Drones Articles

Cheat Sheet / Updated 11-13-2024

Drone piloting is for fun . . . and profit, if you want to go that route! It can start out as a hobby and become a side hustle or even a full-time job in a particular industry. From giving you tips about buying a drone, to flying it safely, to taking the Part 107 exam, to cranking up a freelance business, this cheat sheet can help you get your drone piloting goals off the ground.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-21-2022

Drones are high-technology devices that are constantly evolving thanks to a burgeoning community of enthusiastic technologists. Technology has made it possible for multi-rotor drones to be controlled by beginner pilots. But don’t be fooled; while modern drones are much easier to control, they are still dangerous and require the user to pay attention to even the smallest of details. This is where pre-flight and post-flight checklists come in handy.

Article / Updated 01-23-2017

The term drone is thrown around in a haphazard manner these days. Originally, drone referred to an unmanned aircraft preprogrammed with a flight plan, in which the aircraft would fly in either a straight line or around in circles until the engine would run low on fuel, and then the drone would land. Credit: ©iStockphoto.com/alexsalcedo More recently, “drone” has evolved into a catchall term including any unmanned robot either preprogrammed or remotely controlled. This includes robots designed for water, land, and air use. The most common drone is an aerial one, either an RPA (remote piloted aircraft) or UAV (unmanned/unpiloted aerial vehicle.) Keep in mind that these are civilian terms, and many more complex terms are used by different government agencies. Even agencies such as the U.S. Army and Air Force do not agree on the same technical jargon. Remote-piloted aircraft, RPAs A remote-piloted aircraft, RPA, is operated just as the title suggests; the device is controlled remotely either by a short-range remote control or from a more sophisticated remote base station. Used in both commercial and military applications, these drones are often similar to a helicopter and can come with more than one rotor blade as follows: Helirotor — 1 set of rotor blades Dualrotor — 2 sets of rotor blades Trirotor — 3 sets of rotor blades Quadrotor — 4 sets of rotor blades Pentirotor — 5 sets of rotor blades Hexirotor — 6 sets of rotor blades Octorotor — 8 sets of rotor blades The quadrotor and octorotor drones are the most common of all the RPAs. Unmanned aerial vehicles, UAVs A true unmanned aerial vehicle, UAV, is preprogrammed prior to flight to do a specific set of tasks on a specific flight path. These are usually shaped like an airplane and are typically only used in military situations, with some exceptions of course. Not all RPAs look like a modern take on the helicopter nor do all UAVs look like airplanes. Aerial drones have become a hodgepodge of both. The main thing to remember is that RPAs are being controlled in “real-time” by a human and UAVs are not. Aerial drone uses and applications There are many types of uses for aerial drones. Whether military or commercial, the applications are similar in nature. As technology progresses, the types of drones available will be endless; imagine a world in which everyone rides around in driverless cars, or a micro-drone brings you a perfectly made cup of coffee. While these scenarios are still a ways away, the current uses for drones are as follows: Attack drones — Used only by the military, these drones are equipped with lethal weapons and used for controlled air strikes in hostel or inaccessible areas. Crowd control drones — Equipped with non-lethal weapons such as tear gas or sound cannons, these drones are used to break up large, out-of-control crowds of people without causing any substantial physical harm. Typically used by the military and law enforcement. Delivery drones — Originally developed for the military to deliver goods to ground troops, these drones are equipped with a claw or similar delivery system and are able to remotely drop items or gently place items in a desired target area. Some big shipping companies like DHL and Amazon are starting to implement these types of deliveries to minimize shipping times, overhead costs, and dangerous driving conditions. Monitoring drones — Equipped with both standard and infrared cameras as well as sensitive weather instrumentation, these drones are used to monitor a variety of areas. For example, drones equipped with these cameras and instruments are used to help prevent street crimes or aid in the detection and prevention of forest fires. These drones are also used for reconnaissance missions as well as other military applications. Photography/videography drones — These drones are becoming more popular in the art world. Prior to drone technology, aerial photos and videos had to be taken from an airplane or helicopter, and this process was very expensive. Now that commercial drones have become available, photographers and videographers of all kinds can get those stunning shots without the big budget. Parrot and other commercial drones for sale The variety of drones available for sale is still very limited; a few brands of commercial drones, like Parrot, are dominating the market. Depending on the capabilities of the drone, consumer drones can range from $200 to thousands and thousands of dollars. Things to determine before making a drone purchase: How is the drone controlled? Some drones are controlled with an app on your tablet or touchscreen computer while others are controlled by a remote control similar to one designed for a video game console. Preprogrammed UAVs are not yet available in the consumer market, and drones for personal use are being classified as a “remote control toy airplane.” How far can the drone fly before losing signal from the controller? While the cheaper model drones can reach 1000 feet or so from the person controlling the device, some more robust and more expensive models use cell phone towers or satellite signals and have a lot larger range of freedom. What do you want to use your drone for? Chances are, as a consumer, you are looking for a photography drone or toy drone for just the joy of flying the device, but if you plan on using your drone for a practical application (like to help with farm work), be aware that there are several different types of drones to choose from and make your choice based on the practicality of your needs. How long can the drone fly until it needs to refuel? Originally, drones were designed with an internal combustion engine inside, but due to power output requirements and distance limitations (not to mention lots of extra weight and noise), drones have adapted to lithium ion battery powered electric motors. The time a drone can stay aloft is mostly determined by its battery size, power output, and price range; some only lasting minutes while others can stay in the air for more than an hour. As more and more drones become available to consumers and regular sightings of the UFO-esque devices flying around increase, expect prices to drop, and more variety to hit the market.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

