 Hey guys, welcome to Rotor Riot. This is first flight to freestyle This is a new limited series that we are putting out in addition to our regular Monday episodes And in this series, we're gonna be taking a new pilot from his first FPV flight all the way to doing real hardcore Freestyle. So in case you're new here altogether, I'm Drew Camden and I go by Ladrib and this is our new pilot for the series Eric Farewell, it goes by Aviator. I'm excited guys I have flown a little bit of drone stuff over the last few years mainly camera platforms I've watched a lot of the greats and I have successfully crashed my very first FPV drone Just missing a cop car into the side of a building. I'm not what would you would call anything like proficient So he promises what was that thing you called a Rubik's Cube? We're gonna do Rubik's Cube. I don't know what it is We're gonna do power loops. We're gonna do all the crazy stuff. I'm excited So I think this is what's gonna make you a great student for this series is that you have a little bit of drone experience We're not starting totally from scratch. We'll move through things pretty quickly in particular drone experiences on other DJI drones, right? You've flown Mavic, haven't you? Mavic inspires, inspire twos. We have our YouTube channel and we do our best to create really great content We take people how to fly powered paragliders We do fixed wing flying and we use drones to capture it all but I've been missing the FPV experience Our filmmaker Reese who is just tremendous with FPV has let me hold his but I've been too scared to really fly it properly So in this series, we're gonna be using the DJI FPV drone I think this is a really great way for people to get into True FPV especially when they have the background that you have because you can fly this drone with flight assistance modes that make it feel Very similar to a typical DJI drone like a Phantom or even an Inspire But you can pull all those flight Assistances off one by one and eventually get this thing flying just like a legit FPV drone doing the power loops and the Rubik's cubes and all that crazy stuff So what I'm excited about it for me I saw this release video drop and it takes away all the things that make me kind of scared of flying FPV because I Don't like having tons of lipo batteries charging in the house You know, I have a friend whose house burned down from that So I'm anxious about that I'm always worried about how my charging settings and that kind of thing even with the RC airplanes that we've done with flight Test over the years. It's just there's so much into setup that I don't get because I'm not an FPV or RC guy So I've got like seven flight test airplanes in my house right now that I don't know how to bind to a controller So you're gonna help with that too. Hopefully absolutely I mean that's kind of an unfortunate part of getting into this hobby is that you want to get into it because you want to fly But you find out that to get into it going down traditional paths require you to Learn how to use all these different accessories and once you're into it You're wanting to fly maybe a legit custom built FPV drone You'll you'll accept getting into that stuff and you'll learn to actually enjoy a lot of it But just getting started I can be so overwhelming So it's great about this setup is just leapfrogs you pass a lot of it So let's take a look at you know what you get You know you're talking about the charging being very intimidating just like any old DJI drone You just plug this thing into the wall and you plug this end into your battery It charges it balances it for you You don't have to worry about a traditional lipo battery. I mean the trade-off is this is Significantly more expensive of a battery than what we would fly on our typical FPV drones But that's the trade-off that you're making. I think the biggest trade-off we're making and anyone who's flown it DJI anything knows this We're gonna have to update this thing all the time. How many firmware updates can they fit into one of? I'm actually intrigued not having laid hands on it yet My inspires like an hour every so you want to fly it you are lucky and that I've taken care of all the firmware updates for you Before we get into this, but yeah, be aware that while you won't have to learn how to balance charge lithium polymer batteries yourself You're gonna do a fair amount of firmware updates using the DJI app. It's not that bad It just takes a little bit of time in the package with the drone You also get a radio and a set of FPV goggles with so excited about these So what's great is these are these same goggles that we fly our custom built drones with so if you get into this And you decide you do want to graduate and start building your own or maybe buy one of our pre-builds whatever these goggles can stay with you You can bind them up to air units and fly other DJI equipped FPV drones not just their own radio So I can look like Ant-Man too you can look like Ant-Man all the way through love it what they did with this radio I think it's pretty cool. They made it very game controller like looks like an Xbox controller Yeah, I think it's gonna feel very familiar to people that don't have drone experience Maybe just have some gaming experience again. You've flown other DJI drones So you used to holding a larger radio, but I think for others this is gonna make it again a lot less intimidating Now one thing I noticed here is that you've removed