Have you taken the plunge and invested in your first drone? If you are preparing to fly your drone for the first time, there are some essential accessories you need to have on hand before getting started. Purchasing the right drone accessories is just as essential as selecting the perfect drone. Without the proper accessories, your drone may not function properly and could be prone to damage later on. To help you in your search and give you added peace of mind, we put together an ultimate guide to the drone accessories you absolutely must have.

Flight

If you do not have drone accessories or the wrong accessories, you may not even be able to get your drone off the ground. The accessories required for drones are specific, and incorrect or insufficient ones could impede its performance and longevity.

Function

Along the same lines, you need drone accessories to ensure the proper function of your drone. Things like spare power and a power dock will keep your drone fully charged when you are out for hours at a time.

Having supplies like propellors, tools, an SD card, and camera filters on hand is key to ensure that you do not run into any surprises when using your drone. If something malfunctions and needs replacement, with the proper backup accessories, you will fix the issue immediately and fly your drone once more.

Protection

Another key reason you need drone accessories is to protect your aerial vehicle. When you are transporting the drone, or it is not in use, making sure you have the proper accessories for storage is essential. Using accessories like packing cases to take your drone from one location to the next and having an umbrella to protect it from the sun will help ensure you can operate your drone for years to come.

Power vs. Weight 

Before delving into the drone accessories you need in your life, we will offer you a few tips to improve your drone’s overall performance. The first thing to consider is power vs. weight. If you want your drone to increase in power and enjoy a heightened performance when in flight, you can use multiple, smaller motors to accomplish this end.

This is much better than installing only a few, larger motors in your drone. Drones with the best performance are ones with many, small motors which are light in flight and do not add too much weight. Having more motors that do not take up much space inside the drone will help it handle wind more efficiently.

If you really want to speed up the performance of your drone and reduce its overall weight, consider taking out the gears and gearboxes in your drivetrain. These can cause your drone to drag and respond more slowly when wind or other weather events arise.

Lift-to-Drag Ratio

Another element to identify if you want to improve your drone’s performance is its lift-to-drag ratio. Your drone’s drag can reduce the ultimate function of your drone. An easy way to stabilize your drone to prevent gusts of wind from weakening it is to tweak the arms and motors of your aerial vehicle.

The best way to do this is by narrowing the cross-section portion of your drone as much as you can. This usually requires you to situate the arms, so they appear to be wings rather than blocks. Doing this will allow your drone to lift with ease and stop it from dragging when adverse weather hits.

Wings

Our final tip to improve your drone’s performance is simple. Add wings to it. Wings are a great way to stabilize your drone and make it perform better in the air. Think of it this way.

With airplanes, their tail and wings keep them stable and balanced when in flight. The concept is the same with a drone. If your drone has wings on it, the aerial vehicle will not only fly with more speed but stay stabilized amid challenging weather elements. The wings are also an easy solution to give your drone an added boost forward in the air.

Purpose

So, you might wonder, how do you decide which accessories to buy and which ones to leave off the shopping list? Well, the first thing you need to consider is your purpose for the drone. If you only plan on bringing it out occasionally, having all the extra toys and gadgets to accompany your drone might be unnecessary.

If you will take your drone out often, especially on the road, you want to make sure you have everything necessary to do repairs if something malfunctions and keep it secure in transit. When in doubt, it is better to have more accessories than you need rather than find yourself unprepared with insufficient tools.

Location

Another thing to consider when choosing which drone accessories to buy is the location you will fly your aerial vehicle in. For instance, certain terrain and weather could call for more in-depth gear, while mild climates and easy shooting locations might not require the same accessories.

When considering each of the following drone accessories, we will discuss, identify what your goal for drone usage and the location you will operate it in will be. Then, you can decide what drone accessories are necessary and which ones could wait to be purchased until a later date.

This first selection of the drone accessories you must have is a lanyard. It may seem like a small element, but remember that most drone controls feature a tiny hook or point to attach to a neck strap. Investing in a lanyard will make operating your drone far easier on your neck and shoulders and allow you to focus on getting the best view in any photos or footage you shoot.

If you feel that purchasing a lanyard is unnecessary, you can even make one yourself with a small attachment to keep everything connected and around your neck with ease. A lanyard is the best solution to keep your controller safe and secure, allowing your hands to be available to complete any other tasks that may arise while operating your drone.

The second of the drone accessories you absolutely need is a helipad. You need to have a place to launch and land your drone. There will be times when you will move from place to place while operating your drone, but in general, having a secure platform to use for launching and landing will make your life infinitely easier.

Another great reason to invest in a helipad is that your drone will not be forced to land in damaging weather elements like mud or snow, keeping it clean and free from any excess debris. A helipad is one of the best solutions to ensure your drone is secure and stays clean. The best helipads for drone launching and landing are made from plastic or wood.

When you are operating your drone, you probably have a lot of other gear in the background that gathers dust and dirt on the ground. Simplify your life and invest in a table. Even a folding card table or picnic table will do.

It is the best option to rest any other accessories you bring along while you fly your drone. A table also makes it much easier to lay out any accessories you bring with you, assess what you have, and decide what you will need for your next drone flying session.