All air traffic, including that of drones, in the United States is regulated by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Large businesses like Google, Amazon, and big oil companies, and small businesses and hobby enthusiasts, have been pushing for relaxed regulations that would allow for broad commercial uses of drone technology as well as fewer restrictions for hobby flying. Pilots, the ACLU, and other organizations concerned with privacy rights have been pushing for regulations that would clamp down on how drones can be used not only by citizens and businesses but by the public sector. To address the increasing demand for drones, the FAA is re-evaluating its regulations on drone use in America. As it stands, the FAA has proposed lighter restrictions but the proposed regulations would still make it prohibitive for businesses like Amazon and Google to be able to use drones to deliver packages, as well as companies like Marathon and BP to use drones to inspect pipelines in remote areas. Existing FAA regulations Some regulations were implemented before civil drone use was “on the FAA’s radar”: Drones cannot be used for commercial purposes, or the completion of a job task or a task that produces revenue. Drones can only be flown by line of sight, which means you cannot fly in a first person view or with any other sort of technological assistance. You cannot fly above 400 feet, within 5 miles of an airport, above government buildings, or in national parks. Proposed FAA regulations Following is a list of the newly proposed operational limitations for drones (or UAS): Unmanned aircraft must weigh less than 55 lbs. (25 kg) Visual line-of-sight (VLOS) only; the unmanned aircraft must remain within VLOS of the operator or visual observer. At all times the small unmanned aircraft must remain close enough to the operator for the operator to be capable of seeing the aircraft with vision unaided by any device other than corrective lenses. Small unmanned aircraft may not operate over any persons not directly involved in the operation. Daylight-only operations (official sunrise to official sunset, local time). Must yield right-of-way to other aircraft, manned or unmanned. May use visual observer (VO) but not required. First-person view camera cannot satisfy “see-and-avoid” requirement but can be used as long as requirement is satisfied in other ways. Maximum airspeed of 100 mph (87 knots). Maximum altitude of 500 feet above ground level. Minimum weather visibility of 3 miles from control station. No operations are allowed in Class A (18,000 feet & above) airspace. Operations in Class B, C, D and E airspace are allowed with the required ATC permission. Operations in Class G airspace are allowed without ATC permission. No person may act as an operator or VO for more than one unmanned aircraft operation at one time. No careless or reckless operations. Requires preflight inspection by the operator. A person may not operate a small unmanned aircraft if he or she knows or has reason to know of any physical or mental condition that would interfere with the safe operation of a small UAS. Proposes a microUAS option that would allow operations in Class G airspace, over people not involved in the operation, provided the operator certifies he or she has the requisite aeronautical knowledge to perform the operation.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Before drone technology advanced to where it is today, getting cinematic-quality aerial video footage required expensive equipment and crew. Heck, a lot of the really great aerial shots are captured with helicopters or airplanes. That simply isn’t an option for the hobby videographer. Thankfully, expensive photo shoots are a thing of the past thanks to drones. For under $1500, you can have a high-powered aerial setup that will capture spectacular footage. Before you grab your equipment, though, you need to consider all the factors that will help you have a successful shoot. Pick the best location and time Before you do anything, you need to pick the right location and time for your shoot. Choose a location that is free of pedestrian traffic. A wide open space like a field is ideal, but if you are looking for an urban setting for your shot, you will want to make sure you avoid large groups of people. It isn’t illegal to fly your drone in the city, but if you have a mishap and your drone comes crashing down into people or their things, you could be looking at a lawsuit. You also want to make sure that you pick a time when there is good weather. Sunny, 60 degrees (F), and no wind are the makings of a great day. The most critical weather variable is that there is no wind. Wind makes it harder to keep your drone under control. Wind also eats up your batteries and makes your footage suffer in quality. Use the best drone and camera for the location Make sure you are using the best drone and camera for your location. Parrot AR drone and DJI Phantom drone: The Parrot AR drone is great for indoors because it is light and it has propeller guards, which makes it safer to use in confined spaces containing people. The DJI Phantom drones are great for use outside. GoPro camera: For great footage, use a drone that has support for an add-on camera. GoPro is the ideal compact format camera for footage. Unless you have boat loads of cash, you probably won’t have a drone big enough for a DSLR camera or RED Scarlet or other EPIC video camera. GoPro cameras are fantastic because they are light, powerful and versatile. 3-axis gimbal: Whatever camera you use, make sure you use it with a gimbal. 3-axis gimbals provide the most stable footage by accounting for the different movements of the drone (forward, backwards and side to side). As your drone moves through the sky your gimbal will keep the camera in a fixed position regardless of how the drone moves. Dampers: Mount your gimbal with plenty of shock absorbing dampers. Drones make a ton of vibration so these shock absorbers will help you a lot. You also want to make sure that all of your propellers are balanced so that your motors do not produce any avoidable vibration. Select the correct camera settings Be sure to set your camera to have a high frame rate. High frame rates like 60fps or better will help you avoid rolling shutter effect, an effect that makes your video footage have a Jell-O-like movement. Capturing footage at 1080p is full HD, which is the minimum resolution you should shoot in. Everything is HD these days. If your camera can support higher than HD like 2k or 4k at frame rate of 30fps or higher, you have more options in post-production to crop your video and reduce shake without losing quality of the video footage. Remember practice and patience No amount of gear and fine-tuning will make your footage look awesome if you are a terrible pilot. Here is when patience and practice benefit you greatly. Avoid sudden movements: Make slow movements with your control sticks to avoid jerky motions. Use advanced pilot modes: Use advanced pilot modes so that you can reduce the number of flight control variables that you need to manage otherwise. For instance, altitude hold mode allows you to focus on your movements forward, backward, and side-to-side without having to worry about maintaining altitude. Keep your drone out of the shot: If you can stream your video, check it periodically to make sure that as you are moving forward or backward you aren’t inadvertently getting parts of your drone in the footage. When you move in any one direction, your drone must slow down some of the propellers and speed others up to cause the pitch of the craft to change so that the direction of the airflow is such that the drone can move in the desired direction. The harder you move in one direction, the greater the angle of your drone and the higher the likelihood that your drone may dip into your camera’s field of view. Edit your footage: Play around with your drone to get a feel for how it flies and how your flying impacts your footage. Once you are done shooting, edit your footage using Adobe Premier, After Effects and SpeedGrade. These software tools will help you reduce shake, color correct and even remove fish-eye distortion that is common to GoPro footage. Remember, practice makes perfect. So go fly!

