Putting your own drone together is no easy task, so we would recommend going into the process with full knowledge of the fact that it will need dedication and some skill. Once you’ve acknowledged that, you’ll of course want to get started on assembling one of the best pieces of technology on the market at the moment, and worry not – we’re here to help you with that. It is different to putting together a quadcopter DIY, but it is absolutely worth it regardless. So our top tips on putting a drone together quickly will set you in good stead for getting this job, which can be somewhat labouring, done as soon as you can say the word ‘flying’.
- Get to grips with the drone lingo
There is absolutely no point in heading over to YouTube to learn how to put a drone together if you don’t understand the words involved in the process. There are quite a few abbreviations which make it difficult to understand the process of putting a drone together quickly, but below are some of those explained in ‘normal people’ lingo. We’ve got your back.
The term ‘CG’ stands for centre of gravity. It means the point of the drone where all weight is equally distributed on all sides, and is absolutely essential when putting a drone together quickly or with all the time in the world. Another term is ‘landing gear’ which seems pretty self-explanatory, though it actually isn’t to the non-droners out there. Basically, so that your drone doesn’t get damaged when it lands, you need some kind of cushion material for your drone to land on. You must attach the landing gear to the drone so that it doesn’t get damaged or uneven when flying.
- Be aware of camera issues
When putting together a drone quickly, it might be best to leave out the camera. It takes quite a few trials before you can actually fly your drone confidently, which will inevitably include some bumps along the way. You might want to save ruining any camera equipment by not attaching it to the drone when you’re flying it first, this way you can save on money and worry all in one go. We would recommend taking this approach solely on a cost-benefit analysis basis – you don’t want to be out of pocket.
Once you’ve put the drone together minus the camera, you’re good to go. Have a go at flying it first, then whenever you feel ready and confident enough, you can add the final touch to your drone. It will be quick when you assemble it without the camera, and then when you finally add the camera to the drone, the process will be quick too. So you’re going to be flying (see what we did there?) with this hack for putting a drone together quickly.
- Research which frame you should choose
It is a good idea to carefully research which frame you should choose for your drone before you begin putting a drone together. There are different types of frames, including quadcopters, tricopters and hexacopters. Quadcopters are the most common of the frame types when putting a drone together quickly and have four arms, each of which are connected to the central motor. They are great for first time drone users and are among the easiest to put together.
Tricopters and hexacopters have three and five arms connected to the central motor respectively. Tricopters are particularly great for fliers who want to break away from the typical drone and who want a piece of drone technology that does not conform to other types of flying. With three arms, the drone can glide through the air easier, thus resulting in better quality photos. Hexacopters are good if you’re strapping some relatively hefty equipment to your drone as it will certainly provide the technology with more support, both while flying but also while in the air.
- Get the propellers right
It’s vitally important that the wings you give your drone to help it fly – the propellers – are fitted correctly, even when putting a drone together quickly. They are made from lots of different materials, including plastic, wood and carbon fibre to provide different effects while flying in the air.
When fitting your propellers, you should be careful to make sure that they have special adapter rings which help mount the propeller to the central motor. When purchasing your adapter rings (which do not always come with the actual drone technology or drone parts), you should make sure the sizing is correct. If the propeller doesn’t fit the adapter ring, you’ll have a great deal of difficulty putting a drone together at all, not just quickly. Measure things up and keep a note of them, then you’re off to a real flying start!