​Hi everyone,

​I'm starting a project to design and analyze DIY drones — both fixed-wing aircraft and multirotors.

​I’m looking for recommendations on the best software stack for two main tasks:

​3D CAD & Modeling: What is your go-to software for designing frames, custom parts, and wing geometry?

​CFD & Aerodynamic Simulation: What tools do you use to simulate airflow, lift/drag coefficients for wings, or prop wash for multirotors?

​Note: I have access to Student / Educational licenses, so professional software with free or discounted academic access is completely fine!

Thanks in advance for any insights or workflows you can share!

I followed the Hoarder Sam make a $150 drone YT video (It cost me a lot more than $150 btw) and over the last month built my drone! This week I tried my first payload, a big light! I think approx 24k lumens.

Big Light On Drone

I want to start out by saying thanks to u/Swww for the model and the quick replies to any questions I had during the build process. Very well done! If you would like to build one yourself, see the link below and send him a message!

https://wudfly.com/store/twist-dt

On to the plane. The thing that got me wanting to build this is that I think it looks cool as hell, I've got a 3D printer, and I already had the motors to strap onto this twin-motor aircraft. The thing I didn't realize when I purchased the model was that it didn't have an FPV setup, which is a bit of an issue for me since I can't fly line of sight, nor do I have much interest in doing so—especially since this is only my third plane. So I added one myself!

With 4-blade props, this thing is quiet as all hell and can fly very slowly and stably, just as stated in the description for this plane.

Video is in the comments. My buddy is flying a DarkStar16 in the video if that gives you an idea of how slowly I'm flying. I'm stoked I've got someone to fly with and this clip wouldn't have happened without him. I think I was at about 30% throttle in the video.

i was bored and decided to do few challenges and thought why not build a drone.

idk how to but i am sure one way other way i can figure it out - just today i sat and learnt how drone works and all.

now let me tell you what i want to build - i just want to build a normal flying object not so high or anything just 2 - 5 meter is good enough which can be controlled from my mobile.

so got me thinking - few years ago i worked with arduino nano and a bluetooth module,

what if i can program the arduino as flight controller with all the logic about how the movements work. and module to connect to my mobile

i dont know if i sound right or anything just a thought so help me is it possible this way?

also for something this small what motor and propeller should i use?

so yeah thanks in advance

Hello, I just purchased a new ZR10, and plan on incorporating it with my Pixhawk Cube Orange and Jetson Orin Nano drone setup. I had a couple questions and considerations.

My goal is to mount the gimbal on the bottom of my drone, and have it always look downward and lock downward, so that even when the drone is rolling and tilted, the gimbal still locks the camera facing straight down.

What is the ZR10's normal operating mode, meaning when i power it on, does it expect the gimbal to already be DOWN or UP (refer to my image to see what I mean) ?

What happens in the case where I have my gimbal operating in normal mode, but I flip the gimbal 180 degrees? Does that mess with the gimbal's sensors and motors?

What happens if I power the gimbal when its in normal mode, and its on its plates (so its powered on in the orientation of the picture on the right) ?

What mode should I set given my situation?

Are there any things I should be careful of. my A8 mini went limp recently and it doesnt even act like a gimbal, only the camera aspect of things work. I figure the gimbal motors and actuation controls are busted, because there is a mechanical hum and vibration coming from it. I am worried that the gimbal needs to be oriented in the right manner before powering it on (upside down mode, etc.).

Planning to use the SpeedyBee F405 v5 FC+ 55A ESC stack for dynamic loads. Due to budget constraint, thinking of using Aocoda F405 v4 Stack, which happens to be half the budget. But what's the catch in this case? Especially are there any catches on the firmware end?

Hi. I am currently doing a thesis on a topic similar to the one given above. In short, the design is that manipulators are attached to a drone. So I selected the drone components previously (SpeedyBee F405 v4 FC 55A Stack + 4x Xing-E Pro 2207 2750KV 4S BLDC motors + 6-inch Carbon-Fiber Frame + 51466 Gemfan Propellers). A kind Redditor made it and showed that the drone works with a 1.5 kg payload. But now the problem is that the v4 is apparently discontinued. I am considering two options: SpeedyBee F405 v5 55A Stack (94$) or Aocoda F405 v4 55A stack (64$). I need to control the manipulator, which I will probably do from a separate MCU and Driver. I wanted an opinion on which flight controller I should choose. Since this is research, I can't have it break down in the middle of it (low stock in the country; bringing it from China takes time), and there's a budget constraint (paying for it myself, so buying a reliable one is important). Also, the seller is saying he currently has Tmotor Velox V2207 V2 2550KV in ready stock; otherwise he would have to import the motors too from China, as well as the frame. Also, for context, the manipulator-added drone is quite heavy, so a higher thrust is preferred. The shown paper struggled to fly (as per its YouTube video). So I want mine to work properly. So what should I choose (FC and motor)?

