In order to determine the thrust generated by our motors to lift the drone, an apparatus attached to a load cell was used. This apparatus is pictured below.
A mount according to the manufacturer’s specifications for our motor (iFlight XING 2814 880KV) was developed to be used on the thrust measurement apparatus. The tapped holes used for connecting the motor to the mount were M3x0.5 sized holes as specified by the manufacturer and as indicated by the diagram below.
Upon completion of the motor mount, the thrust measurements could be completed. These were done by use of a flight controller and a 22.2 volt LiPo battery. Thrusts in pounds for each motor are shown in the table below. Note that values colored red were conducted at throttles that began to cause damage to the motor, the quadcopter will not typically operate at such levels.
| 22.2 v battery | Thrust (Pounds) | |||
| Throttle | Motor 1 | Motor 2 | Motor 3 | Motor 4 |
| 33% | 0.81 | 1.63 | 1.54 | 1.49 |
| 50% | 2.82 | 2.82 | 2.73 | 2.73 |
| 67% | 4.14 | 4.1 | 3.92 | 3.92 |
| 75% | 4.8 | 4.8 | 4.1 | Not Tested |
These thrust measurements are suitable for lifting the drone as the total thrust will be equal to about ~16 lb during upward throttle.