New to FPV?

FPV drones are brilliant, confusing and very good at finding trees. This guide will help you choose your first setup without needing to learn the whole internet first.

What is FPV?

FPV stands for First Person View. Instead of watching your drone from the ground, you fly using a live video feed from a camera on the drone — usually through goggles, sometimes on a screen.

In plain English: you see what the drone sees.

That’s what makes FPV feel different from a normal camera drone. You’re not just steering something in the sky. You’re flying through it. Indoors, outdoors, around trees, through gates, over fields, into the occasional branch that absolutely came out of nowhere ;)

A basic FPV setup usually includes:


A drone — the bit that flies, ideally more than once.
A radio/controller — what your thumbs use to make decisions your wallet may later regret.
FPV goggles or a screen — how you see the drone’s camera feed.
Batteries — more than one, unless you enjoy four-minute hobbies.
A charger — because batteries do not recharge through optimism.
Spare props — not optional. They are consumables with delusions of permanence.
Practice — ideally in a simulator before gravity gets expensive.

FPV can be racing, freestyle, cinematic flying, tiny indoor loops, long-range cruising, fixed-wing, tinkering, building, repairing, tuning, and learning why one loose screw can ruin your entire afternoon.

You don’t need to understand all of it on day one.

You just need to choose the right first step.
That’s what this page is for.

Choose Your Starting Path

Start Flying in a Simulator

Best if: you’re completely new, nervous about crashing, or want the cheapest possible first mistake.

The cheapest drone to crash is a virtual one.

Start with a proper radio/controller, plug into an FPV simulator, and build the muscle memory before real batteries, props, and walls get involved. You’ll learn throttle control, turning, hovering, and how not to panic-roll into the ceiling — all without waiting for replacement arms to arrive.

You’ll still crash later. Obviously. But you’ll crash with purpose.

You’ll need:

A simulator-compatible radio/controller,
An FPV simulator,
A USB cable or wireless setup, depending on the radio

Learn More

Fly a Beginner-Ready Drone

Best if: you want to fly real hardware without building your first drone from loose parts.

If you’re ready to move beyond the simulator, this is the sensible first step into actual FPV flying.

Start with a small, beginner-friendly drone — usually a tinywhoop, micro drone, or clearly labelled ready-to-fly / bind-and-fly setup. These are easier to learn on, easier to repair, and much less dramatic when your thumbs briefly forget which way is up.

You’ll still need to check what’s included. Some setups come with the radio, goggles, batteries, and charger. Some come with almost everything except the thing you assumed was in the box.

You’ll need:

A beginner-friendly FPV drone,
Compatible radio/controller,
Compatible FPV goggles or screen,
Batteries,
Charger,
Spare props,
A quick check of whether it’s RTF, BNF, or PNP

Learn More

Build Your First FPV Drone

Best if: you like soldering, tinkering, fixing things, and learning how the whole system works.

Building your own FPV drone is deeply satisfying, mildly chaotic, and occasionally makes you question every life choice that led to holding tweezers under a desk lamp at 1am.

It’s also one of the best ways to understand the hobby properly.

This route is for makers and future tinkerers who want a guided parts list rather than a compatibility puzzle assembled from vibes. Start with a sensible beginner build, not a dream-spec carbon missile with twelve ways to ruin your evening.

You’ll need:

Frame,
Flight controller and ESC,
Motors,
Props,
FPV camera and video system,
Receiver,
Radio/controller,
Goggles or screen,
Batteries and charger,
Tools, soldering gear, and spares

Learn More

Get Ready for Cinematic FPV

Best if: you found FPV through mountain dives, action-camera footage, or suspiciously smooth YouTube edits.

Cinematic FPV is probably what dragged you here. Fair. It looks incredible.

But the drone in that video is usually not the best first drone.

Carrying an action camera adds weight, cost, risk, and extra sadness when you meet a tree at speed. If cinematic flying is the goal, the smarter route is usually: simulator first, small real drone second, camera-carrying setup later.

Learn control before you strap expensive glass to the front of a carbon lawn dart.

You’ll need:

Simulator practice,
A solid radio/controller,
A beginner-friendly drone to learn on first,
Compatible goggles or screen,
Batteries and charger,
Spare props,
An action-camera-capable drone later — not day one

Learn More

FPV Terms You'll See Often

FPV has a lot of acronyms. Some are genuinely useful. Some feel like someone dropped a flight controller into alphabet soup.

You don’t need to memorise everything before buying your first setup, but these are the terms that come up most often when choosing beginner gear.

RTF - Ready To Fly:

A setup that should include the main things needed to fly: usually the drone, radio/controller, goggles or screen, battery, and charger.

Still check the product listing carefully. “Ready to fly” should mean ready to fly, but box contents matter.

BNF - Bind And Fly:

A drone that is mostly built and ready, but needs to be connected to a compatible radio/controller before flying.

You may still need goggles, batteries, and a charger.

PNP - Plug And Play:

A mostly built drone without a receiver. You’ll need to add your own compatible receiver and connect it to your radio system.

Useful if you know what you’re doing. Slightly spicy if you don’t.

ELRS - ExpressLRS:

A popular radio control system used by many FPV pilots.

It’s capable, widely supported, and often a strong place to start as long as your radio and receiver both use ELRS.

FPV goggles:

The screen you wear on your face to see the drone’s camera feed.

Goggles need to match your video system. Analogue and digital systems are not automatically compatible.

VTX - Video Transmitter:

The part of the drone that sends video from the camera to your goggles or screen.

Your VTX, camera, and goggles all need to work with the same video system.

RX - Receiver:

The part of the drone that receives commands from your radio/controller.

Your receiver and radio need to speak the same language.

FC - Flight Controller:

The drone’s brain. It reads your inputs, checks the sensors, and tells the motors what to do.

Basically: tiny computer, big responsibility.

ESC - Electronic Speed Controller:

The part that controls motor speed.

Many FPV drones use a 4-in-1 ESC board, which controls all four motors from one board.

LiPo:

Lithium polymer battery. FPV drones use LiPo batteries because they can deliver lots of power quickly.

They need proper charging, storage, and care, or you might become really good friends with your local fire fighters.

1S / 2S / 4S / 6S:

The number of cells in a battery pack.

More cells usually means more voltage and power, but your drone must be designed for that battery type, or things get expensive (and burned) fast.

KV:

A motor rating linked to how fast the motor wants to spin per volt.

You don’t need to become a KV philosopher on day one. For your first setup, follow the recommended parts or product guidance.

Props:

Propellers. They make the drone fly, and they break often.

Buy spares. This is not pessimism. This is FPV.

A more comprehensive glossary of the terms and acronyms you'll come across in your FPV journey can be found on our community site dronetrest.com

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