Welcome to your guide on the first 10 FPV freestyle tricks every beginner should learn.
FPV (first person view) freestyle drone flying is an incredibly fun and challenging hobby. Performing freestyle tricks takes skill and practice, but learning your first moves is hugely rewarding.
In this post, I’ll take you through the 10 key tricks to start with as a beginner FPV pilot. Master these fundamental freestyle skills first and you’ll be tearing up the skies in no time.
Table Of Contents
1. Fly Through Gaps
The most basic freestyle skill is being able to accurately fly your drone through gaps and openings. This teaches you accurate control and handling.
To start, find large gaps between trees, poles, branches, etc to fly through. Focus on keeping your drone aligned as you approach the gap head-on without needing adjustments. Pay close attention if you start drifting off center as you near the gap. Rather than making sudden corrections, go around and try again, aligned correctly.
Once comfortable with wide gaps, start decreasing the gap size for greater challenge. Work up to narrow slits between branches and poles. Remember to always keep safety in mind – only fly gaps where there is room to maneuver on either side.
Practicing flying through gaps of various sizes teaches fundamental control and precision. It’s essential for progressing to more complex tricks.
2. Flips and Rolls
Once you’ve got the hang of flying through gaps, it’s time to start flipping and rolling your drone. This teaches orientation control.
To perform a basic flip or roll:
- Gain altitude – give yourself plenty of room to complete the maneuver.
- Lower throttle to roughly half.
- Quickly push the pitch/roll stick all the way in the flip direction.
- Return the stick to center once inverted.
- Increase throttle to recover before hitting the ground.
With low rates, you’ll need a second or more to perform a full flip or roll. Go higher until you get the timing down. Focus on stopping the maneuver with the horizon perfectly level.
An undershoot will leave you staring at the ground, while an overshoot has you looking at the sky. Practice to nail the finishing orientation.
3. Change Up Flip and Roll Speeds
Once able to perform full flips and rolls, start playing with the speeds. Rather than holding full stick deflection the entire maneuver, try these variations:
- Segmented flips – 90 degree sections, 180s, 270s etc
- Accelerating – start slow, finish fast
- Interruptions – pause inverted, then complete the roll
The more you experiment with flip and roll speeds, the better your orientation control will become. You’ll build an intuitive feel for rates and stick input.
4. Knife-Edge Gaps
By now you should have basic flip, roll and gap skills. Next up is combining techniques – enter gaps at knife-edge!
Knife-edge is when your drone is rolled 90 degrees sideways. Choose a gap you’re comfortable with and fly through it sideways, flipped either 90 degrees left or right.
This challenges your brain as sideways flight requires thinking in all 3 dimensions. Take it slow until knife-edge feels natural. Pay attention to which way your momentum will carry you out of the gap.
Once comfortable, find gaps that require a knife-edge to fit through. Trees and branches that are close together horizontally make great practice. This trick teaches precision on an entirely different axis.
5. Inverted Hovering
Learning to fly and control your drone while inverted is a key skill. Start by finding an open area and flipping to an inverted hover.
Focus on keeping the hover steady and maintaining altitude. If you start to drift, make small coordinated pitch/roll inputs to correct – don’t just mash the stick.
Getting comfortable inverted prepares you for more complex tricks entering and exiting flips. Don’t be afraid to pinch the throttle if you overcompensate – better to make several small inputs than one drastic one.
Gradually increase the time you hold inverted hovers. Work up to 10 seconds or more. This will make other tricks feel far less intimidating.
6. Inverted 180 Yaw
This flashy trick combines inverted flight with a 180 degree yaw spin. Here are the steps:
- Punch forward to gain speed
- Flip into an inverted hover
- Perform a 180 yaw spin to face the opposite direction
- Flip back to upright and recover
The key is timing the yaw spin so you complete the 180 as you pass over a point of interest below. This lets you hold the inverted hover only as long as needed.
Start high and work your way lower. Adjust your yaw speed and power of the initial punch to nail the timing. This trick demonstrates confidence in inverted orientation and control.
7. The Split S
The split S is a staple freestyle move combining several skills you’ve learned so far. Here’s how it looks:
- Punch vertical gaining altitude
- Roll inverted
- Fly inverted over an obstacle
- Roll upright and fly back under the obstacle
To stick the landing, reduce throttle at the top of the maneuver so you don’t overshoot coming back under the obstacle. Time the descent so you pass just underneath.
The split S teaches coordinating vertical and inverted flight. Work on varying the shape by adjusting pitch and throttle. This classic combo move opens up many sequence possibilities.
8. Power Loops
Mastering power loops will take your freestyle game to the next level. They require careful throttle and pitch coordination.
To power loop:
- Punch vertical, gaining speed
- Pitch back past 90 degrees once velocity peaks
- Lower throttle as you complete the loop upside down
- Increase throttle as you approach the ground
The key is continuing pitch input long enough to fling your momentum backwards into the loop. Avoid the teardrop shape if you don’t pitch back adequately.
Start wide and work your way to tighter loops around objects. Always keep the obstacle visible under the drone so you can adjust. Low camera tilt makes this trick harder.
Don’t be afraid to finish the loop early if your timing feels off – just flip upright and power on. Perfect power loops take loads of practice, but nailing one is an awesome feeling!
9. Yaw Spins
Yaw spins involve coordinating roll, pitch, yaw, and throttle simultaneously. Here are some tips:
- Maintain forward velocity during the spin. Don’t allow yourself to slow down.
- Apply some pitch forward to keep the horizon level. You don’t want to end up vertical.
- Gently reduce throttle throughout the spin, especially with high camera tilt. This prevents gaining altitude.
- Time the spin rate so you end facing the same direction you started.
Focus on keeping the spin smooth and maintaining a constant heading. Yaw spins are great for traveling sideways between gaps or obstacles.
10. Orbits
Mastering the orbit may be the ultimate freestyle achievement. As popularized by Mr. Steele, orbits showcase total 3D flying mastery.
Pick an object and position yourself next to it. Start the orbit by rolling left + yawing right while pitching forward. This will set you on a circular path, rotating around the object.
Constantly adjust all three stick inputs to maintain a smooth circular path, keeping the object dead center in your camera view. Too much or too little input will spiral rather than orbit.
Work both directions and orbit objects of different sizes. Larger objects are more challenging as they require greater stick precision to circle tightly. Smooth repeated orbits are an impressive freestyle feat.
Conclusion
That covers the top 10 beginner FPV freestyle tricks in order of difficulty. Mastering these fundamental flight skills will give you an awesome base for continuing your freestyle journey.
Remember to take things slow and work on accuracy and smoothness before speed. Nailing tricks consistently in different locations shows true mastery.
I hope this guide provides a solid learning path as you progress from novice to pro. FPV freestyle is an incredibly rewarding hobby when you put in the work. Enjoy it and fly safe!
