Drone Builder

A journal for real drone builds

What went into it. What changed. How it flew.

Drone Builder documents working aircraft as they actually exist—parts, assembly decisions, configuration, revisions, and lessons from the air.

Open Build 001 One build first. Evidence over prediction.
Earlier bench photograph of the TBS Source One V5 with a blue printed GoPro mount above the analog FPV cameraBuild 001Earlier bench configuration · GoPro and mount have since been upgraded

Build 001 · Freestyle

Source One V5 · 4S

Format
5-inch analog quad
Status
Grounded · video-path diagnosis

A useful record

Compatibility begins with what actually worked.

The journal starts with completed builds. Over time, those records can reveal proven part combinations without requiring a universal catalog on day one.

  1. 01

    Parts

    The exact components used together, without pretending every specification is already known.

  2. 02

    Decisions

    Fit notes, configuration choices, compromises, and the reasoning that made the build work.

  3. 03

    Drone commits

    State changes that preserve repairs, upgrades, tunes, failures, and flight impressions instead of overwriting the past.

Current state

Build 001 is becoming a living record.

The Source One V5 now includes assembly photos, training simulators, a retained 3D-print file, and a grounded VTX diagnostic. Weight, Betaflight configuration, tuning, test evidence, and current bench photos remain open.

Explore the first documented build