Hello, everyone!

Almost two months ago, I first spawned here in this forum asking for guidance to build my first quad, and to get started in this hobby. I was doing many things wrong, and I thank everyone here for the help and wise words.

I've played 44h hours of the Liftoff simulator in ACRO mode, here:



This is the video from when I was able to complete a lap for the first time. I was quite excited, and I can say I have improved a bit since then. This is fun.

I have settled my initial setup to be a Jumper T20 2.4GHz radio, a HappyModel Mobula 8 with Walksnail digital VTX, and a Walksnail Goggles X. But this is not the only things I had to buy. In fact, quite a lot of things. Chargers, batteries, cables, security items, etc. So I ended up building a Google Sheets online spreadsheet to track all my investment into UAV, as a new hobby.

The total amount I've spent was of R$10,156.05 (BRL - Brazilian Real). Which, on the date of today, is equivalent to $2,032.71 USD. Even considering the abusive importation/customs tax in Brazil, most of the items were able to bypass the fiscal audit, as Banggood and other websites have their "techniques" to do so. If not, the total amount could go up to 60% higher.

Here's the complete spreadsheet.

Notice I've bought myself an ammo box, a LiPo guard bag, a Tuya smoke detector, a Tuya siren and a fire extinguisher. 

This is my setup at the field:



Yesterday was the moment to put it in practice. And it worked! I can definitely say that without the time I've spent on the simulator, it was going to be a disaster. But everything went quite nice. I'm still learning the basics, tho.

I've recorded a video of the flight yesterday:



It was all in ACRO mode. But I've programmed the radio to also be able to switch on/off Air mode, angle mode and horizon mode. But I mainly played with ACRO. No failsafe configured yet.

I plan to still have some fun with this Mobula 8, only after I'll start looking for a bigger quad, maybe with GPS. But for now, this is quite fun.

What next steps do you folks recommend me in my journey? Any tips or comments?

Thank you!

Congratulations. Great job getting to your first FPV flight. I think the Mob8 is a good choice, it will allow you to fly/practice in many places, even a backyard. I would say keep practicing until you are more comfortable with your drone. I have the Jumper T20, I found the sticks a little bit stiff (not sure if the tension can be adjusted) but that is personal preference. Depending on how you want to fly, it might be good to practice being more sure of your quad orientation/movements. I think practicing proximity flying will help with that.
If you plan to fly in large open windy spaces like the beach, then maybe also consider an 3-4S open-prop build in the future.

(17-Mar-2024, 03:15 PM)UglyBob Wrote: But this is not the only things I had to buy. In fact, quite a lot of things. Chargers, batteries, cables,

I do wish more people would understand this when they get into it.  The expensive bit is not buying the quad, nor the radio or goggles.  The expensive bit is everything else, especially batteries.

My suggestion is don't fear going fast, just push forward and go for it. If your camera isn't set to about 30-35 degrees, then set it as steep as it will go. Get your first powerloop out of the way as quickly as possible. Just go full tilt forward and then pitch back at 80% throttle and enjoy it. After that it gets a lot easier. You will no longer fear or be overly cautious with the actual flying bit. Acro is a learned behaviour, but once you can pop a loop, you conquered something hard to a new pilot. After that yaw spins, flips, rolls, barrel rolls, immelmans, stalls, split s. Just learn all the basic stuff to the point you can do it without thinking. Learn to perch and disarm, not to mention land with grace. Just mix it up as much as possible. Once you can fly for 5-6 mins and just nail trick after trick. Then you will just fly and stop thinking so much about what you are doing. Most of all, just enjoy yourself.

Suggestion by tbs: dont follow us, go out and fly :-)
get sticktime and pleasure ;-) thats the thing to do :-) enjoy

You dont need to set a failsafe procedure on the radio, this is mainly for planes.
On a flightcontroller with betaflight is failsafe procedure by default. It will drop out of the sky if it lost connection by default.

Sand isnt to well for the motors, going for a spot with grass or dirt would be more healhy for the quad.
My next suggetsion: wear the fpv focus in daily life :-) there are son many nice spots to fly the small mobula, watch for flyspace :-) keep the mobula with you, do some flights :-)

(17-Mar-2024, 07:38 PM)hugnosed_bat Wrote: My next suggestion: wear the fpv focus in daily life :-) there are so many nice spots to fly the small mobula, watch for flyspace :-) keep the mobula with you, do some flights :-)

This.  

I would expand further and say down the line, buy a cheap setup.  Something inexpensive you can throw in a bag.  Second hand analogue goggles, second hand radio and a cheap whoop or micro.  Have a small charger and a handful of packs.  Basically a go bag with a cheap setup that you can keep in your car.  So when you spot somewhere you fancy ripping, you can do so.  I wouldn't keep expensive items in the go bag.  Just some real basic level stuff. 

I used to keep a go bag that i took in my van consisting of a BetaFPV VR02, Literadio 2 SE ELRS, Meteor85, two USB 2S balance chargers (got them from ebay for about $10 each and they charge two 2S Lipos at once, at 600mA) and four GNB 2S 660mAh Lipos.  When I spotted somewhere to fly, I would stop, connect the packs to the USB chargers, make a coffee and drink it, then go fly.  Total cost of the kit, maybe just over £200, but the ability to just fly when I saw the opportunity made it worth it.  Also not an expensive set of stuff.

Thank you mstc, Pathfinder075 and hugnosed_bat. These are all great tips. I'll be sure to follow these.

But I must confess that I envision other paths, not only FPV quads, but also long-range autonomous solar-powered fixed wings and submarines. I might start researching about it some day. For now, I'm having quite a lot of fun flying the Mobula 8.

Thank you all!