Why Opposite Directions?
You may have noticed that our propellers spin in opposing
directions from one to the next. There is a very good reason for
this. That process provides counteracting balance to the air-
craft. If you used propellers that all spun in one direction, the
aircraft would naturally want to spin in that direction, and the
flight controller would have to fight that tendency at all times.
Another way to think about it is by examining a full-size helicop-
ter. The main rotors that spin above the aircraft obviously spin
in only one direction. The tail rotor provides the counterbalance
that keeps the aircraft heading straight. If you removed the air-
craft from the equation, the helicopter would still fly, but it
would spin around the rotor axis the entire time it was airborne.
Aircraft Designs
Figure 2-1 shows the various frame types we’ll look at in the fol-
lowing sections. Notice the direction that each prop rotates
compared to its neighbor.
Figure 2-1. Frame types showing the directional rotation of the
propellers.
16 Make: Getting Started with Drones
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