the centering on this stick And it's something you told me beforehand, but why did why do you choose to do that right? So when you get this radio out of the box both sticks have full centering but what I did is I remove this back piece here and Adjusted the the screws to remove the self-centering from the up and down on the left stick And that's because when you fly a traditional FPV drone This stick doesn't behave like it does on a DJI drone where this stick is more of an altitude stick Right This is truly a throttle stick like you would see with traditional RC flight and when you fly an RC aircraft like that You typically don't have centering on the throttle stick You want to be able to put the throttle where you want it and not have it fighting you And you definitely don't want it trying to center it because center would be what like 50% right all and really you want to Be able to pull it down to zero throttle whenever you need now in the beginner modes They do intend for you to fly it with self-centering because in normal and sport modes it works like a Mavic where it's an altitude stick and Center stick is maintain altitude above centers go up low centers go down all that stuff that you're probably used to But in my approach to this I Would have had right away and remove that self-centering because I want you and anyone that wants to move the freestyles Quickly as they can to get used to the feel of not having that self-centering throttle Which means that even in those beginner modes where it does altitude hold for you You got to center it yourself And I think that's going to be a good thing that right out of the gate start getting used to how that feels Get used to you having to be in control that stick because that's not something that you want To have take you by surprise right go to acro mode you want to get used to that and I do think it will build that muscle memory Because when you're flying in an acro mode and you want to maintain altitude you'll find a point It probably won't be right in the center Maybe it would be like 40% or if the batteries low maybe look 60% where the drone wants to stay there So when you're in the beginner modes that points always going to be at center stick But once you get an acro you'll have to find that sweet spot where it wants to maintain altitude Well, I tell you what this thing looks insane. It looks incredible I think they've just smashed the visual kind of definition of what a drone can look like I've seen a lot of carbon fiber ones like you see on the wall behind me. Yeah, but this is something totally different I'm excited. Let me get you to come down to my place. We're gonna go into the hangar get to the airport Do some practice flying absolutely and I promise not to crash it I mean if you do crash we got a couple we want to be getting you through this quickly We want to show how quickly someone can learn freestyle. So we're gonna be pushing you We're gonna be trying to get you out of your comfort zone if you crash it a little bit scared I'm like I'm like this much. I mean, it's not gonna take a beating like one of our custom built drones that are I have a carbon fiber frame you can break this thing. So as you guys are learning, you know exercise some caution But for the case of you, I just want you to just want you to send it man. Don't worry about it. Let's go We are actually at a Private municipal airport. This is class G airspace. We're part 107 There are no manned aircraft in the air So this is a great place for us to be flying and learning drones And I think it's gonna make for an excellent backdrop for teaching this guy how to fly In that boot up awesome every time I love that So say you've flown Mavic's and stuff like you said Mavic and spire fan I'm a did all that stuff because it's easy But this is gonna feel a lot like a Mavic in the modes that you're flying in but there will be a couple differences in The center is gonna be maintained my altitude above center is gonna be take me higher below center is gonna be take me lower So it's gonna behave the same but you have to center it yourself and that's gonna I I believe that's gonna teach you some throttle control Right out the gate. You're not relying on that spring to keep you at the center So arming in this mode is just like a DJI drone that you've flown before where you push both sticks together Now she's she's ready to go. So I mean you can take it offline aside You can go right into the goggles if you want all right, so go ahead and raise your stick to the center Now that's your neutral point now if you're in the air, I'd keep you level level right So now on the ground it's done nothing yet. So now as you raise the stick from that point You're gonna start going up And when you get to a height you'd like just re-center it again There you go like one of the other DJI drones if you push forward on the right stick That'll move you forward. It's a lot more wobbly in the wind You can feel the wind I guess because it's much smaller Well, I think what you're seeing is that the the camera isn't gimbled the same way that you're used to So on a Mavic the camera is completely gimbled no matter what the drone is doing that camera is just locked on this You have the pitch axis is gimbled and there's a little bit that's taken out on the roll axis digitally, right? But it's really not meant to be a stable platform. They're not trying to give you that look of a Mavic They want you to see what it's like