Assemble it
With parts in hand (and printed parts done), the assembly guide walks you from a bare frame to a fully wired drone, one step at a time.
The assembly guide
DRONA generates a step-by-step guide for your specific build. Each step lists the tools you need and what to do. Mark steps complete as you go, and a progress bar tracks how far you are, so you can stop and resume without losing your place.
A typical order looks like:
- Build the frame - arms, standoffs, bottom plate.
- Mount the stack - flight controller + ESC, on soft-mounts.
- Solder power - XT60 pigtail to the ESC, with the capacitor where needed.
- Mount and solder the motors - mind the motor order and rotation.
- Install the camera and VTX - route the antenna so it isn’t pinched.
- Install the receiver and GPS.
- Tidy the wiring - heat shrink, zip ties, nothing near the props.
Keep the wiring diagram open while you solder, it shows exactly which pad goes where, color-coded. You can export it from the Build tab.
Soldering tips
- Tin both surfaces first, then join, a shiny, slightly domed joint is good; a dull, blobby one is a cold joint and a future cut-out.
- Don’t bridge pads. Check for stray strands between ESC pads before power.
- Double-check polarity on the battery lead before the first power-up.
Before you ever plug in a battery with props on: confirm there are no solder bridges, the battery lead polarity is correct, and nothing metallic is loose near the board. A first power-up is always props off.
Next: Flash Betaflight & wire to bring it to life.