The Flying Computer

This is the text version of the interactive 3D documentary. 한국어

The Flying Computer

How does a drone lift off, stay balanced, fly forward, turn and survive a gust? 14 short steps, each calculated from a real simulated flight, with an interactive 3D view.

Open the 3D documentary

Chapter 1 · Lifting off

1. Weight

   Earth pulls the 800 g drone down

2. Propellers

   Push air down, and the air pushes the propeller up

3. Hovering

   More push than weight: up. Equal push: it floats

Chapter 2 · Not spinning

1. What if they all spun the same way?

   Turning a propeller twists the body the other way

2. Opposite corners, opposite ways

   Two corners spin clockwise, two spin counterclockwise, with mirror-image blades

3. Twist adds up to zero

   The clockwise pair and the counterclockwise pair cancel out

Chapter 3 · Flying forward

1. Starting to lean

   Back pair harder, front pair softer, so the drone tips forward

2. Stopping the lean

   Left alone it would flip, so a quick push the other way stops it

3. Forward

   The tilted push splits into a part that holds it up and a part that pushes it forward

Chapter 4 · Turning around

1. Turning on the spot

   Clockwise pair harder, so the balance breaks and the body turns left

2. Four numbers

   Every move comes from changing four motor speeds

Chapter 5 · The flying computer

1. If the computer turns off

   A drone cannot stay level on its own

2. A gust of wind

   Sensors notice the tilt, and the low side’s motors speed up to fix it

3. The flying computer

   450 drones, each holding its spot with its own computer

All numbers are calculated for a typical small drone (about 800 g, propellers 13 cm across), 1,000 times a second. “What if” steps are calculations a real drone never flies.