Flight log

Beginner guides, gear notes and session write-ups from the people running the flight line. No stick time required to read along.

Start here: indoor FPV in plain English

Micro-FPV — most people call it Tiny Whoop — is a palm-sized quadcopter with prop guards and a tiny camera that streams live video to goggles you wear. You are not looking at the drone; you are looking out of it. Because the whole aircraft weighs less than a slice of bread and every propeller is caged, it is safe to fly indoors, around people, in a space no bigger than a warehouse bay.

That is the whole idea behind SquadFlight: a gym for the sport. Bring nothing, borrow a quad and goggles, and get put in the air by someone who does this every week. Outdoors you fight wind, batteries, regulations and line-of-sight rules. Indoors you just fly.

What a first session looks like

  • Goggles on, hover first. Ten minutes of throttle control in a netted box before anyone points you at a gate.
  • Flight blocks, not marathons. A micro battery lasts two to three minutes, so you fly a pack, land, swap, and go again. A session is a stack of short flights with coaching between them.
  • Crashing is normal. These quads are built to bounce. Prop guards, soft frames, and a crew member who resets you in seconds.
  • No licence needed. Recreational indoor flying on private property does not require FAA registration or a certificate. Nothing to file before you show up.

Gear questions we get every week

What is the best tiny indoor drone to start on?
A 65mm or 75mm brushless whoop with prop guards, a Betaflight-based flight controller and a decent analog or digital video link. Skip toy-store camera drones with position hold — they teach you nothing about flying FPV. Fly ours first, then buy; two hours in goggles will tell you more than any review.
How do I charge tiny whoop batteries?
Charge 1S LiPo cells at 1C on a proper multi-port hobby charger, never overnight and never above 4.35V for high-voltage cells. Store packs at roughly half charge in a fireproof bag, and let them cool before recharging. A puffed or dented pack is finished — retire it, do not fly it.
Analog or digital video?
Analog is cheap, instant and gets fuzzy at range. Digital is sharper with a hint of latency and costs more. Indoors, at these distances, both feel great — pick on budget, not spec sheets.
Do I need a simulator?
It helps and it is cheap, but it is not required. Bring a game controller's worth of coordination and our crew will handle the rest.

Flying FPV in Las Vegas

Vegas summers make outdoor flying brutal and much of the valley sits under controlled airspace, which is exactly why an indoor gym makes sense here. We are in our Lab phase — running sessions and pop-up fly nights around the city while we build toward a permanent venue in January 2027. Everything on this blog comes out of those nights.