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

One of the most common ways to ruin a drone is to get it wet, which is why you need to monitor the weather before you take your drone out flying. Knowing the water hazards A spontaneous downpour or even just prolonged flight in misty conditions can cause enough water to build up to short out the electronics in your drone. Flying in snowy conditions can also mean sudden doom for your drone if you aren’t cautious. Your drone produces a lot of heat while flying, and while snow is dry when it’s frozen, it won’t stay frozen when it hits your warm drone. The same goes for drones that crash in soft snow. Snow might soften the fall but it won’t take long for the heat from your battery and motors to liquefy the snow and damage your drone. Another danger is flying your drone over water. Getting shots over the water can be really awesome, but all it takes is a quick gust of wind or a miscalculation on your battery charge, and your drone can go flying into the drink and poof. No more drone. Now there’s a way around this danger. You can protect your drone with a hydrophobic coating. Protecting your drone with a hydrophobic coating If you want to fly over water or in the middle of a downpour or snowstorm, you can do so without having to worry about crashing into the water. In recent years, scientists have made some amazing advancements in hydrophobic technology. Hydrophobia is the fear of water. Hydrophobic means water repellant! Now you can simply apply a hydrophobic coating to all of the parts of your drone and your drone will be ready to fly in wet conditions. Before you go dunking your drone in water to test the effectiveness of your hydrophobic spray, make sure you properly coat your device. To properly apply a coating, you must dismantle your drone so that all of the working pieces and parts are exposed. Using the applicator that comes with the hydrophobic chemical, coat all of the internal circuit boards, wiring harnesses, motors, camera gear, and so on. Try to not get any on the lens of the camera, as it could smudge. Make sure that the coating has dried, and then re-assemble your drone. Make sure that you limit how much you touch the treated electronics. Most coatings are smudge resistant, but you can wear them off by touching and wiping. After you reassemble drone, give it a good coating on the outside. You will want to make sure you don’t get any of the spray on the battery terminals or connectors. The coating could create a barrier that impacts the flow of electricity between the battery and the drone. Once the coating has finished drying, take your drone for a spin. If you get your drone wet, don’t wipe the water off. Rubbing water will also rub the protective coating off your drone. Where to get hydrophobic products Several hydrophobic options are available. Here are the most popular manufacturers: 3M Novec Dry Wired Ever Dry

