This week was a major step for us; we flew our drone! Before we could fly, Fred taught us a few drone safety tips. During takeoff, we learned it is important to make sure all spectators are behind the “flight line.” Next, the pilot must say “clear props” to let everyone know that the drone is preparing to get off the ground. After the drone is in the air, the pilot should use small controlled movements to ensure the drone is stable. If for any reason the drone is out of control, the pilot must cut the throttle to make the drone fall to the ground. The props and motors are very powerful, and we would rather risk breaking the drone than hurting someone. After landing, the pilot must disarm the drone before anyone goes near it.
Last week was the first time most of us have ever touched a drone, let alone fly one. We learned operating the toy drone is very different than the real thing! When flying the small toy drone, the wind greatly affected it. The controls were much less responsive in comparison to the larger drone. The environment where we flew also varied. Before flying the larger one, we tried the toy drone outside, where we weren’t limited by our environment, and therefore, were less concerned about damaging the drone. Once we have access to a larger space, all of our team members will feel more comfortable flying the bigger drone: an experience every team member should have!
Now that we have an idea about what flying is like, we plan to start prototyping ideas in the upcoming weeks. Since our project is fairly experimental, we expect to go through several iterations of similar designs. We plan on making a good majority of our parts, so our materials will primarily come from craft and hardware stores.
By Premal Patel, Urvi Patel, Everett Pitts, Alexa Senio, and Jeffrey Small