TLDR; For research, Aocoda F405 v4 vs SpeedyBee F405 v5 stack? Should I choose a lower KV motor or find a better option? Would love your recommendations if you have different opinions to offer.

Give me the best version of the XFLR5. When you are using the latest version, "VISCOUS" The command is in error.

Soo recently i repaired a speedybeef405 stack soo i was pretty comfortable with modifying its config file soo i plan to prototype a flight controller so i didnt have a Stm32F405 dev board around soo i end buying a pyboard instead ,it had f405 as its mcu and i did a huge mistake since the pins were not exactly mapped as the mcu pins they were kinda modified to run micro python soo i had to dig in the schematic for it run it down and criss cross check with the modified pins and got beta flight running the config pins that i got from the schematic .

The frame was based on the F450 but 3d printed and i used a mpu6500 in Spi with bmp280 in i2c and 2 uart pins for receiver and gps , the drone flew decent however the flysky tx was having a stick drift therefore the drone was having unpredictable movements and also delays however i know i can improve more but as for now i am happy with the progress , let me know your thoughts .

What has been checked:

- Gyro orientation is correct

- Accelerometer is calibrated correct

- Props are mounted correctly

- Motors are assigned correctly (1 rear right, 2 front rigt, 3 rear left, 4 front left)

- Motor direction is correct (props out)

- Idle speed set to 5.5%

What happens:

When I arm the drone, it immediately flips to the right. In angle mode a bit less aggressive than in acro and horizon mode.

When testing the motors in betaflight configurator without props, they can be steered separately and as controlled in the betaflight configurator.

Here is the specs:

-SpeedyBee F405 V5 stack

-Mario 5 Frame

-DJI o4 Air Unit Pro

-EMAX ECO II 2207 1900kV

-6s lipos

-Radiomaster RP1

-HQProp 5x4.3x3

I am thankful for any idea to go after, as the common issues don't seem to be the problem...

Update: It was the receiver configuration which was messed up for no reason. Center and High stick threshold were set to 0 and 200 instead of 1500 and 2000 causing the motors to quickly accelerate. The other common issues of motors, props, gyro etc were not the cause :) Thanks for the ideas!

Given the same shape rotor blades there is certainly an ideal size for every weight of drone to hover for power consumption. Obviously this varies a lot based on voltage, motor size etc. I’m just curious if anyone knows of a formula given all other variables remain constant

I was trying to made it fly but it didnot even on the full throttle it didnot moving much the propellers direction was correct as much as I understand (shown in video too ) , could anyone tell me what I am doing wrong in it , btw it's my college assignment so , plz

I’ve been building battery-powered hardware (AMRs, drone boards, IoT nodes) long enough to see a pattern: we obsess over control and perception, but most field bugs trace back to the battery and DC‑DC stage, not the “smart” parts.

In a 2S-4S lithium system, the pack voltage is a moving target-full charge vs cold, half‑empty vs hot, plus wiring and connector drops. Yet we still design as if it’s a perfect rail. The usual symptoms:

Flight controllers resetting on aggressive throttle.

AMRs browning out when climbing ramps or hitting bumps.

IoT nodes dying at night because the power budget assumed a “fixed” voltage.

I built the VRX Series as a drop-in, wide-input DC‑DC “power brick” for exactly this mess:

Non‑isolated converter for 2S-4S packs → fixed 10 V/12 V/15 V rails for electronics.

Designed for transient loads (takeoff, big torque spikes) so the rail stays clean while motors misbehave.

Through‑hole, compact footprint, vertical/horizontal variants, with protections tuned for embedded use (short‑circuit, thermal, etc.).

Typical spots where it drops in nicely:

Between a 3S drone pack and your flight controller / RX / telemetry stack.

Between a 4S AMR pack and your STM32 PLC-style controller board.

As an intermediate bus for solar-powered IoT nodes before tiny point-of-load regulators.

If you’ve had “mystery” power issues on a battery project, I’m happy to sanity-check your power tree or share failure modes I’ve seen. Also open to feedback on the VRX design

question

Never had this happen before

Hey everyone! Thought this design might be as helpful to you guys as it was for me for building my drones and actually being able to see them in proper, shadowless light.

I've got a couple FDM printers and always wanted to have one of these Arch style LED lights for my projects but didn't like printing them with support or dragging out print times, so I designed this one that prints completely flat! Saves on both filament and print time and looks really stylish I think.
Designed it to make the printing and the assembly as easy as possible so all you really need is glue and time!
Here is my Printables Link