First calculations: Size, weight and lift

Once we the idea of what we would carry on top of the quad, we had to figure out how big it should be. So we made a paper version. We had to make sure the Arduino would fit in the middle, and that propellers would turn freely.

Here are some questions we had to answer:

• Are those propellers big enough to generate the lift we need?
• How much will all this weight?
• How much flight time can we accomplish with this size and configuration?

The answer was on this website. A Multi-copter calculator.

It allows you to enter parameters such as: weight, motor model, propeller size, battery type and size and it will tell how how much flight time you will get and if your motors will catch fire or not :-)