Introduction
My first FPV purchase was a drone. My second purchase, 30 minutes later, was a panicked Amazon order for a battery charger because the drone didn’t come with one. My third purchase, that same evening, was spare props because I destroyed all four in the first session. Welcome to the accessory trap — the drone is just the beginning.
I’ve since helped about a dozen people get into FPV, and every single one of them underestimates how much accessories cost. The drone is half the story. The other half is batteries, chargers, tools, spare parts, bags, safety gear, and a dozen small items that seem insignificant until you need them desperately at the field with no hobby shop in sight.
After three years and way too much money spent on FPV accessories — including plenty of things I didn’t need — I’ve figured out what’s essential, what’s a waste, and what I wish I’d bought sooner. This guide is the shortcut I didn’t have.
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Tier 1: You Literally Cannot Fly Without These
Batteries ($25-35 each — buy 4-6)
Your drone doesn’t come with enough batteries. Period. Most BNF (bind-and-fly) drones include zero batteries. RTF kits include one, maybe two. One battery gives you 3-5 minutes of flight. You drove to the field, set up your gear, and got everything connected — for 3 minutes of flying? No.
I started with 2 batteries and it was miserable — 8 minutes of flying, then 45 minutes of charging on my slow charger, then 8 more minutes. Sessions felt pointless. Now I carry 8 batteries per session and fly for over an hour with constant rotation. Four batteries is the realistic minimum for an enjoyable session — it gives you 15-20 minutes of flight while the first ones charge.
My recommendation: start with 4, buy 2 more within the first month. For 5” builds on 6S, I run CNHL 1300mAh packs — they’re the best value I’ve found at $22-25 each. Higher-end Tattu R-Line packs perform marginally better (slightly more punch, better voltage sag under load) but cost $35+. The difference only matters for competitive racing where every bit of power counts. For freestyle and casual flying, budget packs are perfectly fine. Full breakdown in our battery guide.
Check LiPo batteries on GetFPV | Check on Amazon
Battery Charger ($30-80)
Not optional. No charger = no charged batteries = no flying. And DO NOT use a cheap no-name charger from random Amazon sellers — LiPo batteries are genuinely dangerous if charged incorrectly. They contain volatile chemistry that can catch fire or explode if overcharged, charged too fast, or charged with a faulty device.
I’ve seen two charger-related incidents in my flying group. One guy’s cheap $12 charger melted and fused to his desk — it overcharged a battery and the charger itself couldn’t handle the heat. Another pilot had a battery puff and start smoking because the charger wasn’t calibrating cell voltages properly. Both were using unbranded chargers from marketplace sellers.
I use a ToolkitRC M6 ($35-45) for field charging and an ISDT Q6 ($50-70) at home. The M6 is small, portable, and charges from a car battery or field power supply — it fits in my FPV bag easily. The ISDT has more features for home use, including multi-chemistry support and detailed cell monitoring. Either one is solid and from reputable brands. Spend $35 minimum on a charger from a known brand. The $15 chargers are not worth the fire risk.
Check chargers on GetFPV | Check on Amazon
Spare Propellers (buy 10+ sets)
Props are consumables. You WILL break them — from crashes, gate clips, tree strikes, ground impacts, or just fatigue over time. I went through 30 sets in my first 3 months of learning. Now as an intermediate pilot I use about 5-8 sets per month during active flying, mostly from crashes and preventive replacements.
Buy in bulk. HQProp and Gemfan are both excellent at $3-4/set. Stock at least 10 sets for your main build and never go to the field with fewer than 3 spare sets in your bag. I’ve been caught at the field with zero spare props exactly once — crashed on my second battery, no spares, session over. Never again. Detailed recommendations in our propeller guide.
Basic Tools ($40-60 for a kit)
You need tools from day one, even if you’re flying a pre-built drone. Props need changing, screws come loose, antennas need tightening. The minimum toolkit:
Hex drivers (1.5mm, 2mm, 2.5mm): For every screw on your quad. These three sizes cover 95% of FPV hardware. I use Wera hex drivers — they’re slightly expensive ($15 for a set) but the comfortable grip and exact fit are worth it. Cheap hex drivers strip screw heads, and stripped screws on a flight controller are a nightmare. I learned this the hard way trying to remove a stripped M2 screw from a stack — it took 30 minutes with pliers.
