MAINTAINING YOUR MACHINE

KEEP YOUR QUADCOPTER FLYING RIGHT

Your drone is subject to enormous stresses. Each of its rotors is really trying to spin the entire machine and, although having four or more of them cancels that out, it strains the entire airframe. Drones have to be light too, so there are limits to how strong they can be, and if you want to keep your one working well, you need to know how to maintain it.

There are two things you should always do: check the batteries and bring spares. Batteries decline in power over time and if they are not handled well, so get used to having spares when you can and making sure you use them fully. That’s harder in a drone than, say, a mobile phone because leaving them on means leaving the device flying. Do what you can, though, and that includes regular cleaning of the contact pads between the battery and the UAV.

Bring spares of anything you can. There’s little point keeping spare shells or bodies because, if they are damaged in a crash, then the odds are so is everything else. Rotor blades are an essential spare, because you will get through several of those.

It’s going to be obvious when a blade has broken off in a crash, but they can also develop cracks. Test for those by feeling across them, and also by flexing the blades between your fingers.

Before you fly, inspect your UAV. Every pilot in the world does a walk-around inspection of their aircraft before flying it; it’s considered their responsibility. In your case, you’re looking for any damage to the landing gear, or warning LED lights on the flight computer or GPS equipment. You’re also looking for any damage to the gimbal mount that holds the camera; it’s not a lot of use flying a drone if it’s going to drop the camera.

Keep a track of how long you fly the drone for. Again, aircraft and helicopter pilots do this and are required to, but it’s also an important guide for your maintenance. Your battery will be rated for so many uses and, while typically every battery lasts for many more goes than that, the usable flying time you’ll get will decrease.

At regular intervals, such as every ten flights or few weeks, open up the drone and clean inside. See if you can rotate the rotors by hand without any difficulty or feel of the blades catching. Then, when your fingers are clear, fire up the motor and listen for any unusual sounds that could reveal wear and tear.