{"id":81,"date":"2010-12-13T18:12:45","date_gmt":"2010-12-13T18:12:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/?p=81"},"modified":"2018-10-10T10:01:05","modified_gmt":"2018-10-10T10:01:05","slug":"drone-weights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/drone-weights\/","title":{"rendered":"Drone Weights"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Weight, Weight, Weight&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p>The AR Drone was designed from the ground up with weight being one of the concerns, but they managed to make it fly. A finely tuned machine that counts on everything being perfect. It can lift its weight and hover around for 15 minutes before swapping batteries. All the while, you the operator are asking yourself &#8220;what can I hang on this thing?&#8221; All I can tell you is, &#8216;check it out yourself.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p>Remove the top cover and put it in hover mode. (indoors) While in hover, place another battery (105gr) on top of the installed battery, stand back, first you&#8217;ll hear the RPMs increase and the battery level indicator on the control device will drop much faster. That alone will tell you that if you want to tinker and hang stuff off the drone without sacrificing battery power, you have to lighten the drone somehow. Keep in mind, if you mess with the electronics package, your drone won&#8217;t work right, mess with the structure, there are<br \/>\nthings you can do!<\/p>\n<p>It was generated out of sheer boredom.<\/p>\n<p>Drone weights for individual parts and notes: NOTE, all weights are approximate, and temps were taken by a nine dollar Radio Shack digital thermometer, so take it for what it is.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"text\"><b><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;\">DRONE PART <\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><b><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/b><b><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;\">EST. WT. <\/span><\/b><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;\">\u00a0<\/span><b><span style=\"font-family: Arial; font-size: medium;\">NOTES<\/span><\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">Overall weight with battery and indoor hull \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0433gr<br \/>\nOverall weight with battery and outdoor hull \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0406gr<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Indoor hull w\/skin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a060.0gr<br \/>\nIndoor hull w\/o skin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a048.5gr<br \/>\nIndoor skin only \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a013.5gr \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<span style=\"color: #003333; font-family: Arial;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131013114233\/http:\/\/dronescapes.com:80\/dronesurg1.html\"><span style=\"color: #003333; font-family: Arial;\">[ How to separate? Click here ]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\">Outdoor hull w\/skin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a031.0gr<br \/>\nOutdoor hull w\/o skin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a011.5gr<br \/>\nOutdoor skin only \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a019.5 gr \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><span style=\"color: #ffffff; font-family: Arial;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131013114233\/http:\/\/dronescapes.com:80\/dronesurg1.html\"><span style=\"color: #003333; font-family: Arial;\">[ How to separate? Click here ]<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Battery \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0104.9gr \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0after 15 minutes of operation, battery temp<br \/>\nis between 99 and 105 deg. F<br \/>\nforward cam w\/ribbon \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a03.3gr<br \/>\nmotor assembly \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a017.9gr \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0assembly cooled by prop rotation<br \/>\n<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131013114233\/http:\/\/dronescapes.com:80\/droboard.html\"><span style=\"color: #003333; font-family: Arial;\">brd only<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a03.0gr<br \/>\n<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131013114233\/http:\/\/dronescapes.com:80\/dronemotor.html\"><span style=\"color: #003333; font-family: Arial;\">motor only<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a014.9gr \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0after 15 minutes of operation then<br \/>\nstopped, a motor will reheat to 131+ deg F<br \/>\naxle alone \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a00.9gr<br \/>\nprop only \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a03.5gr<br \/>\nbull gear only \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.4gr<br \/>\nMain board \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a022.2gr \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0after 15 minutes of operation, the 2-board<br \/>\npkg generates 90 to 101 deg F<br \/>\nNav Brd \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a014.3gr<br \/>\nlower hull w\/batt cage \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0290.0gr<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Central Cross \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a082.3gr \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0right out of the bag-no hardware<\/p>\n<p>Hero 960 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a096.4gr \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0inc battery and storage card<br \/>\nModded tail \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131013114233\/http:\/\/dronescapes.com:80\/drosolder.html\"><span style=\"color: #003333; font-family: Arial;\">15.0gr<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-family: Arial;\"> \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0used for<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20131013114233\/http:\/\/dronescapes.com:80\/dropage31.html\"><span style=\"color: #003333; font-family: Arial;\"> camera mod<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The drone has the equivalent of a &#8220;Black Box&#8221; built in. When the drone is submitted to Parrot on a warranty issue, the first thing they do is pull the last 30 seconds of flight data and video from the main board for, well whatever.