Things to know before starting into the Drone / FPV hobby

Flying Drones is easier than you might think, but also harder: to do it right there is a lot of knowledge, not only about drones, but also about legislation, battery safety etc. that a fresh pilot needs to learn. Here a quick overview of a few things you should understand and connsider before buying your first drones.

1 - This is not a cheap hobby

Some people might find this controversial, but the truth is: this hobby is an expensive hobby - sure you can start with a starter kit for a few hundred euros, but that will only get you so-far - I've seen more than one post by people who bought what they thought the minimum gear would need to be, and then where lacking something important, or couldn't aford the repairs after a crash.

Besides a kwad, a radio and some goggles, you'll need batteries, a good backpack, a variety of tools, a good battery charger... (not a complete list) - some things like batteries, propellers and antennas should be considered consumables, as they tend to break or be used up over time, an for dangerous things like batteries you want to invest into storage solutions too.

2 - You. Will. Crash.

I keep hearing of people who buy / build their first drone, and simply assume they won't have to replace anything, because they will fly so carefull that the won't crash. (especially a favorite with people who want to 3d print their drone or buy a dji-fpv-plastic-drone).

In reality there is many, many reasons why a fpv drone might crash, and not all of them are under your control. There is things you can do to limit the amount of unexpected crashes - inspect the drone before each flight, etc..

But ultimately, you will crash, be prepared for it.

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3 - there is a lot of laws & regulations

Drones nowadays are regulated in most countries and in many cases regulation makes it hard to find the right space, the right people etc. to be able to fly legally. Often you will need to learn, register and do some certification, and there is parts of the regulation that show its clearly made by people who don't fully understand the hobby.

There is a lot people out there that will tell you "nobody is gonna check that" or "the police has better things to do" - but ultimately a lot of the regulations can come with quite severe punishment, and you are making a bet against uncertain risk if you go illegal - worse, if you go illegal and do things that are considered harmful by the broader public, you make the life of everyone else in the hobby worse as well - hence, if you want to start with FVP, learn your local laws first.

4 - You might burn down your house (and there is other safety risks too)

Granted, that sounds very dramatic, but its true - the kind of batteries we use aren't the most stable and safe thing out there, and understanding how to safely handle, charge, discharge or store these batteries is extremely important - however most RC shops won't tell you that, and even in the community you'll run into a lot of people who for example will make bad recommendations on "repairing" damaged batteries, that can ultimately lead to pretty nasty fire.

Now obviously this is hardly the only safety concern around drones - another very typical thing is to see new folks underestimate the danger of the motors and propeller - even a small kwad can cause serious injuries, and the kinetic energy of a kwad at 150km/h hitting face first into something isn't harmless either.

You aren't deterred yet?

Well, maybe this hobby is something you'd enjoy! why not check out the other Drone & FPV Guides and Tools, maybe you'll find something useful!