Designing the propulsion system

The propulsion system or power train is the most important system in the drone. It’s the backbone of the drone due to which the drone takes off in the air safely, performs missions, gives the required endurance, and is able to make sharp maneuvers and withstand high winds during the course of action. As we studied in an earlier chapter that the weight of the drone is key to choosing its propulsion system, we can look ahead for the approximate weight distribution of different components for the approximate total weight of the drone.

The propulsion system of the drone consists mainly of motors, propellers, ESCs, power distribution boards, and a battery. These are the key components whose weights play a key role in deciding on the MTOW of the drone. Let’s have a look at these components and a methodology to decide on the best components based on the working experience of developing a multicopter.

Let’s consider a drone whose total...