Quadcopters have made an unexpected comeback from 1907, where all the research about multicopters paused due to stability issues. Nowadays, this kind of aerial vehicle is the perfect solution for many applications. If you want to capture a photo or record a video, transfer low-weight payload quickly and securely, or join races with other hobbyists, then you will have to buy one or even create one on your own.
As an author, I have tried to keep the simplicity of the quadcopter but also give plenty of instructions on how you can easily create one for your own application. As kids, we always wanted something that could fly and that we could play around with. Through this book, this dream can come true.
Chapter 1, Introduction to Quadcopters, provides information on various categories of drones, and you will be able to understand why a quadcopter is stable and can hover. Furthermore, some possible applications will be mentioned as well.
Chapter 2, Hardware Overview, analyzes every part of the quadcopter and gives some basic instructions about the usage of each component.
Chapter 3, Creating a Frame, analyzes some possible materials and the shapes and purposes of different frames, since each component will be mounted on a frame. Some frames are designed for stability purposes and photography, whereas others are used for quadcopter races.
Chapter 4, Soldering the Electronics, covers how to solder wires and create connections between different parts, as some of the electronics require further modifications as per individual requirements.
Chapter 5, Electronics Installation, contains some tips for better stability even though installing the electronics is a piece of cake. Notice that it's quite easy to damage something and have a problem later.
Chapter 6, Flight Controller Setup, covers how to set up ArduPilot, which is an open source and easy flight controller. A flight controller is the core component of your quadcopter. It contains all the software that is crucial for stability. Setting up a controller may be easy or very hard.
Chapter 7, Flight Instructions, helps you ask some basic questions and tries to make you think like a professional pilot. Your quadcopter is ready but flying is not so easy. There are many factors that you should think of before going out there and powering up your quadcopter; where you will fly, what will happen if something goes wrong, how much time you have, and so on. All these queries should be answered before flying.
Chapter 8, Cameras and Extra Functions, covers vibration issues and mechanisms that you can use or build on your own. Apart from all the basic components, there are more advanced ones that you can easily add to your quadcopter, depending on the purpose of the flight. FPV is a great way to have eyes in the sky and LEDs are necessary for night flights.
Chapter 9, Repair and Maintenance, covers how to maintain your vehicle, how to protect it from wear, and why this is crucial for safe flights. Even professionals face a crash. This is something that you will unfortunately experience, but the goal here is to estimate the damage and repair your quadcopter as fast as you can.
This book is intended for hobbyists who are looking forward to fulfilling their dream of flying a quadcopter made by them. Some basic experience in electronic circuits and aerial vehicles will make it easier for you; however, there is nothing too complicated or difficult to do if you follow all the instructions sequentially.
This book is for everyone who has had the dream of flying their own vehicle or building an autonomous drone. Obviously, hobbyists will understand the instructions better than other people. It actually depends on your knowledge, but if you follow every instruction, you should be able to make it fly easily.
In this book, you will find a number of text styles that distinguish between different kinds of information. Here are some examples of these styles and an explanation of their meaning.
Code words in text, database table names, folder names, filenames, file extensions, pathnames, dummy URLs, user input, and Twitter handles are shown as follows: "ArduPilot is connected to COM5."
New terms and important words are shown in bold. Words that you see on the screen, for example, in menus or dialog boxes, appear in the text like this: "As soon as you click on CONNECT, there are four things that will happen."
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