fpv, so  bought a set of cheap goggles (Eachine vr-007). They seem Ok (though I have not much to compare with).

However, I am having real problems flying fpv.   I know that it is best to keep the quad moving forward all the time, but I can't judge where the quad is in relation to me, or the ground. The lack of spatial awareness makes me nervous.

Any tips would be very welcome.

John

[Gundummy]

John,
       It's simply one of those things you have to get use to.  Just hover and look around, move away as you get confident.  I'd get a simple OSD put in so you have a home reference point, altitude and distance data.  It may help to settle your nerves knowing where your craft is in comparison to you!

regards,

GD

oh and welcome to the asylum :)

[BlueFlyer]

I know it's difficult, but try to stop thinking like you're flying it LOS... in other words, it doesn't really matter where the quad is in relation to yourself (at least not until you want to fly back to the take off area lol).

The beauty of FPV is that you're not anchored to your take off site or "home" position like you are with LOS.

If I'm honest, it's much easier to fly a fixed wing FPV than a quad, simply because it's always moving forwards... with a quad you can go left, right and backwards and it's really unnerving not being able to see where you're going.

[electrotor]

It's a confidence thing which will come with practice over time. However I find goggles too immersive and isolating and prefer to use a monitor attached to the transmitter. I might spend the whole flight looking at the monitor but I know I can always look up from it if necessary. Sometimes however the model is not where you think it should be which throws you a bit. You could also try navigating to some features you have pre-picked, like a gate or a distinctive tree and use these as reference points, then simply fly backwards from them to near your start point.
I'm puzzled about your statement that it is best to keep the quad moving forward all the time. The beauty of a quad for FPV is that you can stop and take as much time as you need to spin it around and fly in any direction in order to figure out where it is in relation to yourself. Or try hovering with yourself in sight then fly backwards and sideways turning as you go but always keeping yourself in sight.
Unlike BlueFlyer I find a quad easier simply because you don't have to keep moving. You can stop and take your own time whereas with fixed wing you must always keep moving and not necessarily in the right direction if you get lost.

[elmattbo]

As an opposite point of view, I'd avoid the OSD! You will soon get used to it and I think the experience is better on a quad if you don't have an OSD. Keep it really simple to start with, maybe position the quad on the ground about a hundred metres away. Goggles on, take off, and just fly towards yourself whilst trying to maintain a constant altitude then land/drop it to the ground. Do that a few times then try and out and back. Also fly somewhere which has features. A nice big field is great but it can be hard to find your way back, so find a field with a tree in it and stand next to the tree. Then you've always got a reference. Also don't fly too close as it's pretty unnerving at first when it's buzzing around your head and you don't feel quite in control!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[BlueFlyer]

do circuits to get your confidence levels up... so like electrotor said, pick a few features but fly to them in order then back home... then do it again and again until it's 2nd nature.

when I fly from a new area, I always use up my first few batteries doing this circuit kind of flying, keep flying over/near to "home" so I get to recognise where "home" is from different directions.

you probably don't need me to tell you, but when you're just hovering and looking around using yaw, try and stay aware of drift. unless you're flying something with a GPS and position hold function you will definitely find yourself moving along when you don't want to be lol

[Brucey]

Get yourself a spotter and have them talk you round the circuit.
Like the other guys have said, it will come with time.

[Stellaship]

Yep, like the others said, just a bit of practice. Soon you will have that moment when you're flying along and think " who's that random bloke standing in my flying field?" Then you realise it's you!

[jbl]

Thanks for the advice everyone,  I will just persevere. 

john

[English Turbines]

When I was learning to fly FPV, I took a lot of HD footage of my Flying area, going as far as I could go visually LOS.....Then, you just have to sit down and study the footage so you know what the ground looks like regardless of where you might be....It helps when you do this to have only 1/3 of the view in level flight devoted to Sky, because the sky is completely useless for navigating without the benefit of an OSD and GPS.....A steady fixed wing is easier than a Quad for me, it flies much longer, always goes forwards and if you run out of steam, it will at least glide....When you are learning, knowing what the ground looks like from the air is essential....As you become familiar, it gets much easier.....Im still smitten with flying FPV, and I have been flying LOS for more years than I care to admit to....LOS flying is extremely limiting in comparison to FPV flying for sure....Beware, FPV is addictive...!!!....:)

:vulture:

[Dillwhacker]

I'd say don't even think about LOS, and don't take the goggles off to get a LOS view of the model.
Imagine you are inside the cockpit... Get your brain into that mode, so you are 'inside' the model.
Fly out a bit, rudder it round so you can see yourself / home, then fly across a bit and do the same.
You will quickly learn what 1 foot / ten feet / 50 feet height looks like. Teach your left thumb to maintain altitude on the pitch (new thing for fixed-wing fliers).
If you keep forward movement, then you know that there is nothing nasty beside / behind you, cos you just flew over it. Backwards is very scary!
My first ten flights FPV were terrifying, really scary. That was on a DJI450 going careful.
A few flights (and a few crashes) on a 250 did wonders for confidence and learning.
Good luck & have fun!

[Roadrunner]

Ive just started fpv on fixed wing, i know what your going though, i got an axn floater jet which is super easy to fly and learn on, i used google earth to learn a simple circuit, iam keeping well inside a distance that matches line of sight flying, ive also learnt to stand still and not turn around as when iam ready to lift the goggles i need to know where iam facing and where to look for the plane, simple but easy to overlook, ive learnt to trust my view even when the picture blacks out into the sun just dip the nose or turn away, stick at it i had my best days fpv last sunday spent 80% flying from the cockpit, still freaks me out though seeing myself on the ground from the plane i guess thats what they mean by immersive

[FPVSteve]

Find a square field, and follow the hedges / ditches to get used to flying "in the cockpit". It'll help loads.

[elmattbo]

Anything new takes a bit of getting used to but the thing with FPV is there's no half steps. Once the goggles are on, you're away! I used a headtracker for the first time today which was actually quite good, it worked better than I thought it would. The only problem was that I have been so used to the attitude of the aircraft being tied to the image on the screen, that i forgot that with a head tracker looking up looks like pitching up - and the aircraft can be pointing very much earthward even though the goggle view is skyward. Had a couple of close calls before I got the hang of it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[FPVSteve]

Anything new takes a bit of getting used to but the thing with FPV is there's no half steps. Once the goggles are on, you're away! I used a headtracker for the first time today which was actually quite good, it worked better than I thought it would. The only problem was that I have been so used to the attitude of the aircraft being tied to the image on the screen, that i forgot that with a head tracker looking up looks like pitching up - and the aircraft can be pointing very much earthward even though the goggle view is skyward. Had a couple of close calls before I got the hang of it!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This is why I like having the nose of the aircraft in shot for panning around ... had many a poo when the plane felt out of control due to the camera pointing sideways :D