When you go out to have some fun with your flying adventures, you need to carry with you additional gear in your FPV Quadcopter Backpack to ensure that you do not end up wishing you had brought more stuff with you.
You can take as much stuff as you want so I am going to recommend some basic things that you ought to carry along with you in addition to some extra stuff.
But first and foremost…
What should I use to put my things in my backpack?
I put my things in an old Jansport backpack that I found in my home. There are tons of backpacks available such as the Multistar backpack by HobbyKing but, to be honest, you can opt for virtually anything that is spacious enough to carry your goods.
I prefer the HobbyKing transmitter case and my FatShark Dominator V3 case. Similarly, I have a case for my LiPo batteries.
I place case for the transmitter over the one for the goggles and my backpack is spacious enough to accommodate both of them. Then the LiPo batteries and quadcopters get enough space to be placed at the front.
If I feel that the space is getting shorter, I can also fit the goggles and transmitter in the backpack only.
I prefer not to do this since the Taranis antenna is quite a delicate component and I do not want to take any risk with the radio unless I really am forced to do so.
You can deduce from the above discussion that a backpack worth $60 or more certainly looks to be a cool proposition and should be able to carry all your paraphernalia. However, if you spend $60 on upgrading your quadcopter, propellers, and other accessories, you can also use a low-cost backpack that you found lying around in your house.
The HobbyKing transmitter case is essential, however, since it will make transportation a lot easier for you.
How many quadcopters should I carry along with me?
The larger the number of quadcopters you are able to take along with you, the better it is. I prefer to carry along with me at least a couple of quadcopters so that I can have a backup quadcopter in case I end up crashing one which cannot be repaired there and then. It would really be frustrating to be forced to pack up just because you had one quadcopter and it got damaged.
Basic flying kit
You should carry the following items with you whenever you go out for your flying adventures. My basic backpack also contains these things.
- Transmitter
- FPV goggles
- Quadcopters
- Battery packs
- A battery checker
- Spare FPV cameras
- Spare propellers (if you are using DAL propellers then, three to four sets should suffice. In the case of other propellers, you may tug along more)
- A high definition camera
- A little toolkit containing additional locknuts, spare m3 bolts, a set of hex keys, a pair of pliers, a hobby knife, a pair of small sharp scissors, zip ties, and electrical tape
These are the basic items that I prefer to carry along with me as I go out for my flying adventures. I have almost all the requisite tools to carry out basic repair and maintenance in case something gets loosened up or stripped off.
Additional things to carry in my backpack
A charger and a power supply
My flying adventures typically last from a couple of hours to three hours or so. So, I do not carry along with me a charger. But I am familiar with people who have established charging stations in their car trunks using the car battery charger. The benefit you get from setting up charging stations is that you can fly the whole day long and get your batteries charged up whenever they run out of juice.
A laptop with a data cable
If you like to tune your quadcopter or modify its settings, then having a laptop and data cable will be helpful. It will let you connect the quadcopter to the laptop, open up CleanFlight or BetaFlight configurator. It will allow you to troubleshoot any issue that might crop up when on the field.
Passenger goggles or backpack screen
The best thing about drone flying is that you are able to share your FPV experience with your loved ones. As a pilot, you can send out positive vibes about this awesome hobby to those who are not familiar with it. However, a pair of goggles might not be sufficient in this regard. A pair of additional goggles or a screen equipped with a receiver will help the viewers see exactly what you are seeing right from the drone’s eye.
Spare frame parts
If you own a frame that has separate arms, you can carry additional arms with you. In case you end up damaging one arm, you can get it replaced and get back to flying. You can also carry additional top plates, bottom plates, camera plates, and HD camera mounts. HD camera mounts are kind of fragile if they are 3D printed, so having some extra in your armory will be really helpful.
Additional electronics in the backpack
You can also carry along with you additional electronics in your backpack as motors, ESCs, video transmitters, receivers, flight controllers, etc. You might not carry these things along with on regular weekend but you would definitely want to keep them with you participating in serious racing events.
Soldering Iron and Power Supply
If you are really serious about this all, you can also carry along with you soldering iron. You will be okay with soldering irons that can be powered with a power supply and this will let you to carry out the soldering repairs there and then.
Extra memory cards
You might come across a crash with your HD camera thrown off your quadcopter and your memory card dislocated out of the camera straight into the grass.
A strong magnet
There have been several occasions when I end up dropping my screws and my last propeller nuts in grass. I could never fund them again. If you magnet with it becomes easier to search them out.
Race gates or flags
I am planning to add racing gates and flags to my racing kit sooner rather than later. I have decently sized wide and open ground in my vicinity. The trees and other natural obstacles are edges this does not let me carry out some intense proximity flying. By setting up a race gate or two can allow me to hone my flying skills.
