Stop sitting on the sidelines! Flying FPV is an amazing experience and we need more women to step up. Here is some advice to help you start flying, too.
I have talked with so many women who tell me that they tried to fly once, but they crashed right away and couldn’t control the drone. Or they’ll say that they don’t want to break their boyfriend’s drone.
What women don’t realize is that men also feel out of control with their drone at first, crashing repeatedly is expected, and to men breaking their gear – often in crazy challenges (“Shoot up 100 feet, then dive through a tiny gate at 80 mph!”) – is part of the fun.
Here is some advice for the ladies:
Expect to crash.
Crashing does NOT mean you can’t be a successful drone pilot. In fact, all beginner pilots crash – often repeatedly. And all intermediate pilots crash. And all advance pilots crash. In fact, it’s a famous FPV saying: build, crash, fly, repeat. I know many people love watching videos of drone crashes because we’ve all been there. Just look at Roo’s first FPV flight:
Don’t worry about breaking gear – or messing up.
First, see #1. All pilots crash. All pilots break their gear. FPV equipment has come a long way since the early days and is much more durable now. But remember that breaking drones is part of the hobby. In fact, some FPV pilots enjoy the building process more than even flying. It can feel mysterious when something is wrong with your drone, but you’ll learn to troubleshoot. And for many men, these fixes often feel simple or like a good challenge. You may feel that way in time, too.
Also, embarrassing mistakes happen – to everyone! As hard as you try not to, you will probably accidentally plug in on another pilot’s channel, causing them to crash. You will forget to change your battery and have a dead one when you step up to a race. You will probably put the propellers on backwards. We’ve all done these things! In fact, I heard on the RC Stuff podcast recently that Charlie Suangka – professional commentator with decades of experience in many different RC disciplines – accidentally put his props on backwards before a freestyle FINAL! It happens to everyone.
Try the simulator – but don’t give up.
There are some great computer versions that you can learn on before ever picking up a drone. Try Velocidrone, DRL or Liftoff. There are even others available. Make sure to use beginner settings. Use an auto-leveling mode if available. Set your rates on the low side, and keep your camera angle low as well. Don’t try to fly through gates at first. Focus on learning the controls. Drones fly a bit like boats – they will “float” in the same direction unless you give them an opposite command.
There are exceptions, but don’t expect to be able to fly well for a few months (or in my case longer!). This stuff can be hard, but it doesn’t mean you can’t learn.
Make your own decisions about settings.
Sure, get advice from others. But ultimately you should decide. There are many variations that you can choose from. Some people use only their thumb on the sticks, and some use a lobster “pinch.” Try both and see which feels easier. Some pilots start in an auto-leveling mode known as “level” or “angle” mode. This is the only way that I could fly at first. But I know other women who said angle mode didn’t feel right and jumped into acro. You can fly in 4 different modes of the joysticks that changes how they are controlled. Think about what would make sense to you or try all four!
Get your own micro drone.
Micro drones like Tiny Whoop, AcroBee, BetaFPV and more are a great way to learn. In fact, a micro drone is how I finally began to love FPV. I got a blue drone for Christmas, along with my own radio controller. I knew from watching Smitty that I could fly this drone safely around the house, and that I would be virtually unable to break it. I crashed that thing down hardwood stairs, into walls, into the floor, and into every single gate in sight. But slowly I began to have more control. And remember that most drone racers fly micro drones in angle mode.
Don’t be afraid to ask for help.
The drone community is incredibly supportive. I know I felt overwhelmed at first knowing that if I plugged in a battery incorrectly, it would start a fire. (And I did start a tiny fire one day!) But if you need help with anything, someone will always be around to help. In the beginning, I had someone help me change my channels and change my props. (And sometimes I still need help getting old props off if they are on very tight!)
Have fun – and remember that no one is judging you.
The pilots around you are busy focusing on improving their own times. If you are the slowest around the track, no worries! They need time to change their props and charge their batteries. If you aren’t ready for gates yet, just fly above them (while being mindful of the direction of traffic so you don’t cause any collisions). Unless you’re in a formal race, no one is scoring whether you hit all the gates perfectly. You do you, and you’ll find everyone else will be doing the same.