There is no way that you can sugar coat your drone that it is loud. The constant buzzing of the drone is enough to give someone a headache. You can fly the drone up in the air so that your ears get some relief from the constant buzzing. Have you ever thought that there has to be a way to make the drone quieter?
Well, some ways will help you to reduce the noise of the drone. You can equip your drone with specially designed noise-reduction propellers, larger and slow spinning propellers, and noise-reducing propeller shrouds that can make the drone quieter.
How to Make Your Drone Quieter?
Before discussing the ways to reduce drone noise, you should learn that what are the reasons behind the buzzing sound of the drone and how it disturbs the drone user using at lower altitudes.
Why Are Drones Noisy?
Drones are extremely loud because of the multiple propellers that have to spin extremely fast. The propellers cutting through the air cause the buzzing sound. For example, if you stick your hand out the window while driving down the road, you will notice the buzzing sound when the wind whips around the hand.
The speed of rotation of the propeller affects the level of noise and pitch. The faster the rotation of the propellers, the higher the pitch. If you are comparing a micro drone vs. the helicopter, then one is having a high-pitched whine as compared to the other.
The noise level of drones also depends on the size of the propellers. The larger propellers move more air on one spin; thus, they create less noise. On the other hand, the given size of the drone and propellers, there is a limited and maximum propeller size. The propellers not only provide the drone with enough thrust but also, have to be efficient.
The size and more specifically the weight of your drone define the noise level. It is because the propellers have to spin fast and lift the drone off the ground. The heavier the drone, the faster the propellers will spin. Hence, the heavy-weight drone will be louder.
Are All Drones Noisy?
To the fact, all drones are noisy. As compared to the cars, some of them can be less noisy but they cannot be on zero levels of noise, as electric cars are. There are some of the drones in the market that are quieter than the others. Companies from NASA to consumer drone DJI are working on the quieter drones. The technology is evolving and so drones are. By the time, there will be quieter or silent drones.
The lighter weight of the drone and new propeller designs will make sure that the upcoming drones are less noisy than previous ones.
Things to Consider for Making Your Drone Quieter
The shape of propellers can be tweaked and angles can be set to reduce the acoustic signature. This reduces 60% of the buzzing noise. DJI uses a raked wingtip that reduces the noise. The aftermarket companies are producing the propellers in a design to make your drone quieter. They are hitting the market every year.
Noise Reducing Propeller Shrouds
Dotterel, one of the drone noise reduction company is working on revolutionary technology. They are trying to make the drones quieter. The nanofiber propeller shrouds are designed to reduce the noise of the drone. It directs the sound upwards from the grounds. The propeller shrouds come with lightweight acoustic material, enhanced safety, and a quiet rotor system.
They not only reduce the noise by up to 10dB but also protects the drone propellers. There are chances that drone manufacturing companies will be using this technology. Dotterel might be giving licenses to the companies so that they can produce quieter drones.
Large and Slow Spinning Propellers
The larger the propellers, the slower would be the spinning. When you use large propellers with your drone, they spin at a slow speed and give a lesser noise. The advantage of using large propellers is that they reduce the noise because they can create an equal amount of thrust required to take off the drone from the ground. Hence, your drone becomes a quitter.
For this purpose, you have to research propellers that fit best on your drone. You have to recalibrate the drone to the larger propellers. If you use large propellers, there are chances that your drone might lose efficiency and battery life.
Reducing the Noise from Main Rotors
Instead of conventional rotors, you can use electric motors that make your drone quieter. Before you change the conventional rotor to an electric motor, make sure that you have worked on the blade designs too. Otherwise, all the effort for noise reduction will not satisfy you.
If still the blades are not working fine for you, you can find a simple motor glider and install it around them. It will also help you to reduce the noise of the drone.
Sand Down the Surface
When you buy a drone from a reputable manufacturer, you will see the logos of the manufacturer embossed or raised on the surface of the propeller. It is recommended by the manufacturers that if you find your drone noisy, you can remove and clean up all the molding marks. For this, you can use sandpaper to reduce the noise at a significant level. You can use 800 or 600 sandpaper to remove the moldings, correct the propeller, and reduce the noise without damaging the propeller.
Aftermarket Stealth Propellers
Aftermarket stealth propellers reduce the revolutions per minute and they have a smooth surface. The outcome of using the aftermarket stealth propellers for your drone is that they reduce the revolutions per minute by 20% and the noise reduction is by 3.5dB. Also, you will be getting 14% more hovering time, using the super-efficient and smooth blades.
DIY Propellers
If you are not using the aftermarket propellers to reduce the noise, and you are planning to make propellers at home. Then make sure that you are using the right and recommended material, otherwise, there are fair chances that you will lose your drone during the flight. If the material is not specific to frequency absorption and if it is not made of acoustic material, then it might be cautious for you to lose your drone.
The Quietest Drone
The quietest drone in the market is DJI MAVIC AIR 2. The compact design and 60% noise reduction make it the best consumer drone. The Mavic Pro Platinum was released by DJI with a compact, foldable design and a quieter drone than Mavic Air 2. The size and efficient design of the propellers makes it the quietest drone in the market.
Drone Noise – All from The Rotors and Propellers
You hope that your drone becomes quieter by using the aftermarket nanofiber propellers but there are other things too that help to reduce the buzzing noise. The drone industry is growing at a massive rate and they are working to make them quieter.
If you are not willing to make any changes to your drone because it might affect the efficiency and hovering hours, then you can buy earplugs to reduce the noise of your drone.