Making your possess drone is presently more than widespread within the various model aircraft communities in here and somewhere else It is even an approach that enthusiasts recommend to beginners. How to better know your drone than by building it yourself? The drone races, if they are recent, meet with an increasingly strong success and the competitions multiply everywhere.
We give you here an outline of the steps to be taken, of the essential material for the realization of what the initiates call “mini racers”, “mutirotors” or “quadcopters”. These small machines of barely 25 centimeters can fly up to 120 km / h. These immersion flights have delighted a whole generation of Star Wars fans, who can now have fun as in the world of Georges Lucas!
FPV drones presentation
FPV for First Person View is an Anglicism that could be translated in several ways: first person view, immersion flight, etc. It consists of experiencing the flight of your aircraft in real time, like video games, but for real. Through a camera posted on the front of the device, you see the “journey” that the camera offers live. The image is returned to a screen, special glasses or even a smartphone. This gives the impression of being on board the drone, you then benefit from breathtaking aerial views, the sensations in addition.
Why choose the Do It Yourself
Exceptionally well known in numerous areas, DIY has too found an reverberate in model aircraft making. This movement where the citizen refuses to be a consumer, where sharing and dissemination are the pillars, adapts well to drone enthusiasts of all kinds. There are several schools in this area. A few consider that to begin it is way better to urge a drone as of now prepared to utilize. For the others, more and more numerous, it is on the contrary, to rub as quickly as possible with the technique and the thoroughness that this hobby requires. In the category of FPV racing drones, it is very common for there to be breakage. In fact, the know-how and a precise knowledge of your aircraft will allow you to respond to these inevitable incidents at a lower cost.
Material and manufacturing steps
Having a precise idea of the type of drone you want to create is an essential aspect in this process. It is the project that you will have developed upstream that will determine the construction stages and especially the nature of the items to be purchased. There is a plethora of websites that will guide you through the implementation. Some consider that the Asian market offers a choice and rather advantageous prices. Others say that it is better to invest more money up front, in order to benefit from reliable equipment.
Of course, there are many ways to achieve its ends, each enthusiast does not have the same level of knowledge or technicality. But anyone can do it with a good dose of patience and focus. To get started, it is highly recommended to start with a mini drone (Eachine QX65), this allows you to familiarize yourself with the controls and the environment at a lower cost. Like many recent practices, there is a strong community in the aeromodelling world. A community eager to share, exchange and transmit knowledge. It is therefore to her that you should turn first.
What materials do you need
For the actual manufacture, you will need to obtain the essential equipment to consider the first flight. Here is a list of the must-have pieces:
- A chassis ;
- Motors (multi rotors);
- A flight controller;
- Propellers;
- A LiPo battery, for better flight time;
- An electronic speed controller (ESC);
- And of course the radio control and its radio receiver.
This list shows the elements that you will not be able to do without for a first flight. We can add to this a number of options in order to enter the world of FPV. In the first row, there is of course the camera accompanied by a transmitter and FPV glasses or a screen. The GoPro camera is often considered too heavy. You can equip the machine with a GPS, a gyroscope, a sonar or even the display option on the screen (OSD).
A few words about FPV Racing
History says that it is a few merry men based in Haute-Savoie who are at the origin of this discipline. Like many of these stories, it was a bit of luck and a lot of passion that made this adventure possible. Used to challenging each other in forests and other landscapes, they had the good idea to film their exploits and put it online. Thousands of views and the beginnings of a discipline will follow. If the video in question seems innocuous, it has more than three million views to date!
Amid these ramble races, the on-board camera isn’t intended to broadcast breathtaking ethereal views, but or maybe to permit the pilot to optimize his speed and trajectories.
The law and the FPV
FPV races are of course legal, but subject to a few points of regulations. These appeals more to common sense than laws set in stone. Thus, it is prohibited to fly near people, animals, buildings and all types of vehicles. It is also forbidden to fly at an altitude above 150 meters, and to fly at night. Finally, it is very important to preserve everyone’s privacy. People don’t necessarily want to appear on a video without being warned. But very often the races take place on private grounds and are very well supervised.
