AR Drone 2.0 – Exploded View/Servicing

I saw this pic today and thought it was cool. It’s an exploded view of all the components that make up the Parrot AR Drone 2.0

You can see the main cross frame which holds the main board and navigation boards which do all the smart flying and each motor assembly and the prop/gear assemblies. Each of these parts can be purchased and replaced in the event of damage and whilst they aren’t cheap they are certainly cheaper than some more advanced helicopters with the average part costing around $20-25 AUD for a set of props or gears and shafts.

The foam body does protect the electronics which are suspended by soft foam and counter weighted by the battery tray/battery above which cuts all vibration out which is good for the ultrasonic sensors up front which keep the drone at a constant height. The foam really does a good job of keeping it all in place and protected but the boards do get damaged in the event of a high speed/high G crash. Nothing is bullet proof if you nose dive it at speed!

I’ve already given my drone an overhaul after it’s first 5 hours of initial flight by replacing each of the gears, prop shafts and the props themselves. I still have the original bushings in place and these aren’t too worn yet but I have bearings on the way which I’ll install as soon as they arrive. My first 5 hours of flight were fairly brutal on my drone with all my initial learning and I estimate at least over 30 crashes the worst damage I did was bend one prop shaft putting it out of balance which I straightened myself until my new parts arrived in the mail the other day. I have a complete set on hand just in case!

The AR Drone is pretty robust but breakages do occure with probably the worst case scenario is a broken central cross but these are only around $35 AUD so having one spare is a good idea. Most of the time you’ll break a prop or a gear or bend a shaft but if your using a RC mod and get your drone up at height you run the risk of the drone cutting out in an emergency or running into something and crashing from height so you’re likely to break all of the above and some drone users have done just that!

Worst case you do some serious damage to your drone you have the option of purchasing a new one at around $350 AUD and using the old one as spares and this is a bit of an expensive hobby it’s still a lot of fun!