Hi there!
I’m Greg and I’m a photographer based in NE London.
I’ve been flying a DJI Mini 3 Pro for a couple of years and have really enjoyed it. This year I started flying FPV a bit, bought a Cetus X, couldn’t even take off when I first tried it and then I spent tons of time in various sims, mastered basic control and got my confidence up.
My next project is learning to fly the vapor d6, which is currently on its way to me.
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Welcome to the forum. Have a couple of regular drones but recently started down the FPV
rabbit hole !
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Thanks!
Yes, FPV takes a lot of research.
Sadly, it looks like we’re coming to the end of the analog fpv era, and new drones are much more expensive. That’s if you go for an off-the-shelf drone, which is where I’m at.
I think with my next drone purchase I’ll bite the bullet and go DJI.
What do you think? Have you been thinking analogue?
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I’m going straight to digital. I bought a DJI Neo Motiion initially and that includes Goggles N3 along with a motion controller (which is fun and easy to fly) but wont do full manual unless you get the FPV Controller 3 which I now have. So that will be my intro, a Neo running full manual once I venture from the sim !
Not the most ballistic option. but perhaps a good thing to learn on. Plus is all off the shelf ready to fly.
This all sets me up to go digital so have ordered a Pavo20 Pro 04, from Hong kong along with some spares and 3S batteries. I’ll use the DJI 04 pro air unit and camera as that’s compatable with both the goggles and controller I own.
Having flown digital with the regular drones I have I couldn’t see me reverting to analogue. Will my choices be the best ? Only time will tell !
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Welcome.
I’ll sure you’ll pick up the new quad quickly. Enjoy!
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That sounds like a good pathway.
I would love a Pavo20. By the time I make up my mind it will probably be out of stock again!
I was attracted by the fact that it’s the same size as the Cetus X, but much heavier so it handles a bit more politely. The Cetus X is a nutter! I had to retune it for indoor tests because it bounces off walls and ceilings with stock settings.
What shop do you buy from in Hong Kong?
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Ordered without the DJI camera as I can get that easily enough here and also to stay under the £135 duty threshold.
Pavo20 Pro + spares + batteries came to about £120 and free shipping.
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I recommend skipping the batteries in future. In my experience they ship them separately and they can take weeks longer than the drone to get to you. Best buy batteries from a reputable UK dealer.
So is the o3 air unit plug and play when you use it both as a VTX and a receiver?
And what’s a good place to get DJI units in UK?
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They have listed everything as shipped… so time will tell
I 'll be using the 04 Pro Air unit from DJI as it’s compatable with the N3 goggles and FPV Controller 3 i have.
The Pavo20 Pro comes with a reciever / flight controller but it doesnt matter which ELRS or SBUS as the DJI O4 air module acts as the RX and links directtly into the flight controller.
I went with SBUS as I also have (from RC days) an SBUS TX if I ever decide to swap out the DJI air unit.
You can get DJI air units next day in the UK either from DJI or Amazon
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For me it would be ELRS as I have a half-decent radio in that system.
I did some googling and was suprised you can get o4 units in UK for GBP100.
On AliExpress the difference between the DJI O4 drones and the PNP options is usually at least 130GBP.
Learned something today - thanks!
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O4 unit is around £99 but is a smaller sensor and no microSD slot
04 Pro air units £209 and has the same camera sensor as the mini 4 pro plus an sd card sot.
They do several versions of the Pavo20 to suit 03, 04 and 04 Pro air units.
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Perhaps that’s a bit more pricey but can be split across two transactions by doing it your way.
I was hoping for a Pavo 25 or 35, but they’re currently out of stock. Hopefully they’ll release an O4 Air version.
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One of the larger Pavo’s might be on my shopping list for the future !
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I’m looking at the GEPRC CineLog 35 V3.
Not sure I’d want to own two drones that are as similar as the Pavos.
With a bigger Pavo, to stay under 250g, you wouldn’t be able to use a battery that would give you much more range.
And the noise and performance would be similar too.
Now a long-range drone, like an Explorer LR 4 - that could really open up things for you.
And close them down, because it’s a bit heavy. But why wants to fly over people anyway? 
I went for the Vapor D6 because it takes a massive battery, has up to 18 min range and is not about to get blown about like a smaller drone. It also has bigger boards that are easier to work on. And costs less than a Pavo!
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I think for FPV for now I don’t see me going for anything too large or open blades as the risk for damage in FPV is just too great.
For cine i have an Air 3S and a Mini 4 Pro so thats covered already
For me FPV freestyle has more appeal than racing
As to the 250 gram limit, that goes end of the year as we move into temporary adoption of C markings on the way to UK markings.
If I read it correctly unmarked drones once the UK system is established (ie most self build FPV dones) will still be able to be flown but only out in the countryside ie where drones over 250 gm are currently restricted to. No more town flying !
I don’t think you’ll find a freestyle drone without open blades because of the performance impact. Replacing rotor blades is currently much cheaper and less work than a propeller guard, and the blades will likely be available much longer than your drone will stay in production.
Breaking things is just the reality of FPV. You’re flying without automated landing and takeoff, GPS, altitude hold, optical flow, proximity sensors and often no compass or barometer.
All the things that make DJI camera drone pilots think they can fly 
The expectation is that the only thing you have to protect your drone is your skill as a pilot.
I think you’re right about the new regulations, although there is no actual town / country distinction, you just need to be 150m away from people and buildings. For me that’s manageable as I’m in the suburbs and I prefer to fly in the country anyway. And me flying a 1kg+ FPV is something I don’t want to inflict on the population.
Who said extreme freestyle so performance isn’t top of my list.. I want to bounce 
Banged my neo with guards into loads of things flying round the house and outdoors… no damage whatsoever !
Guess i’ll find out if the Pavo20 is as robust.
The towm /c ountry division was was just an expression. Unmarked drones after Dec 27 as there’s no classification will fall into the equivalent of the current over 250 gram rules.
The 150m distance rule will effectly elimninate built up / industrial areas a current destination of a lot of sub 250gm FPV’s
Would you consider getting an A2 CofC - if you don’t have one already?
I’ve done some research and the course / assessment looks fine to me. It’s not an amazing learning opportunity (I’m already dipping into helicopter books) but not too expensive or difficult.
And you can be 50m from buildings and people again - and up to 2kg!
Not even thought about it at this stage, am just stepping out of sim level !
Being a member of FPVUK, as long as you have a Flyer ID, lets you fly under Article 16 which, assuming they don’t change it, allows you a lot more freedoms on where you can fly.
