

Getting started with drones - PStamatiou
http://paulstamatiou.com/getting-started-with-drones-quadcopters/

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kenrikm
We have been building them from scratch ;-) Much more fun that way and you
learn more. 3DRobotics/Pixhawk is where it's at for the hacker minded with
good support. If you really want to get in the nity gritty get into MultiWii
but expect to be tuning a lot and you give up good GPS support.

30 - 60min Flight times are doable depending on your setup but at that point
your payload is almost all battery. Keep in mind weight begets weight.

The Phantom is a toy.

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thaumaturgy
My local hackers group has also built a 3DR/Pixhawk-based model. Just got an
upgraded chassis for it. We're working on an Arduino kit to collect micro-
climate data and do some modeling of that. (But also FPV -- everyone wants
FPV.)

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alanpca
I would like to hear some experience in building drones with higher (~30 min)
flight times.

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thelonelygod
For higher than 30 minutes you really want to look into planes instead of
quadcopters. Running 4/6/8 heavy duty motors forces battery life to be an
issue.

A plane has significantly less than that which lets them go for longer.

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commandar
A fixed wing can also generally run its single motor at lower power most of
the time, which contributes as well.

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larrydag
Perhaps incorporate solar panels to the wings?

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commandar
People have looked at it, but I think the general consensus is that there's
not enough surface area on the airframe to generate enough electricity to make
a significant impact.

Depending on the exact motor+prop setup, peak draw of between 200-400W is
pretty common for fixed wings in the 1.5-2M wingspan range, and cruise is
often around half of that.

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bliti
Nitpick: Getting started with _flying_ drones would be a better title.

If you are starting with flying drones (quadcopters, airplanes) a visit to an
R/C forum will be helpful. There you can learn about many things related to
maintaining and operating such machine. Stuff that is usually missing from
blog posts because they are old tips & tricks.

