That’s been my strategy (my drone is 8 ft x 7 ft and 175 lbs). I’ve only hovered it, it hasn’t been in free flight yet. So I don’t know how the off board calibration affects things.
Personally, I’ve calibrated the FC on the bench before installation, except for the Level Horizon. At that point, I take note of the compass heading at a specific point. After installation and all power has been connected, observe and take note of the variance, possibly even compensate with the GPC/Compass position and heading; then do the Level Horizon calibration. I’ve built several VTOLs this way and have worked for me.