FPV

Freestyle, cinewhoops, racing, and the goggles-on world of first-person-view flight.

312

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Reporters on beat

Sep 2

Last updated

FPV is the other way to fly a drone: through goggles, from the aircraft’s own camera, for speed and acrobatics rather than framing and hovering. It is the most skill-rewarding corner of the hobby, and right now it is also the most consequential — the same airframes hobbyists race are being built as defense hardware by the hundred thousand.

On the hobby side, the ready-to-fly path runs through DJI’s ducted Avata line — our Avata 360 review covers DJI’s first 360° FPV attempt, and the Antigravity A1 comparison covers its first real challenger. The custom-build world keeps pushing what the hardware can do. Choose your goggles carefully — compatibility is where most FPV money gets wasted.

FPV is also where pilots most often collide with the rules. GoPro itself flew 8K over Niagara Falls and left the permit out of the description — restricted airspace does not care how good the footage is. The FAA desk tracks the enforcement side.

And FPV is the center of the defense story: loitering munitions are FPV drones with a warhead, Ukraine rewrote modern war with them, and US manufacturers are now scaling to match. Every FPV story we publish lands in the feed below.

Key facts

What FPV is: First-person view — flying through goggles from the drone's own camera, acro and speed rather than hovering and framing
The ready-to-fly path: DJI's ducted Avata line is the strongest commercial route in; the Neo flown with goggles is the cheapest taste of it
The other FPV story: The same airframes are now defense hardware — the US Army is betting on a million drones

Start here

GoPro Flies 8K Over Niagara Falls and Leaves the Permit Out of the Description — August 10, 2026
DJI Avata 360 Review: DJI's First Try at 360° FPV — July 19, 2026
Antigravity A1 vs. DJI Avata 360: The One Feature That Changes Everything — June 17, 2026

Last updated September 2, 2026 — the feed below updates with every new story.

A woman in a patterned headband raises the GoPro MISSION 1 PRO ILS with a Micro Four Thirds lens to her eye against a cloudy sky over a colonial old town, from GoPro's launch video.

FPV · FPV

GoPro Calls The $700 ILS 'Available' A Day After Selling 90% Of Itself

GoPro says the 197-gram MISSION 1 PRO ILS is now available and pitches it at FPV pilots, one day after agreeing to sell 90% of itself to Starman.

Haye KestelooSep 25 min read

US Army

US Army Throws 1,900 Drones at Its Own Paratroopers in Germany

The Saber Junction 26 opposing force fields 1,900 drones and new jammers against the 173rd Airborne, a week after the Army killed its drone battalion.

Haye KestelooAug 27

GoPro MISSION 1 PRO ILS compact cinema camera fitted with a Laowa 6mm T2.1 cine lens and variable ND filter, clamped to a blue-and-chrome speed-rail rig under a metal roof.

FPV

GoPro's 197-Gram 8K Cinema Camera Takes MFT Lenses For $699.99, Manual Focus Only

GoPro's MISSION 1 PRO ILS is a 197-gram 8K cinema camera with a Micro Four Thirds mount at $699.99, no autofocus, and a real FPV cinelifter angle.

Haye KestelooAug 26

Hand holding a micro FPV quadcopter fitted with a single 21700 lithium cell above a lake at sunset

FPV

1S Lithium-Ion FPV Build Flies 34 Minutes And 3 Miles On A Single Cell

A YouTube builder's custom 3-inch quad pairs one 21700 cell with a DJI O4 Air Unit for 34-minute flights and a 5 km lake crossing, plus the DJI part US builders can't get.

Haye KestelooAug 24

Neros Archer Strike FPV drone, the platform behind the company's $250 million Series C

DEFENSE FUNDING

Neros Raises $250M At $2.5B As The Army Bets On A Million Drones

Neros closed a $250 million Series C at a $2.5 billion valuation. It builds 1,200 drones a week and has promised a million a year by 2028.

Haye KestelooAug 18

FPV freestyle drone carrying a GoPro action camera flying in front of the mist and rushing water of Niagara Falls

FPV

GoPro Flies 8K Over Niagara Falls and Leaves the Permit Out of the Description

GoPro's new Niagara Falls reel was shot on a MISSION 1 PRO strapped to FPV Evan's drone. The airspace is restricted on both sides of the border.

Haye KestelooAug 10

Still from Ukrainian police video showing a Russian FPV drone circling vegetable seller Yurii at a Kherson street market on August 4, 2026

Human Safari

Russian Drone Hunts Kherson Vegetable Seller In Video Zelensky Says The World Must See

A Russian FPV drone chased 52-year-old vegetable seller Yurii around his van in Kherson, then detonated. The UN called this campaign a crime against humanity in 2025.

Haye KestelooAug 6

Escaped black Angus bull moving through thick kudzu in Iredell County, North Carolina

DJI Avata 2

DJI Avata 2 Guides Escaped Angus Bull Out of I-40 Ravine

A DJI Avata 2 helped Foothills Aerial Services guide an escaped Angus bull out of a kudzu-covered ravine near Interstate 40 in Iredell County, North Carolina.

Rafael SuárezJul 30

Frequently asked questions

What is the best FPV drone for a beginner?

Ready-to-fly, the DJI Avata line: ducted, crash-tolerant, and flyable indoors without carnage. If you want to find out whether FPV is your thing before spending real money, a DJI Neo flown with goggles is the cheapest honest taste.

Do I need a license to fly FPV in the US?

The same rules as any drone: TRUST for recreational flight, Part 107 for anything commercial — plus a spotter requirement in practice, because goggles mean you are not keeping visual line of sight yourself.

Custom build or ready-to-fly?

Ready-to-fly gets you flying this weekend. A custom build teaches you the machine and opens genuine performance — recent hobby builds have flown 34 minutes on a single lithium-ion cell — but it is a hobby of soldering as much as flying.

FPV

Key facts

Start here

Frequently asked questions

The drone industry moves fast. Stay ahead of it.