Drones are becoming more and more popular in today’s day and age. From filming a wedding to capturing footage of an important event, drones have become the go-to for many people who want to get aerial shots with their smartphone or DSLR camera. But what happens when you need your drone to fly longer? The weight of the drone is usually too heavy for it to stay up in the air without crashing down sooner than expected. In this blog post, we will show you how lightening your load can make your drone lighter and allow it to fly much longer!
Ways To Make Your Drone Lighter
The following will make your drone lighter and extend it’s flight time:
- Reduce the weight of your camera and gimbal
- Reduce the weight of your drone’s body frame
- Reduce the weight of any accessories
- Reduce the weight of your drone
- Reduce battery usage
- Avoid using a power-hungry action camera
Let’s discuss in more detail:
Reduce the Weight of Your Camera and Gimbal
Reduce the weight of your camera and gimbal. You can reduce these two without sacrificing quality by buying a lighter, smaller DSLR or mirrorless camera like Sony’s A6000 that is designed for more video use cases.
A lighter, smaller camera will reduce the weight of your drone and allow it to fly much longer without crashing due to its own weight.
If you’re using a DSLR or mirrorless camera, see if the weight reduction will be too much for your gimbal and other components. If it is, then you may need to buy different equipment that can handle this new lighter load.
Reduce the Weight of Your Drone’s Body Frame
You can also reduce the weight of your drone by replacing its frame. Some frames are made from carbon fiber, which is light and durable for a low price. Just like when you were buying the lighter camera to reduce the weight on your DSLR or mirrorless camera, you may also need new gimbal components if you buy different gear that can support this type of frame.
If you want your drone to fly for a long time, then reducing the weight of its body frame can make it lighter and allow it to fly much longer without crashing due to its own weight.
A drone’s frame can also be made out of carbon fiber, which is light and durable for a low cost. If you want your drone to fly longer than usual without crashing due to its own weight, then replacing the body frame with one that only weighs half as much should do the trick!
Reduce the Weight of Any Accessories
Finally, there are a few accessories that you might not need to use if they will just make your drone heavier.
For one thing, it’s possible that you have too many batteries on hand and don’t need so many. You can also buy extended battery packs for the ones that you’re already using instead of buying new ones because they are cheaper.
Reduce the Weight of Your Drone
Reduce the weight of your drone. There are a few ways to do this such as by using less expensive propellers or not carrying anything extra.
If you have an AEE smart flight battery, use it instead of buying more heavy-duty batteries; one lightweight spool can be enough for most needs and they cost much cheaper than other spools.
Reduce Battery Usage
Reduce battery usage for shorter flights in order to make your flight time last longer. For example, if you are flying with an iPhone or GoPro, turn off the screen to extend battery life.
Reduce the weight of your drone by reducing battery usage to save money. If you don’t need a long flight, turn off the screen on your smartphone or GoPro and reduce battery usage for shorter flights in order to make your flight time last longer.
Avoid Using a Power-Hungry Action Camera
Avoid using a power-hungry action camera like GoPro or Sony’s A6000 for your aerial shots and use an iPhone instead. Action cameras are extremely heavy compared to smartphones because of their larger batteries that need more space in order to be contained inside these expensive devices.
Lightening your load in these ways will allow your drone to fly much longer and provide you with aerial shots for longer periods.