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

A post-flight checklist is an integral part of good drone ownership and operation. Building a post-flight checklist ensures that you do not skip or forget any key steps to shutting down, maintaining, and storing your drone until your next flight. Flight date: Flight location: Weather conditions: Check Item Notes Land drone _________________________________________ Disarm transmitter _________________________________________ Disconnect transmitter battery _________________________________________ Disconnect drone battery _________________________________________ Power off camera _________________________________________ Power off any additional lights or powered equipment _________________________________________ Inspect drone for damage, including landing gear, wiring, batteries, propellers, and all connections _________________________________________ Wipe drone down _________________________________________ Use can of compressed air to blow dust out of components and motor _________________________________________ Discharge batteries to prep for transport and storage _________________________________________ Dump video footage to computer _________________________________________ Clear media cards and storage _________________________________________ Place all gear in storage containers _________________________________________ Land drone _________________________________________ Disarm transmitter _________________________________________ Disconnect transmitter battery _________________________________________ Disconnect drone battery _________________________________________ Power off camera _________________________________________ Power off any additional lights or powered equipment _________________________________________ Inspect drone for damage, including landing gear, wiring, batteries, propellers, and all connections _________________________________________

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Pre-flight checklists are a great way to ensure you have all the necessary gear for flying your drone and that you are taking all the proper precautions to ensure you, your drone, and the people around you stay safe while you fly. Flight date: Flight location: Weather conditions: Check Item Notes Is the location clear of people, power lines, and other objects? _________________________________________ Are you in a no-fly zone? If so, find a different, appropriate (legal) place to fly. _________________________________________ Inspect equipment for damage _________________________________________ First-Aid Kit available? _________________________________________ Extra batteries? _________________________________________ Verify battery charge level _________________________________________ Place drone in a safe level location _________________________________________ Turn on camera _________________________________________ Verify transmitter controls move _________________________________________ Verify transmitter controls in neutral position _________________________________________ Verify transmitter throttle to zero _________________________________________ Turn on transmitter _________________________________________ Connect drone battery _________________________________________ Power on drone _________________________________________ Start flight timer _________________________________________ Check for any people and animals near by _________________________________________ Stand clear and announce “CLEAR” _________________________________________ Arm flight controller _________________________________________ Increase throttle slightly and check for abnormalities _________________________________________ Hover at 3-5 feet for a few seconds to check stability _________________________________________

