MAKE Terry Kilby User manual

Build and Customize
Your Own Quadcopter
Terry Kilby & Belinda Kilby
Make:
Getting Started
with Drones
Terry Kilby & Belinda Kilby
Make: Getting Started with Drones
Technology & Engineering / Flight
Make: Getting Started
with Drones
In Getting Started with Drones, you’ll learn:
Drones, quadcopters, unmanned aerial vehicles: whatever they’re
called, remotely controlled aircraft have changed the way we see the
world, the way we manage crops, the way we sell real estate, and the
way we make war. To use them fully requires at least a passing familiarity
with aerodynamics, radio telemetry, electronics, programming,
mapreading, motors, video transmission, and 3D modeling.
This book gives you working knowledge of aerial robotics, by showing
you how to build a Little Dipper 300-class autonomous quadcopter as
an example. By reading and following the steps and advice contained in
this book, you’ll learn how quadcopters work and how to solve some of
the engineering challenges they present. Throughout the book, the
authors offer alternative options and comparable parts to suit your own
needs, whether you choose to build a quadcopter or an octocopter.
»The principles of flight and how they apply to robotic drones
»What kinds of airframes are available
»How to assemble a drone, following easy step-by-step instructions
»The basics of drone design and how to choose the right components
»How to integrate sensors, controllers, and custom behaviors
Make:
makezine.com
US $24.99 CAN $28.99
ISBN: 978-1-4571-8330-0
Make to the skies!
Since 2010, Belinda and Terry Kilby have been designing and building
small UAVs for artistic and practical aerial photography through their
company, Elevated Element. As early adopters, they have become
unofficial spokespeople for UAV technology.

Make:
Getting
Started with
Drones
Terry Kilby and Belinda Kilby

978-1-457-18330-0
[LSI]
Make: Getting Started with Drones
by Terry Kilby and Belinda Kilby
Copyright © 2016 Elevated Element, LLC. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America.
Published by Maker Media, Inc., 1160 Battery Street East, Suite 125, San Francisco,
CA 94111.
Maker Media books may be purchased for educational, business, or sales promo-
tional use. Online editions are also available for most titles (http://safaribookson-
line.com). For more information, contact our corporate/institutional sales depart-
ment: 800-998-9938 or [e-mail].
Editor: Patrick Di Justo
Production Editor: Matthew Hacker
Copyeditor: Eileen Cohen
Proofreader: Jasmine Kwityn
Indexer: Angela Howard
Interior Designer: David Futato
Cover Designer: Brian Jepson
Illustrator: Rebecca Demarest
October 2015: First Edition
Revision History for the First Edition
2015-10-02 First Release
See http://oreilly.com/catalog/errata.csp?isbn=9781457183300 for release details.
Make:, Maker Shed, and Maker Faire are registered trademarks of Maker Media, Inc.
The Maker Media logo is a trademark of Maker Media, Inc. Make: Getting Started with
Drones, and related trade dress are trademarks of Maker Media, Inc.
Many of the designations used by manufacturers and sellers to distinguish their
products are claimed as trademarks. Where those designations appear in this book,
and Maker Media, Inc. was aware of a trademark claim, the designations have been
printed in caps or initial caps.
While the publisher and the authors have used good faith eorts to ensure that the
information and instructions contained in this work are accurate, the publisher and
the authors disclaim all responsibility for errors or omissions, including without limi-
tation responsibility for damages resulting from the use of or reliance on this work.
Use of the information and instructions contained in this work is at your own risk. If
any code samples or other technology this work contains or describes is subject to
open source licenses or the intellectual property rights of others, it is your responsi-
bility to ensure that your use thereof complies with such licenses and/or rights.

Contents
Preface. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
1/Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
SomeDefinitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
WhoIsThisBookFor?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
TheDroneUserCommunity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
BriefHistoryofAutonomousFlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
RCModelAirplane. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
TheAdventofMicrochips. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
TheTechnologyofDrones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
TheLaunchofGPS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Internet. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
TheSmartphone. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
SmallAutopilotFlightController. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
PrinciplesofFlight. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
WeightGravity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Lift. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Drag. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Thrust. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
FlightManeuversAircraftMovementwithStickMapping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Throttle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
YawRudder. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Pitch. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Roll. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2/Airframes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
WhatIsanAirframe?. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
ThrustVectoring. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
AircraftDesigns. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
Materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
KeepingItBalanced. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
BuildingtheLittleDipperAirframe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Step-by-StepBuildInstructions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
StepInstalltheStandos. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
iii