Entry #3 - What is a Drone? The Drone as an Abstract Model

A drone is a flying machine. It takes energy and converts that energy into movement and heat and maybe other forms of energy like light and radio waves.
And like all machines a drone has components.

I've grouped the components into assemblies or groups because  when you build a drone, most components work with other components to perform some function that is required for the drone.
Very few components can deliver an entire function by themselves.

And unless you dis-assemble the drone some groups will only ever be used with that drone, but other parts can be used wit a number of drones (not simultaneously) without disassembling the drones.

So here is my grouping component/assembly grouping for now. It may change over time.
This is in effect a simple abstract model of a drone.

Frame 

Something to provide a physical structure to hold all the other components in the correct places in space, relative to each other.
The frame also provides some protection from the elements, humans and other animals handling the drone and the inevitable crashes.

Power train

A power source and a way to deliver power and convert it to torque and RPMs, and thereby into thrust. Drone use thrust for all motion including lift.
In my abstract model for a drone I am going to treat the power source as a separate, distinct assembly from the power train.

Flight Control System aka FC

A system to regulate the attitude, altitude, heading, speed and acceleration of the drone by controlling the power delivered via the power train.
The flight controller is brains of the operation.

Sensors

The flight controller uses sensors to understand it's attitude and optionally it's heading speed, acceleration and location.
Other sensors may be used to sense parameters such as temperature or RPM of components on the drone.

Flight Control Radio

A system to send commands to the flight control system so that the pilot can communicate his desires and intentions to the  Flight Control System

FPV First Person View/Video aka FPV

A system to allow you to take video from a perspective on the drone and transmit that video back to the pilot so he can control the drone as if he were a tiny passenger.
FPV kit includes a camera, a video transmitter to send the signal to the pilot, a receiver  and a screen, visor or goggles to take the video signal from the receiver and turn it into light the pilot can see.

Power Source

Battery, charger, power supply and associated accoutrements.

Parts List

So using that model of  drone we can start to build a list of required components.
To build an average drone I think you need something like the following.
The exact list of parts will vary because there are variations such as 4 in 1 ESCs or PDBs combined with OSDs and the like but generally your gonna need all of these components somewhere.

Frame

• 1 x Frame kit

Power Train

• 1 x Power Distribution Board aka PDB
• 1 x Flight Controller
• 4 X Electronic Speed Controllers  aka ESCs
• 4 x Motors

Flight Control

• 1 x flight control board

Flight Radio

• 1 x Radio Transmitter for flight control
• 1 x Radio Receiver for flight control

Power

• 1 x Battery - but really you're going to want more than one since you only get a few minutes of flight from a battery
• 1 x Charger
• 1 X power supply*

 * Most chargers for LiPo batteries appear to be testing and charge controlling devices - they don't actually supply power , they just regulate it's flow. To me this seems weird, but it has an upside and theat upside is that you can power them at home with a  power brick, but you can also take them to the field and use something like a big battery (e.g. gel cell) or your car charging port/cigarette lighter to recharge your flight battery.