NLSometimes no standard platform fits your production. The camera is too heavy for a regular drone. The conditions are too extreme. The flight profile is too specific. In those cases, Drone Department designs and builds a custom drone that does exactly what you need. We have been building our own drones since 2006 and have built dozens of custom platforms for film, TV, and industrial applications in that time.
In this article, we discuss when a custom drone makes sense, what types of customization we offer, how our development process looks, and what EU regulations say about flying with self-built drones.
When do you need a custom drone?
Most drone productions can be performed perfectly well with standard platforms such as the DJI Inspire 3 or our FPV racing drones. But there are situations where these systems fall short. Here are the most common scenarios where a bespoke solution is the only option.
Scenario 1: Heavy or unusual payloads
Your director wants to hang a RED Komodo, ARRI Alexa Mini, or Sony Venice from a drone. These cameras weigh 2 to 6 kg, excluding lens and gimbal. No consumer platform can carry that. We build heavy-lift frames that can lift payloads up to 15 kg and keep them stable.
Scenario 2: Extreme conditions
A shoot on a glacier at -20°C. A recording over open water with wind force 7. A flight through an industrial environment with metal dust and sparks. For all these situations, we build drones with reinforced frames, weatherproofing, and adapted battery configurations.
Scenario 3: Specific flight profile
Sometimes a production requires a drone that can fly both very slowly and very fast. Or a platform that can take off vertically in a shaft and then transition horizontally into a long tracking shot. These types of hybrid flight profiles require custom motorization and flight controller settings.
| Challenge | Standard Solution | Custom Drone Department Solution |
|---|---|---|
| ARRI Alexa Mini payload | Not possible | Heavy-lift hexacopter with custom gimbal |
| Flying at -20°C | Limited (battery loss) | Heated battery compartments |
| Wind force 7+ | Not safe | Reinforced frame, larger motors |
| Unique camera angle | Limited by standard gimbal | Custom gimbal/mount to specification |
| Longer flight time needed | Max 28 min (Inspire 3) | Larger batteries, more efficient frame |
Our development process: from concept to flight-ready
Building a custom drone is not a matter of ordering parts and screwing them together. It is an engineering process that we approach methodically to deliver a reliable, safe, and certified platform.
The four phases of custom drone development
- Intake and specification: we discuss your exact requirements. Which camera? What weight? What flight conditions? What flight time? Based on this, we draw up a technical specification.
- Design and sourcing: we select the optimal frame, motors, ESCs, propellers, and flight controller. For heavy-lift projects, we do extensive calculations for thrust-to-weight ratio and centering.
- Building and testing: the drone is built in our workshop and undergoes a series of test flights. We test stability, failsafe behavior, battery performance, and camera stabilization.
- Certification and deployment: the platform is included in our safety management system under our EU Specific license. Then it is ready for deployment on your set.
Applications: examples of custom drone projects
Over the years, we have built dozens of bespoke drones for a variety of applications. Below are some examples that give an idea of the possibilities.
Film and TV productions
- Heavy-lift cinema drone: a hexacopter carrying a RED Komodo with Sigma Cine lens (total 4.2 kg) for a feature film production. Flight time: 12 minutes
- Weather-proof FPV: a rain- and wind-resistant FPV drone for a documentary on the North Sea, with GoPro in a waterproof housing
- Ultra-slow cinema FPV: a large FPV frame with oversized propellers that can fly very slowly and stably for smooth tracking shots in interiors
Industrial and scientific applications
- Inspection drone: a compact platform with thermal camera for inspecting wind turbines and solar panels
- Research drone: a drone with custom sensor package for a university that measures air quality above urban areas
- Show drone: platforms for drone swarms at events and product launches
Check our projects for more examples from our portfolio.
EU regulations for self-built drones
Flying with a self-built drone brings extra regulations compared to standard commercially available platforms. EASA regulations distinguish between drones with CE marking (standard commercial products) and privately built UAS (self-built).
What does this mean in practice?
Custom drones almost always fall under the Specific category of EASA regulations. This means you need an Operational Authorization to fly them. At Drone Department, we have already arranged this via our EU Specific company license (NLDoyhg6yl91zgtj).
Every custom platform we build is:
- Included in our Operations Manual with technical specifications and limitations
- Subjected to an extensive risk analysis (SORA methodology)
- Equipped with a failsafe system (return-to-home or controlled landing on signal loss)
- Fully insured for commercial operations in the EU
- Tested and approved before being deployed on a customer site for the first time
In Short
When standard drones are not sufficient, we at Drone Department build the solution ourselves. With 18 years of experience in designing, building, and flying custom drones, we combine technical expertise with the creativity needed to turn your production challenge into a flying platform that does exactly what you need.
Do you have a production for which standard equipment falls short? Check our complete service offering, meet our team or contact us directly to discuss the possibilities.