Soldering iron ($30-50): Even if you buy a pre-built drone, you’ll need to solder eventually — antenna replacement, receiver swap, motor wire repair after a crash, adding a buzzer. I started with a TS100 portable iron and still use it three years later. It heats in 15 seconds, runs on a battery pack, and I bring it to the field for emergency repairs. A friend uses a $15 iron from Amazon and it works, but the temperature control is unreliable and it takes 2 minutes to heat up.
Wire cutters and strippers: For any electrical work. Flush cutters for trimming zip ties and cutting motor wires cleanly.
Blue Loctite: Apply to motor screws and any hardware that vibrates. I had a motor come loose mid-flight once — the quad instantly became uncontrollable and death-spiraled into pavement. $5 bottle of blue Loctite prevents that completely. I apply it to every motor screw on every build now, no exceptions.
Tier 2: Makes Flying Significantly Better
LiPo Safety Bag ($8-15)
Not optional in my opinion, even if the internet debates it. LiPo batteries can catch fire if punctured, over-charged, or damaged in crashes. A LiPo bag won’t prevent a fire, but it contains it — limiting damage to the bag instead of your car, house, or garage.
A friend in my flying group had a battery puff and start smoking in his car trunk on the drive home from the field. The battery had taken a hard impact during a crash and the cells were damaged, but it looked fine externally. The LiPo bag contained the smoke and heat. Without the bag, his car upholstery would have caught fire. $10 insurance. Buy one for charging and one for transport.
Upgraded Antennas ($15-40)
The stock antennas on most goggles and VTXs are adequate at short range — within 200-300 meters you won’t notice much difference. But swapping to quality aftermarket antennas improved my range noticeably. Specifically, replacing the stock omni antenna on my goggles with a TrueRC Singularity patch + omni combo gave me roughly 30-40% more usable range before signal degradation started.
One critical lesson I learned the expensive way: match your antenna polarization. I spent an entire afternoon troubleshooting terrible video range — getting static at 100 meters when I usually had clean video at 400. The problem? I had a RHCP (right-hand circular polarized) antenna on my goggles and accidentally installed an LHCP (left-hand) on the drone. Mismatched polarization can cut your effective range by 50% or more. Always check RHCP/LHCP compatibility when buying antennas. It’s printed on the antenna or listed in the specs.
Backpack or Carrying Case ($30-60)
I flew for my first 6 months carrying everything in a cardboard box and a grocery bag. Batteries loose and rolling around, props getting crushed under tools, radio banging against goggles. It worked, but I wasted 10-15 minutes every session just finding things and reorganizing.
When I finally bought a dedicated FPV backpack with compartments — one section for quads, one for goggles, one for the radio, side pockets for batteries and tools — the organization alone made sessions more enjoyable. I use an iFlight FPV backpack ($40) that fits 2 quads, goggles, radio, and a tool pouch. The investment is worth it the first time you don’t have to search for a missing prop nut at the field.
Field Power Supply ($30-50)
If you fly at locations without power outlets (which is most parks, fields, and interesting locations), you need a way to charge batteries in the field. I use a Tattu 24V field battery ($40) that powers my ToolkitRC M6 charger. It charges 6-8 drone batteries per charge cycle, which covers a full afternoon session of 2-3 hours.
Before I had this, my sessions ended when my pre-charged batteries ran out — usually after 30-40 minutes with 6 batteries. Now I rotate: fly one pack, charge one pack. I fly until I’m tired, not until I’m out of batteries. This single accessory doubled my effective flying time per session.
Tier 3: Nice to Have
Action Camera ($100-400)
If you want to share footage, the onboard DVR from your goggles system produces decent video but can’t compete with a dedicated action camera for quality. A GoPro or similar camera mounted on top of your quad records stabilized, high-resolution footage that looks genuinely cinematic. I added a GoPro Hero 8 (bought used, $150) to my freestyle build and the footage quality was transformative — suddenly my flights looked professional instead of amateur.
The trade-off: weight and risk. A GoPro adds 125g to your build, which noticeably affects flight characteristics — my quad handles differently with the camera on versus off, slightly more sluggish on rolls and less responsive on rapid direction changes. And there’s always the crash risk. I’ve crashed my GoPro into concrete twice. A protective mount helps but isn’t foolproof. Budget $30-50 for a replacement mount and lens protector.
ND Filters ($15-30)
If you run an action camera, ND filters dramatically improve footage quality by forcing a slower shutter speed, which adds natural motion blur. My footage went from choppy and video-game-looking to smooth and cinematic after adding ND16 and ND32 filters. This is a $15 investment that makes the biggest visual difference in footage quality after the camera itself. Any serious freestyle or cinematic pilot I know runs ND filters.