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

There are a few last steps you must take before you can take off flying your drone. These are more universal as they pertain specifically to launching; however, each task may be slightly different from drone to drone. So refer to your user’s manual when in doubt. When you’re getting ready to launch your drone, your attention must be solely on the task at hand. If you have other distractions, you must put them aside so that you don’t injure yourself, and then follow these steps: Place your drone on the ground in a location that is safe for taking off and for landing. Keep in mind that if your drone has an auto-return mode, it will return to this location on autopilot. Most auto-return modes do not have the capability to avoid collisions. For this reason, you definitely want an open area if you intend to use this feature. Ensure your drone is pointed away from you and that your takeoff and landing pad is at least 10 feet in front of you. Using your own launching pad ensures that you always have a clean and level location for your drone to take off and land. If your camera is integrated with your drone, make sure that the lens cap is removed, and set your camera to the desired mode for flight. If your camera is an add-on like a GoPro, power on your camera and ensure the cap is removed, and then set your camera to the desired mode for flight. Verify that your transmitter is off and throttle is set to zero before connecting your drone battery. The chances of your drone firing up when a battery is connected are slim, but you still want to proceed with caution. Connect the drone battery, and power it on. Calibrate your drone. Your drone contains several high-end sensors that need to be calibrated before each flight to ensure that your controls aren’t confused. When calibrating, make sure that you are away from any electro-magnetic sources, such as speakers and power lines. Initiate GPS lock. GPS lock is the same as establishing a home location. Several drones come with an auto-return mode. You will want to reconfigure before every flight if you change takeoff and landing locations. If you do not update your home position, your drone may attempt to return to an old location which could be far away. If you plan to fly in heads free mode, when your drone GPS locks, it will orient controls to the current location. Arm your drone. Arming your drone means it is ready to fly. This also means do not handle your drone. If you are using any sort of assisted flying mode (meaning you aren’t in manual mode), picking up your drone might cause the drone to think that it needs to spin the motors to correct and level out. When your drone is armed, stay at least 10 feet away. Slowly increase throttle to spin-up your motors and get airborne. After you have taken off, you may want to hover above the ground about 10–20 feet for a minute to verify that your drone is under control. Before heading out, perform one last check of your controls to ensure that you have directional stability as well. Here is a drone hovering a good distance above the ground for verifying aerial stability. Credit: Source: Sam Beebe/Creative CommonsUse your body as a reference for how high to hover your drone to verify stability.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Crashes are almost a guarantee with drone flying. There are so many causes for drone crashes that it is almost impossible to plan for and anticipate every scenario. There are, however, several things you can do to reduce the probability of a crash: Know your environment: Before you get airborne, be sure to scout the area. Look for towers, cables supporting vertical structures, trees, power lines, buildings, and other structures that may block your drone’s flightpath. Use a spotter: If you are flying with a first person view device, consider using a spotter to watch your drone. A spotter is a second person that keeps an eye on your drone, sometimes with binoculars if you are flying at long distances. First person views are restricted to the view of the camera that is streaming your flight. A spotter can help keep you from danger as long as you remain in sight. Use a level and stable take-off and landing location: Your drone will automatically calibrate before taking off. Make sure you have a stable, level location for taking off and landing so that your drone can calibrate accurately. Fly in good weather: Good weather means no wind, mild temperatures, and no precipitation. Battery life: If your drone’s battery is running low, you need to bring your drone home. If you don’t think you have enough juice to bring it back, slowly bring the drone back to earth and then go pick up your drone. Even if you take all of the items above into consideration, there are several other factors that can contribute to the loss of control of your drone and a subsequent crash such as random mechanical or computer failure, battery failure, unanticipated collision with wildlife, or a run-in with a zealous anti-drone advocate. Vortex ring state The air that is forced down through your propellers is called downwash. Check out this picture showing a helicopter’s downwash on the surface of water. If your drone descends to quickly, it will descend into its downwash which will cause it to lose lift at an increasingly rapid pace. This condition is called a vortex ring state, and if it is not corrected quickly, your drone will come crashing down. You can avoid VRS simply by controlling your rate of descent. Refer to your user manual to learn a safe rate of descent for your particular drone. Credit: Source: Vicki Burton/Creative CommonsA helicopter’s downwash is easy to see on the open water. GPS lock Most drones today are equipped with GPS capabilities. Before you start flying, you should ensure your drone has a GPS lock. The GPS lock tells your drone where your take-off and landing location is using GPS coordinates. This is critical in case you lose connection with your drone, regardless of whether you lose connection because the drone is flying out of range or some other communication failure occurs. With the GPS lock set, the drone should return to the GPS locked location. This feature is fantastic in the event you do lose communication with your drone. Without a GPS lock, the drone flies until it runs out of juice or collides with something. Be warned that some drones do not forget their GPS lock. This means that you must be sure to reset the GPS lock every time you fly your drone if you are flying in different locations. Otherwise if your drone goes out of range, it may try to return to a different location entirely because of the GPS lock. The DJI Phantom had a known bug that would cause Phantoms to fly away upon arming. The device would think that it was out of range, and it would automatically take off in the direction of the previous GPS lock. DJI has provided a software update to fix this bug, it’s still a good idea to be aware of this in the event you’re ever flying a drone that behaves in this manner. You should never rely on a GPS lock; it is only a backup to be used in the event of an emergency.