<\/p>\n<p>The drone mainboard has a power buffer. It makes hot-swapping batteries a plus, no need to reconnect wifi, etc.<\/p>\n<p>The reason the drone only spins up 50% for two seconds before going on lift spin is if the drone spins to full liftoff rpm right off, the teeth of the large plastic gear would be milled (shaved) off by the small brass drive gear. As it is, even after 40 flight hours, noticeable wear will occur on the brass drive gear. It is recommended that before 50 flight hours the clockwise turning motor assemblies should be swapped with the counterclockwise motor assemblies.<\/p>\n<p>This is no different than rotating your car tires. 20 hours after the swap, closely inspect the brass drive gears, the teeth should begin to look thin and sharp. Start thinking about replacing the motor assemblies OR get creative and change the drive gears, a semi-complicated task if you don&#8217;t have the tools.<\/p>\n<p>The prop axles are case hardened, that means that they will bend, but will snap in half if you try to straighten them.<\/p>\n<p>Propellers and the plastic gears are pretty much in balance when you get them new. But if you crash, and a blade chip occurs, try and get new props ( set of four-US$9.95) Try not to put too much time on the drone with a chipped blade, especially if you still have bushings, as they will wear out faster creating a larger expense later on.<\/p>\n<p>Believe it or not, you can take a picture of your drone while it&#8217;s in hover mode, easy. Hover your craft about waist high (or whatever). Turn off the flight app by pushing the iPhone home button. Activate the phone&#8217;s camera and start snapping pics or video. When you leave the flight app, the drone will continue to hover. However, when you restart the flight app, the drone will soft land on its own. You must reconnect with the drone to continue flying. This cool trick is handy when you want to text the pic or vid to someone.<\/p>\n<p>IF you remove all the props and gears, mark them as to which spar they went on. Two spins clockwise and the other two spin counterclockwise, alternating around the drone. IF you get just two props mixed up, the drone will not work! Make a small sketch of the blade positions in the back cover of your owners manual for reference before you remove them for the first time.<\/p>\n<p>Flying the drone over grass or weeds will give the drone mixed altitude data. It may seem to some as an uncontrollable drone. Just be aware of this.<\/p>\n<p>IF your drone goes for a quick dunk in water or the electronics package gets wet, REMOVE the battery immediately!<\/p>\n<p>Remove the mainboard and nav board and place them on your water heater. Some electronics like digital watches that go through the washer will come back to life after a week or so of being on the heater. In the meantime, order up new electronics just in case it doesn&#8217;t work.<\/p>\n<p>In hover mode, the drone moves an incredible amount of air. If you fly indoors, the drone will tend to suck itself either to the ceiling or walls if flown closer than 18&#8243;.<\/p>\n<p>The Wash or down blast of air coming from a single propeller at hover is&#8230;&#8230;19.5 MPH. (really!) NO- combined Wash from all props at hover is NOT 78 MPH!<\/p>\n<p>The drone requires a contrasting image to get a hover (horizontal) lock. It is especially true when it first lifts off. If the drone doesn&#8217;t see a contrasting image, it will tend to wander around, making it seem like a defective toy. Parrot shipped their product in a sturdy box with either side being able to be used as a launch pad complete with contrasting markings. If you look real close to many of the CES demos on YouTube set up by Parrot, you will see a birds-eye view of a graphical city laid out on the floor, tiled from wall to wall. It was done on purpose. It allows a faster hover lock when stopped anywhere within the demo room. Try it yourself. Fire that puppy up over a large white bed sheet, it won&#8217;t be able to grab an image to lock onto, providing the sheet is large enough and the drone<br \/>\ndoesn&#8217;t see an edge.<\/p>\n<p>Same thing with the darkness. The drone is pretty much useless in the dark. However, some creative person came up with an I.R. LED that mounts underneath the drone using a button cell&#8230;all it needs to do is illuminate the ground below the drone so it can get a lock on a contrasting image.<\/p>\n<p>All digital &#8220;cameras&#8221; can see infrared light emitted from even common devices like TV remotes etc. The drone&#8217;s cameras are no different, if you are going to operate the drone in none to low light, go I.R. LED.<\/p>\n<p>Huh? Using what you know about contrast locking, on a sunny day using your shadow, you can have your drone track near you as you walk. I&#8217;ve done it&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Weight, Weight, Weight&#8230;. The AR Drone was designed from the ground up with weight being one of the concerns, but they managed to make it fly. A finely tuned machine that counts on everything being perfect. It can lift its weight and hover around for 15 minutes before swapping batteries. All the while, you the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":110,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=81"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/81\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/110"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=81"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=81"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=81"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dronehacks.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=81"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}