Drone Size For commercial or military use

Also referred to as unmanned aerial vehicle. A drone is an aircraft that does not carry passengers, crew or pilot and its autonomously controlled in different ways. The drone was originally developed for the military and the aviation industry but nowadays it has found its way in the commercial market due to its productivity, safety and increase in demand. Drones Size is determined by their weight or their altitude range.

Furthermore, the degrees of autonomy of a drone ranges from being controlled by a human to an advanced method of sensor system and LIDAR detectors. There are two types of drones;

Fixed wing drone– the wings are located at the body of the aircraft to give it a lifting effect when it flies.

Rotary drone– the motors have propellers in order for the lifting effect to occur and the motors will spin the rotary wing.

Based on their weight, drones can be divided into five categories

  • Nano: weighing up to 250 g
  • Micro air vehicles (MAV): weighing 250 g – 2 kg
  • Miniature UAV or small (SUAV): weighing 2-25 kg
  • Medium: weighing (25-150 kg)
  • Large: weighing over 150 kg

Drones used for military and research purposes.

The table below indicates the drone size chart of a quadcopter frame 

Quadcopter Drone Size chart

Frame size in millimeters and inchesProp size in inches and millimetersMotor sizeMotor KV Lipo battery
120 millimeter or smaller 4.72 inches3 inches 76.2 millimeters1104 – 11054000KV+80-800mAh 1s/2s
150 – 160 millimeters 5.91 – 6.29 inches3-4 inches 76.2 – 101.6 millimeters1306 – 14073000KV+600-900mAh 2s/3s
180 millimeters 7.09 inches4 inches 101.6 millimeters1806 – 22042600KV+1000-1300mAh 3s/4s
210 millimeters 8.26 inches5 inches 127 millimeters2204 – 22062300KV-2700KV1000-1300mAh 3s/4s
250 millimeters 9.84 inches6 inches 152.4 millimeters2204 – 22082000KV-2300KV1300-1800mAh 3s/4s
330 – 350 millimeters 12.99 – 13.78 inches7-8 inches 177.8 – 203.2 millimeters2208 – 22121500KV-1600KV2200-3200mAh 3s/4s
450 millimeters 17.71 inches9-10 inches 228.6 – 254 millimeters2212 – 2216800KV-1000KV3300mAh 4s

Drone technology in the recent years has advanced and prompted global demand in the product. They are used for multiple applications like in the military, agriculture, real estate, videography surveillance just to name a few. Uniquely, increase in demand for drones in the military has been a major factor for the growth in the global drone market segment. Military drones have been used for more than a decade in several countries due to its growing application in a number of sectors.

In fact, the market size is expected to increase during the forecast period in North America cause of military expenditure being allocated to research and development for adaptation of drones and combat drones.

The Asia Pacific has a rapid growing drone market because of the government schemes and regulations as well as increase in use of drones in the region for example China and India government use it for research purposes. 

Typical Drone Size Image with dimensions
Typical Drone Size Image

Commercial Drone Market

Globally the commercial drone market size was estimated at USD 13.44 billion in 2020 and after detailed analysis its expansion is expected at compound annual growth rate of 57.5% for the next seven years to come. 

Business development due to use of drones has seen significant growth over the past few years. Drone manufacturers and software developers are engaged constantly in creating, testing and revamping for various markets.

The logistics and delivery segment is expected to show a soaring increase in the next seven years. They are meant to transform the delivery and logistic companies due to the broadcasting of e-commerce platforms.

Commercial Drone Size Chart

 Types of commercial drones
Main FeaturesMAVIC 2 PROPHANTOM 4 PROMAVIC AIRMAVIC PRO PLATINUMSPARK
Weight in grams and pounds907 grams 1.99 pounds137 grams 0.30 pounds430 grams 0.95 pounds73 grams 0.16 pounds300 grams 0.66 pounds
Max Flight time in minutes and seconds30 minutes 1800 seconds30 minutes 1800 seconds16 minutes 960 seconds30 minutes 1800 seconds16 minutes 960 seconds
Max Speed in kph and mps72 kph 20 mps72 kph 20 mps68.4 kph 19 mps65 kph 18.05 mps50 kph 13.88 mps
Max Video Resolution4k4k4k4k1080p
Max Photo Resolution20MP20MP12MP12MP12MP
Max Transmission Distance in kilometers and meters8 kilometers 8000 meters7 kilometers 7000 meters4 kilometers 4000 meters7 kilometers 7000 meters2 kilometers 2000 meters
Max Service ceiling Above Sea Level in kilometers and meters6 kilometers 6000 meters6 kilometers 6000 meters5 kilometers 5000 meters5 kilometers 5000 meters4 kilometers 4000 meters
Max Flight Distance (No Wind) in kilometers and meters18 kilometers 18000 meters14 kilometers 14000 meters10 kilometers 10000 meters13 kilometers 13000 meters9 kilometers 9000 meters
Flight Battery Capacity3850mAh5870mAh2375mAh3830mAh1480mAh

 How to choose the right drone size for you 

Drones are one of the most thrilling technologies to be invented since they allow one to survey their surrounding from a higher ground and take eye-catching aerial images. When buying drones you should know there consists a lot of models and makes, therefore, you can one that will cater for your needs.

In addition they are put in two broad categories small fliers large outdoor fliers. The smaller drones don’t have controllers but uses an app on the phone compared to the larger ones which have controllers.

Moreover, there is a demand for cost-effective drones since the more expensive drones are equipped with more advanced features, can fly for longer hours and have better video quality compared to the smaller less expensive drones.

The features that are available when you want to purchase a drone are brushless motors, integrated GPS, headless mode, camera, follow me mode, obstacle avoidance, and range.

So in order for one to operate a drone since its abet hard to control the device deep learning and patience is required and in the long run, you can be able to control it. In addition, regulatory frameworks were put in place for safety and security not only for the public but also for drone operators who might have ill intentions.

Drone types and sizes explained

Ultimate Drone size Guide by QuickAssTutorials

CONCLUSION

Drone companies are now developing drones for package deliveries. In the United States the Federal Aviation Administration under the Federal Authorities are licensing drone pilots with a list of requirements for qualification. 

With the development of autonomous drones in the last five years surging. The new regulations set up for the commercial drone industry in the United States especially for package delivery has given a list of companies permission to use drones, for example, Wing Aviation LLC, DHL International GmbH, United Parcel Service, and many others due to their faster delivery no matter the location.

When the Covid 19 pandemic started it became had for interaction between people since the disease was contagious and deadly. Therefore medical supplies and emergency supplies to the most affected areas with the Covid 19 outbreak could not be handled by human intervention.

This led to aerial delivery drones having the dominant share of being used frequently. The Covid 19 impact analysis has had a huge influence in the drone package delivery market since emergency supplies could be transported by autonomous drones.

In conclusion, the drone package delivery platform has had a major share of recognition over the past years due to the Covid 19 pandemic. Therefore in the years, we can see an expansion of the commercial drone industry to other countries all over the world due to the improvement of technological devices.

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Picture in this post by Dose Media on Unsplash

A list of non related size charts