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Drones in depth 1: types, classes and choosing the right drone

What a drone system is, multirotors, fixed-wing and VTOL hybrids, helicopters, tethered and lighter-than-air drones, EU class marks and US weight lines, and how to choose the right type for a job. Part 1 of the Drones in depth series.

By Aerospace Garage Desk · Basics · 45 minutes · 24 narrated pages

What you will be able to do

  • ✓ Name the four working elements of a drone system (aircraft, control station, data link and crew) and use the ICAO, EU and FAA terms for them.
  • ✓ Explain why multirotors dominate everyday drone work and estimate how payload, altitude and reserves cut their quoted endurance.
  • ✓ Compare fixed-wing aircraft and the three families of VTOL hybrid on range, efficiency, take-off and landing space and transition risk.
  • ✓ Recognise when a single-rotor helicopter, a tethered drone or a lighter-than-air craft is the better tool.
  • ✓ Read EU class marks C0 to C6 and the FAA's 0.55 lb and 55 lb lines as product labels, and check a configuration's mass against them.
  • ✓ Choose the right drone type for a job with a selection matrix and a flight-count calculation.

Course content

Session 1 · What a drone system is

1.1

  1. More than a flying camera: the system idea · free preview
  2. The aircraft and the control station
  3. The data link and the crew
  4. Worked example: mapping the system behind a supplier's quote
Session 2 · Multirotors: why they dominate and where they struggle

1.2

  1. Why four rotors took over
  2. The limits: endurance, payload, wind and thin air
  3. Quad, hexa, octo and coaxial
  4. Worked example: what the spec sheet's forty minutes really means
Session 3 · Fixed-wing and VTOL hybrids

1.3

  1. Fixed-wing: let the wing do the lifting
  2. VTOL hybrids: tilt-rotor, tail-sitter and lift-plus-cruise
  3. The trade-off: range against take-off and landing
  4. From the industry file: medical deliveries by drone in Rwanda
Session 4 · Single-rotor helicopters, tethered drones and lighter-than-air

1.4

  1. Single-rotor drone helicopters
  2. Tethered drones: endurance by cable
  3. Lighter-than-air: blimps and aerostats
  4. Worked example: a twelve-hour watch over a crane lift
Session 5 · Size and weight classes as a buyer sees them

1.5

  1. Reading the label: class marks are product promises
  2. What each class asks of the kit
  3. United States weight lines: 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds
  4. Worked example: three quotes, three labels
Session 6 · Choosing the type for the job

1.6

  1. A selection matrix
  2. Matching common jobs to types
  3. Beyond the aircraft: what a type commits you to
  4. Worked example: one survey, three aircraft, and what comes next

Who this course is for

  • First-time drone buyers comparing multirotor, fixed-wing and VTOL hybrid types for a job
  • Survey, inspection and farming businesses estimating real endurance and flight counts
  • Procurement staff reading EU class marks and FAA weight lines on product labels

You need: No prior knowledge needed.

Upskill courses are for professional development and are not approved by any aviation authority. Learner Terms

Course content © Aerospace Garage Limited. All rights reserved.