Multicopters can be divided into different types of multicopters. If you’re looking for a drone, you probably read something about quadcopters, hexacopters or even octocopters. The names indicate the number of rotor arms and propellers. Quadro stands for four, so a quadcopter drone (or quadrocopter drone) is an aircraft equipped with four rotors. The rotor arms are arranged in a square or rectangle and thus allow a stable and steady ascent and flying of the drone. While the word “hexa” in hexacopter stands for 6 rotors and an octocopter is equipped with 8 rotors. However, the four-rotor design is the most common type among multicopter.
The advantages of a quadcopter
Quadcopters are the most common drones and can be found in any size. From small toys to sophisticated entry-level models to professionally used quadcopters. Thanks to their four rotors, quadcopters are strong enough to carry a smaller payload such as a camera but never too heavy to lose acceleration and maneuverability. The latter qualifies them especially for the use in so-called FPV races where speed and agility is required.
FPV racing with a quadcopter
In recent years, the FPV (First Person View) sport has gained many followers. In the so-called FPV races, the pilots control the agile and fast racing drones through an obstacle course. The special thing about it: They do not see the drone, but only the live image of the attached FPV camera. The live image is transmitted to a headset that the pilot is wearing. Thus, the pilots “sit” directly in the cockpit of their copter. In drone racing sport, especially quadcopters are used because of their extremely fast and agile design.
Quadrocopters and their fields of application
As already mentioned above, quadcopters can be found in various designs on the market. Their application areas are just as diverse as their dimensions. While you will probably find a lot of quadcopter drones in a toy store, they’re not that common in the commercial sector because of one missing safety feature: They only have four rotors. Compared to a model with 6 or 8 rotors, a quadcopter won’t be able to fly anymore in case of a rotor failure.
Source: yuneec
