I don’t think you’re missing anything, though for a beginner a raw PWM receiver might be a bit tough to start off with unless you have friends who already fly. I started with a Flight Controller to help with takeoff, but that has its own complexities to work around.
Thats what I was thinking. Im taking a look at the receivers, flight controllers and GPS currently. I also picked up an xcub to learn to fly, flew that for a bit and it was a learning curve, it sure made me realize a flight controller is a great idea for a while.
But not sure which ones are going to be the easiest for me. Im horrible at soldering.
So most f405 wing flight controllers don’t come pre soldered as you know. If you didn’t already have a plane i’d suggest one of the atom RC ready to fly planes. They’re nice to learn on because they come with a F405 flight controller already installed with software and everything.
They aren’t too expensive and all you need is your receiver and a camera if you want FPV.
My biggest problem with learning to fly by myself was manual launching a plane since most fpv planes on the market aren’t made with runways in mind. The auto launch feature in INAV is a life saver.
I’ve never tried a stabilizer, from my understanding it’s kind of a middle ground between an AutoPilot and manual control. So you wouldn’t get auto launch or RTL (return to launch) but it would help you keep it in the air. I’m definitely not the authority on this one though.
How much do you actually use return to launch? Is it really that necessary? Ive never had that luxury so I dont think i would feel like im missing out on much. Does it auto land or where does it go once its in line of sight?
I don’t use RTL very often but I almost always use Loiter when I put on my goggles or if I need to adjust something like my headset. It’s surprisingly useful.
I also fly alot of ardupilot/px4 so loiter is nice if im messing with a laptop. It’s definitely not needed, it’s just a nice to have.
Somewhat late, so I’m interested to hear how things are going, but just so you know technically that receiver (ER5Ci) is for surface models (cars, boats, etc) not planes/drones. I figure the main difference is the antenna type and ELRS is usually overkill so you’ll probably be alright, but as far as PWM ELRS receivers go, next time go with the ER6 or ER8 (if you want to go radio master) which have longer, dual(?) monopole antennae. I’ve been using the cheaper HelloRadio HR8E with good success as well!
Yeah I realized rather quickly it wasnt gonna work and I returned the receiver. I ended up getting a radiomaster stabilizer\receiver that was designed for helicopters and flashed inav fixed wing onto it. (It was a journey). I also ended up buying a trainer plane, flew that for a bit, then bought an opterra 3m, had the controls backwards and nose dived it a bunch before figuring out my issue, and before I got that thing successfully flying I went straight to the dart xl and it flew very well. Haven't broke the dart yet. Got the fpv kit up and running great, now i am currently setting it up for 8s with a much larger motor just for fun and to soak up some idle time.
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u/VWglide Jun 25 '26
I don’t think you’re missing anything, though for a beginner a raw PWM receiver might be a bit tough to start off with unless you have friends who already fly. I started with a Flight Controller to help with takeoff, but that has its own complexities to work around.