when you're flying an FPV drone and you are already going straight for those self orbit I was like hey watch flying sideways don't hit the camera man So right now in normal mode you've got some collision avoidance, so I'm glad just trying to run into a wall wait seriously Yeah, I want you to feel What I'm talking about yellow bar on top of my screen. Yeah that yellow bar is kind of a proximity Well, there's a red bar now. You have red means you're getting close Are you just still pushing for it a little bit? It's kind of holding me off is actually going up now Yeah, yeah, it doesn't want you to it does not let me finish you're getting really close there That's really cool. So I know the inspired as the same kind of thing. I think that one will straight up stop you So this is awesome. You just went right for it. Okay. Yeah, she's got some power. Yes It has a little punch. Yeah a lot faster climb than anything else the DJ has made that's for sure All right, so this is super baby mode. This is this is your normal mode right now. I have to say it's pretty easy It's really intuitive. Yeah, I don't really know what to even coach you on you've just got it right away Now now talk to me about what you're doing when you're steering So I'm trying to use yaw, but you said it's coupled together, right? Right. So something that they did is they pre-coupled yaw and roll together It's a lot like it all for you like an old-school air-coupe I don't know if you know what the air-coupe is not so it's an airplane built in the 40s that was designed to have no rudder pedals Okay So it actually put everything together in the stick or the yoke in that case our Filmmaker Reese got to fly and went up in Vermont or New Hampshire this summer and it was Enlightening to say the least did you see how it banked for you? It's like banking without having to do anything with the right stick, right? And that's again getting you used to what FPV looks like visually unlike a Mavic where no matter what the camera's level and FPV as you go through turns you see the banking of the aircraft So it's getting used to seeing that but as quickly as you can because again the goal here with what we're doing on Rotor ride is to get you flying acro manual mode as soon as possible I'm still a little concerned about that after the last experience We're gonna start turning some of that stuff so right away I'm gonna go ahead and reach down to the C1 button I'm gonna click it for you and Now it doesn't say low roll angle it does so it's still gonna be mixing it But it's gonna be a little bit less so we're we're working your training wheels off So I have to force that right here. I mean go ahead and try and just yaw yourself and you'll see it'll just it'll mix less I See it. Yeah, it's a lot more flat. Yeah, so it's more flat one more click of that button We'll do that soon and it's gonna turn off that coupling So I want that coupling gone because I want you to be learning to move the sticks yourself I don't want you relying on the flight Assistances any longer than you need to obviously I want to learn that stuff But it's nice to have the confidence like I feel completely comfortable with this just having you know Primarily Mavic and Inspire experience this feels Totally comfortable. Absolutely. There's some beeping. What's that? It says low battery return to home Don't even gotta worry about it. She's coming home. She's on her own. Look at that. Don't kill me droid army That's pretty sick. Yeah, and I like that you can just worry about flying Because when you're getting an FPV, there's so much stuff you need to think about Your gear your batteries all this stuff and when you're in the air just worry about flying You're not gonna damage your batteries because it'll just come land for you if you fly too long That's just cheating. Yeah, it is cheating and like realistically for the most of the stuff that I want to film Like I want to film my kids behind the boat. I want to film paramotors like I can fly in that mode and get You can get your shots. What do you think 40% of the capability of the drone? Yeah, I'd say that's good I just think that where the shots are still gonna fall short is On the roll control and that something's down or upright The pitch isn't coupled to the gimbal So you can control the gimbal and that's something that we could play with with your dial You can have the camera look down for me. That feels very unnatural I want to look down and up as I pitch down and up Well, that's what makes your video so flowing right and so so we'll get you there All right, and I think flying around in these modes You're lacking that but I think you know if you maybe if you're super comfortable with a Mavic or an Inspire and you're used to working a You know the gimbal on a dial or something. Maybe that's more comfortable for you, but that's all we're doing here I want to learn how to do it because we're about acro. Yes, we're about acro This is supposed to be a tutorial unlike what you're gonna see elsewhere We're doing a tutorial that's to get you on acro as quickly as possible So today we got the drone out of the box. We got you flying in normal mode There was really not much to coach you on you pretty much just did it. It's completely Is there someone else is there more is there someone is worse? We gotta get my wife Let's get your wife. I gotta get my wife We have to prove just how easy this is to fly because I don't I don't know you've flown a drone a