Ive had about 8 FPV flights now. The first was the hardest and consisted of several 2 or 3 minute flights with a break in between. Here's what I found when first starting.
For me, the first important point is to fly at a location youre familiar with. Once you get some altitude, local knowledge helps you to know where things are.
I always stand close to an obvious or large object so you always know where you are. That way you can stay away from yourself. If you stand in an open space you could easily back the model into yourself if youre hovering nearby and it drifts backwards towards you. In my local practice park, I stand near a tree and never hover close to my location unless I can see myself. Later as you get more comfortable you can fly past yourself as long as you know where you are in reference to your view. Its scary flying past yourself and hearing the props nearby but you learn to trust your view.
For the first flight of the day, before using the goggles, I always hover for a few seconds without the goggles on just to make sure all is stable and to confirm any drift if there is any wind about. Then I land and put on the goggles.
Pop it up into the hover fairly quickly in a large open area and be ready for any drift. Its easier for me to judge drift when Im a meter or two off the ground than when Im down low. Things move past too fast when youre only 30cm high and you may find yourself overcorrecting. After a few moments you'll get the feel for it but it will feel strange at first especially when drifting backwards. I also found it pays to have good resolution goggles. I started with cheap ones and it made hovering much harder because of the poor detail. They might be Ok for entry level fixed wing FPV but not so good for multirotors.
Flying forward will add some stability and will feel a bit more natural. Start slow and work your way up in an open space. Stop and pirouette from time to time to keep a reference of where you are. Get a bit of height (10 - 20 meters) and have a look around. Up high theres not so much stress but any wind will cause significantly more drift so be ready for it. Until youre use to the area always know where your landing space is and which way to turn to get back to it.
If you use a GoPro for your FPV camera things will look much further away than they are so remember not to get too close to things until youre used to it.
Altitude can be difficult to stabilise at height. If you have a Naza you get a feel for where 50% throttle is on your radio - otherwise look out ahead and compare nearby objects with those at a distance. If objects near you are moving downwards compared to objects further away then youre still climbing.
Lastly know your battery life and make sure you return to your landing point a little early. My GoPro displays recording time on the FPV so I use that for my timer.
Im sure there is more but but these are main things I remember noticing in my first flight. Oh - and have fun - its a great feeling of freedom flying FPV.
Ian
