FPV Drone

Project Overview

During my senior year in PLTW Aerospace Engineering, my team was tasked with building and flying a first-person-view (FPV) drone. Unlike a traditional design project, the drone's overall design was predetermined; our team was provided with the necessary components, tools, and instructions, but we were responsible for learning how to assemble, wire, configure, and operate it ourselves. When we encountered unfamiliar processes, we were expected to research solutions independently through online resources and instructional videos.

The project combined mechanical assembly, electrical wiring, soldering, flight-control software, and hands-on piloting. What began as an unfamiliar collection of parts ultimately became a fully functional FPV drone that I assembled, wired, configured, and flew.

Challenges We Faced

1. Learning New Skills Quickly: I entered the project with no prior soldering experience, so I had to teach myself how to safely and effectively solder the drone's electrical connections.

2. Team Availability: With teammates frequently absent or disinterested, I ended up taking responsibility for nearly every major role in the project, from construction and electrical work to piloting.

3. Electrical Assembly: Connecting the thick battery leads to the circuit board proved especially difficult and required me to troubleshoot several failed soldering attempts before determining the correct combination of solder, flux, iron tip size, and heat.

4. Flight Configuration: Initial testing revealed that our propeller orientations were incorrect, causing the drone to press itself into the ground rather than generate stable lift. Correcting the motor and propeller configuration required both research and troubleshooting.

5. Balancing Flight and Automation: I ultimately had to choose between learning to manually fly the drone and developing its GPS-based autonomous landing system, since time constraints made completing both unrealistic.

Early Design & Build Process

Our team began by assembling the drone's main frame, which consisted of a square center section with four diagonal arms extending from its corners. While the mechanical construction was relatively intuitive, the electrical portion presented a much steeper learning curve.

At the beginning of the build, my teammates started mounting the motors while I independently researched how to solder. Once I learned the basics, we temporarily removed the motors so I could solder their connections directly to the circuit board before reattaching them. The battery leads proved to be the most difficult connections to make. After several unsuccessful attempts, I discovered that the thicker wire required a broader soldering iron tip to transfer heat effectively, along with significantly more solder and flux. Once I understood this, the remainder of the electrical assembly became much more straightforward.

I completed the wiring for the GPS, FPV camera, antenna, and control receiver, while the power distribution board and flight controller connected through integrated connectors. I then secured the exposed wiring with red tape to prevent it from interfering with the propellers.

Improvements & Final Configuration

Once the physical construction was complete, I moved into configuration and testing using Betaflight. Our first tests immediately revealed a problem: the drone was attempting to push itself into the ground instead of lifting off. After researching proper quadcopter configurations, I discovered that the propellers needed to rotate in alternating directions and that diagonally opposite motors needed to share the same rotation direction. I also learned that the corresponding diagonal propellers needed to have matching blade orientations.

After correcting the propeller configuration, I calibrated the drone's sensitivity to match the simulator provided by the class. This allowed the controls I practiced with virtually to translate more naturally to the physical drone.

The FPV headset connected easily to the onboard camera, completing the first-person flight system. At that point, I had to decide whether to focus on learning how to fly the drone or developing its GPS-based autonomous landing capability. Since autonomous landing was only worth bonus points while successful flight directly contributed to my grade, (and because piloting a first person drone is awesome) I chose to focus on piloting.

My Roles
Because of teammate absences and uneven participation, I ultimately worked across nearly every major role in the project:

Mechanical Assembly: I helped construct the frame, mount the motors, install the propellers, and complete the physical assembly of the drone.

Electrical & Soldering: Starting with no previous experience, I taught myself how to solder and completed nearly all of the drone's wiring, including the motors, battery, GPS, FPV camera, antenna, and control receiver.

Software & Calibration: I connected the drone through Betaflight, diagnosed configuration errors, corrected the motor and propeller setup, and calibrated the controls to match the flight simulator.

Flight Training: I spent additional time before school, during lunch periods, and after school practicing on the simulator so that I could eventually fly the drone myself. 

Testing & Troubleshooting: I investigated unexpected behavior during testing, researched possible causes, and implemented corrections until the drone was able to fly properly.