What Should I Bring When Traveling with a Drone?

Summer is the perfect season for travel. Regardless of your destination, it’s a great time to get out and go somewhere fun. For drone pilots, traveling can be complicated, because it involves packing items you might not normally think to bring with you. To keep you covered, we put together a list of accessories every pilot should bring with them when traveling.

Spare Parts

Sure, it’s kind of a no-brainer, but you’d be surprised at the number of pilots (read: me) who forget to pack obvious drone accessories like spare blades or batteries. And trust me when I say there is nothing worse than traveling hours to a location, only to bust a prop in the first five minutes and have no replacement. To avoid that kind of premature grounding, be sure to keep plenty of spare parts handy, especially the props and backup batteries. Depending on what and where I’m flying, sometimes I’ll even bring additional pieces, like spare motors or arms. My general rule is: If it can fail or fall off, always pack a spare.

Protective Case

A drone is a serious investment, often costing hundreds and even thousands of dollars. To safeguard your purchase, consider picking up a protective case for when you travel. One of the most trusted options out there is the Pelican 1520. Watertight, crushproof, and dustproof, the 1520 is about as reliable a protector as you can hope to find. The one “issue” with the 1520—and, really, most of Pelican’s cases—is that in some environments it might be too ruggedized. If you’re traveling to a location where a backpack would be easier to manage than the portable fallout shelter that is the 1520, consider any of Lowepro’s drone backpacks. They don’t offer quite the same level of protection as Pelican cases, but they’re easy to carry, can hold a ton of accessories, and will safeguard your drone against basic environmental threats.

Camera Accessories

Many pilots travel with the intention of shooting aerial photography and video. If you’re looking to get the most out of your drone’s camera capabilities, be sure to bring the right accessories to bolster its performance. Lens filters, for example, can enhance footage and allow you to shoot in different types of environments, weather, and light conditions. Brands like Freewell and PolarPro offer lots of great lens filters options for various flyers, while drone manufacturers like DJI also make filters specific to their vehicle’s camera.

Safety Measures

A drone carrying case or backpack will protect your drone while traveling, but what about when you get into the air? To defend your drone during flight, be sure to bring plenty of safety accessories. Prop guards will shield your drone from tree branches and protect blades in the event of crash or collision. If you’re flying a DJI drone and worried about midair power failure or possible crash, you might want to consider an emergency parachute from Fruity Chutes. And, if you’re traveling somewhere with rocky or uncertain terrain and you need a safe landing spot, don’t forget to pick up a drone pad. Brands like Hoodman and Zuma make excellent pads that are great for launching or landing.

And Don’t Forget—

Something to keep in mind while you’re traveling within the United Sates is that even though federal aviation laws apply to the entire country, different states and municipalities also have their own sets of regulations pertaining to drone flight. If you are traveling somewhere new, be sure to stay abreast of what those laws are so that you can fly safely and remain compliant with local regulations.

Are you and your drone traveling somewhere fun this summer? What accessories do you like to bring along? Let us know in the Comments section, below!