little bit I love it. You might be too much of a ringer for this one. So you're gonna try this out She's gonna love it now So we're altitude up and down here and then left and right turn Even if I don't have altitude I mean, I need to be up in the air to go forward. So to get to start the motors though Yep, pull both sticks down into the center. So into the two corners. There you go Oh, I'll bring them back to the center. There you go. Now move that stick up slowly Slowly a little bit and now re-center that throttle There you go, you are now holding your altitude yourself You're doing it. That's step one. Just keep that nice and centered. Okay now Before you start going forward, why don't you practice turning with this thumb without losing altitude? You're taking out the spring on the left stick. So it's not gonna center for her So you have to learn the skill here to rotate the drone which you're doing great at that That's awesome, and you're not losing altitude. So that's what you're gonna do when you want to turn Okay, and the last thing we're gonna mix in there is when you're not facing us to turn a little bit more So you're not facing us. There you go on the on this stick. Just push forward to go forward Go forward and then while you're going forward. So just keep holding forward and now just steer with that stick Maybe turn around do a whole U-turn and try and come back to us She's turning. She's doing it. She's doing it She's going down. Haven't crashed yet You're going up a bit so re-center that stick yourself Now we could have made this easy When this remote comes out of the box this stick is supposed to be center-sprung to make altitude control very easy But I like to take that out Yeah, to bring it forward Because that freaks me out just a little bit. I'm a little freaked out I'm watching you like Having the audience being able to hear the drone and hearing it move is freaking me out I think that's the part that's freaking me out. Oh, yeah, this isn't a video game I know it seems like because you're looking at a screen But what you're seeing is tied to something happening in the real world if you crash. There's real world consequences Very big You're gonna you're gonna do more than Eric did today Just bring it over nice and slow over here. You need to lean on something. I got you I'm feeling a little nauseous Just nice and slow you're gonna bring it down a little bit try to find just center in this the screen Bring it over You need to turn it to the left a little bit get it nice and centered Okay Forward it's nice and slow Nice and slow. Just keep it commit Yes I'm gonna go ahead and lower this thing You're safe Wow But you did it that was amazing. Yeah, that was my first time doing anything of any kind of drone anything Well, that was just great Eric. Yeah, it was pip pip cheerio. All right, Eric You did amazing. I think you you really took to that very quickly. My wife did amazing Obstacles and did not have a panic attack. I have to say though. She's telling me. She's still feeling seasick. You really It's all right, I mean she's trying something you can definitely be nauseating the first time that you go immersive in the goggles Your vision is blacked out other than the screen and then this happens and your inner ear doesn't feel that it can be a little I had a blast. I think that to me a I'm ready to take some some training Assist off I can't wait to start seeing what this room can actually do because behind the camera guys This guy was ripping this thing around and I'm just enamored It looks like so much fun to be able to have that much control that much feel that makes it take dexterity. Yeah, the word Yeah, thank you so much for having me man. This is gonna be a blast. So I'm really excited to see you get through the next steps I mean normal mode was no problem for you now. Got it I mean her first time touching seemingly any type of controller. She was able to fly a drone around It's really incredible. So I think this just makes it super easy for someone to Pick up a drone and get the experience of FPV So guys stay tuned for episode two of our first flight to free style series where we are gonna start peeling back some of the Flight assistants is we're gonna get him up into sport mode We're just gonna get him flying quicker and turn off that obstacle avoidance and we're also gonna turn down and eventually off the Auto coordination from there We're just gonna keep on working our way towards eventually the big one turning off self-riding when you're in manual mode Eric, thank you for coming on this series I'm looking forward to seeing your progression if you guys are interested in the type of flying that Eric is used to doing Let's make sure to visit his channel aviator. He's flying around with his body He's up in the air hanging from a parachute. So this this shouldn't be too intimidating and I think you're gonna get up I'm excited to see the future power loops and split-s as you said that's tomorrow Okay, you may already go we got a take-and-monet journey. Okay, we'll get there. We'll get this guy So anxious. We'll see you next time on first flight to free style There'll be a link in the description to the full playlist so you can follow along with this full series You could also hit the bell so you can get notified as we post these episodes as well as our weekly Monday episode and show you all the Incredible things you can do with an FPV drone once you've mastered the art of freestyle