Buzzer / GPS Tracker ($5-25)
I’ve lost a drone exactly once — crashed into tall grass at a park and couldn’t find it despite being 20 meters from the crash site. Spent 45 minutes searching on hands and knees before finding it. Now every quad I own has a buzzer ($5) that I can activate from my radio. The buzzer beeps loud enough to locate a drone in grass, bushes, or light brush from 10-15 meters away.
GPS trackers ($20-25) go further — they give you exact coordinates on your phone, which is essential for long-range flying where crashes happen far from your position. The $5 buzzer has saved me at least 5 hours of searching over the past year. Best $5 I’ve spent in FPV. For the full story on recovering crashed drones, see our dedicated guide.
What NOT to Buy
Cheap unbranded tool kits marketed as “FPV starter kits”: Low quality tools that strip screws, break under normal use, and give you hex sizes you’ll never need. Buy individual good tools for the 3-4 sizes you actually use.
Universal mounts and adapters: Usually fit nothing properly. Get mounts specific to your frame and camera model. I’ve bought 3 different “universal” GoPro mounts and none fit my frame correctly — ended up with a frame-specific TPU mount from GetFPV for $5 that fit perfectly.
Premium everything on your first build: You’ll crash it. A lot. I wasted $50 on a premium battery strap that I replaced with a $3 rubber band from Amazon after a crash destroyed it. Buy budget accessories for your first 3 months, then upgrade what you’ve identified as limiting. You won’t know what’s limiting until you’ve flown enough to have opinions.
Multiple chargers before you need them: One good charger handles 4-6 batteries per session. You don’t need three chargers running simultaneously unless you’re at a multi-class race event. I used a single M6 for over a year before adding a second charger.
Budget Guide
| Level | Accessories Budget | What You Get |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum | $150-200 | 4 batteries, charger, 10 prop sets, basic tools, LiPo bag |
| Comfortable | $300-400 | 6 batteries, good charger, props, tools, bag, field power, antenna upgrade |
| Full Setup | $500-700 | 8 batteries, dual charger, antenna upgrade, action camera, backpack, everything above |
The “minimum” tier gets you flying sustainably. The “comfortable” tier eliminates the most common frustrations (not enough batteries, no field charging, poor organization). The “full setup” tier is what most active pilots end up at after 6 months. For a complete first-time cost breakdown, see our budget setup guide and racing cost analysis.
FAQ
How many batteries do I really need?
Minimum 4 for an enjoyable session. Ideal is 6-8. I carry 8 batteries and a field charger to every session. More batteries = more flight time = faster skill improvement. It’s the single best investment after the drone itself. Every beginner I’ve helped gets the same advice: whatever number of batteries you think you need, buy 2 more.
What’s the one accessory I should buy first?
A LiPo safety bag. Before extra batteries, before tools, before anything else. You’re going to charge batteries at home near your belongings. A $10 bag protects against the worst-case scenario. I charge all my batteries inside a LiPo bag on a concrete surface, every single time. It’s a habit that costs nothing and prevents potential disaster.
Should I buy everything at once?
No. Buy Tier 1 items with your drone — you literally can’t fly without them. Add Tier 2 items after your first month when you know you’re committed to the hobby. Tier 3 items come after you’ve identified what you personally want to improve. I bought a soldering station before I knew how to solder — it sat unused for two months. I bought an action camera before I could fly smooth lines — the footage was unwatchable anyway. Time your purchases to match your progression.
What accessories do experienced pilots wish they’d bought sooner?
In my group, the universal answer is: more batteries and a field charger. Everyone starts with too few batteries and wastes potential flying time waiting for charges. The second most common answer is a buzzer — every pilot I know has at least one lost-drone story that a $5 buzzer would have prevented. Third is a decent soldering iron — because eventually something breaks and you need to fix it at the field.
Can I use regular tools instead of FPV-specific ones?
Absolutely. Regular hex drivers, soldering irons, and wire tools work perfectly. “FPV-specific” tool kits are marketing with a 40-50% price markup for identical tools in different packaging. The only FPV-specific tool I’d recommend is a prop balancer if you’re serious about action camera video quality, and even that is optional for most pilots. My entire toolkit is standard electronics tools from hardware stores and Amazon, and I’ve built and maintained over a dozen drones with them.