It is always a good idea to bring cables along whenever you operate your drone. Most of the controllers and other drone devices only require a few cables, but you want to make sure you have sufficient replacements on hand and any extra wiring needed for flying. Right-angled cables will give you the most freedom of movement and make it easy to connect the controller.

One of the drone accessories that might not come to mind right off the bat is an umbrella. However, this simple addition to your accessory collection will keep both you and your drone dry in the rain. An umbrella also serves to shield you from too much sun that could impede your eyesight when operating the drone.

Most drone enthusiasts like to take their aerial vehicle on the road with them. Whether you transport your drone a long or short distance, it is important to have the right packing cases to keep them safe and secure while in transit.

A standard bag might work as could a backpack or case specially made for drone transportation. This is where examining the purpose and location of your drone usage comes into play. Decide how tough or long the journey might be and choose a packing case that meets your needs accordingly.

What is one of the single most important things to keep your drone functioning at an optimal level? Having spare battery power with you at all times is essential. If you do not want to carry a bunch of excess weight with you, consider using portable power instead.

Whichever option you choose, you need to have batteries with you whenever you fly your drone in case it runs out of power before you are done using it. Most toy class drones run on AA batteries for the controller, so bring along a few of these just in case. Many toy drones receive their power from USB ports, so you can easily recharge the controller or drone in your car too. If you want to have all your bases covered, consider buying a charger solely for your car and an AC converter.

Along the same lines, investing in drone accessories like a battery charging dock will help ensure the longevity of your drone usage. The batteries for your drone do not charge on their own, so you need to include a charging dock that will enable you to charge four batteries all at once. The dock charges one after the other, so when the process has finished, you can detach the batteries from the dock and fly your drone once more.

It is always a good idea to have propellers and propeller guards along with you whenever you fly your drone. Depending on how much you fly your aerial vehicle, the propellers could be prone to damage when entering tight or delicate spaces.

If your drone crashes, the propellers are the first line of defense most likely to crack and break. Investing in quality propellor guards can keep you safe when adjusting a faulty propellor but will also protect your propellors against unwanted damage. Most guards are clip-ons, meaning you can attach or detach them as desired. If your propeller breaks due to a crash or some other incident, having spare ones on hand will make it easy to fix the issue and fly again.

One of the most critical drone accessories to invest in is a gimbal guard. Your drone is virtually worthless without its camera. However, the area in the drone that holds the camera and gimbal system is delicate and prone to breakage if it comes in contact with too harsh a surface. If you have a quality gimbal guard, you will protect your camera in the event of any unwanted crash without impeding your view while flying.

You may think it is impossible to lose your drone, but believe us when we say stranger things have happened. In fact, it is entirely possible to lose your drone, particularly if the battery goes on the fritz when in flight and it goes down in an unknown location. One of the best drone accessories you can invest in is a small GPS to ensure you can find your aerial vehicle with ease if an accident occurs.  

Light on the budget but indispensable when flying your drone, investing in some sturdy double-sided tape will serve you well for years to come. If you had to do a quick patch-up job on your drone during a flying session or needed to attach something to the drone, the double-sided tape would make this task easy and stress-free.

With all the amazing photos and videos you are taking on your drone, SD cards are a drone accessory you will always want to have on hand, just in case. If you shoot a lot of footage every time you fly, the onboard micro SD card will fill up fast.

You never want to find yourself in a situation where you are forced to choose between deleting prior footage or failing to film new. It is best to bring 4 or 5 micro SD cards at a minimum with you every time you fly your drone. Make sure you choose a memory capacity of 32 or 64 GB’s. You also want to check that the micro SD card allows for 4k video to keep up with the speed of any filming you do.

If you want to ensure that your photos and videos look professionally done after flying, you need to make sure you have the right camera filters along for the ride. Not only do they improve the quality of the final product, but they lessen any potential glare, reduce shutter speed as needed, and heighten any contrast you might want in your photos.

When adding a filter set to your collection of drone accessories, look for options that include neutral density filters with different strength levels, a UV filter, and a circular polarizing filter. Camera filters will give you the freedom to see how far your camera and go and how artistic you want to be with the shots you get.

Finally, some drone accessories to consider having on hand, particularly if you are a regular flying enthusiast, are some handy tools for maintenance. You never know when a screw might come loose or a minor repair might need to be made. It is better to be prepared than unpleasantly surprised at an inopportune moment.

Bring along tools like a spudger, multi-bit screwdriver, pliers, adhesive tape, and some crazy glue. Why bother bringing this excess weight along for your next flying session? Allow us to illustrate with an example. If the controller drops and becomes broken because you opted not to use a lanyard, the door covering the batteries will probably crack or break. A little adhesive tape applied to the damaged area could literally fix the situation.

Alternatively, what if your drone has a rough landing and one of the rubber feet on your gear comes off? Well, with some crazy glue and a hint of tape if needed, the drone will be as good as new.

Having the right drone accessories whenever you fly your aerial device is essential to ensure it achieves the performance you desire and is secure against any potential damage. Put together a kit of all the essential accessories you think you might need from the list above, and you will be well-prepared for any unexpected issues that could arise during flight.