Introduction

I always wanted to have a drone. But living in a big city makes it useless. I would not be able to fly in most places and they are relatively boring. Drones were also very expensive and fragile.

Then the opportunity cames as I spend six weeks at Tenerife at the beginning of 2020. A beautiful island with so many places to fly. I found a shop that sells DJI Tello - the best drone for the price. So I bought one and start to learn. It was super fun and I got a lot of incredible photos and videos from places I could only dream of before. I also destroy it in the salty waters. So I bought another one and continue the areal photography. But it was the time to go back to the homeland.

February in Poland is not the best time to be. It's cold and you don't see the sun for weeks. My drone is still waiting for the spring and summer season. But over that time I started to get curious about FPV and particularly TinyWhoops drones.

What is a TinyWhoop? It's a category of super small, affordable and extremely durable drones that can fly indoors. They're made mostly for that purpose - racing in cafes and tiny apartments. I wanted one. But it turns out it's not that easy to buy them as most are constantly out-of-stock. I found a promotion for TinyHawk form china and ordered it. A few weeks later it came and the new hobby begins.

TinyHawk

I wanted to test if this is just a seasonal interest that will end up placing drone in the closet to never take it out again. It turns out I want to fly it more and more and the one that sits is the Tello. I spend most of the days at home and I like to challenge myself. Whoop drones fit perfectly.

Flying a small, racing drone is very hard at the beginning. I crashed constantly - being in the air for a 30 second was considered a success. Fly from room to room was impossible. But I try each day and become better and better. What's most satisfying is to see this learning curve. Simple things like flying through a chair or hang Hula hoop feels like real winning. I still have trouble with chairs and very narrow spaces but the Hula hoop is now very easy to hit - and still super fun. I can easily move thought rooms without a crash.

FPV Goggle and view form it

The other very important aspect is the FPV - First Person View. I have a goggle and the drone have a little camera. Flying that way you feel like a real pilot. Or like a housefly :) You feel smaller and super fast. You feel free. And slowly become unified with the drone. You get it or at last, understand my excitement.

Setup & Upgrades

As with all hobbies, it needs some investments and upgrades over time. I started with just Ready To Fly bundle and additional batteries. Over time I broke rotors and needed to record my flying. I added MenaceRC Periscope Omni antenna for better reception and four-blade rotors for better handling, power and turtle-mode (rotate flipped drone after a crash). I also move the antennas on the ThinyHawk to stick up. And last but not least - I printed the famous camera protector. On the software site I opted for Project Mockingbird tuning.

Emax TinyHawk with upgrades

Future investments include professional radio transmitter (FrSky Taranis Q X), more batteries and probably the TinyHawk II :)

Stay In The Air

I can't recommend enough this drone for starting an FPV hobby. Especially on those days when we all #StayAtHome. And when the summer comes, the virus goes away it only becomes more fun outside.