I've been fascinated with RC planes and helicopters since I was in 5th grade. My dad helped me put one together and I learned to fly it, but I was never really satisfied with that, because I couldn't understand how the controls went from my fingertip moving a stick to the motor spinning or aileron adjusting. It seemed like magic, which didn't sit well with me. So, while I had extra free time, I decided to dive head-first into the world of FPV drones.

This meant weeks of reading forums and watching YouTube videos, then reading through manuals and spec sheets, and eventually ordering about $500 worth of carbon fiber, motors, flight controllers, and antennas. Assembling the drone was straightforward, but the soldering was a nightmare. There were several 20+ AWG wires that needed to be landed on pads adjacent to each other, and I screwed up a lot.

Once I got the drone wired, programming was next. BetaFlight is an open-source control software that makes plugging in the flight controller and programming the drone incredibly easy. Next, I bound the radio and did some tests to make sure everything was working right. I spent about 25 hours in a simulator on my computer prior to my first flight, as FPV drones are difficult to control without experience. On my first flight, I crashed, as you can see in this very cool video.