The short answer
Every figure in a guide comes from a manufacturer's published document, a standard engineering relation or our own price list, and each guide lists its sources. Worked numbers show the formula and inputs, and anything we assumed is marked as an assumption.
Who publishes them
The guides are published by Vebix Automation LLP in Pune. We are an authorised distributor for Blu-Sub Mechatronics, Holybro and T-Motor, and a supplier of Blue Robotics hardware, so we sell most of the parts our guides discuss. We say so here because it is the first thing a reader should know about any buying guide. When a build needs something we don’t sell, such as a battery, a frame or a transmitter, the parts list names it anyway, under “Also needed, not sold by us”.
Where the figures come from
- Specifications come from the manufacturer’s datasheet, product page or documentation. The same figures appear on our product pages.
- Formulas, such as drag, hover power or pressure at depth, are standard engineering relations. We name the source, for example momentum theory for hover power.
- Rules and competitions, such as the Drone Rules, 2021 or a competition rulebook, are summarised with a link to the official document. A summary is not legal advice, and rulebooks change every year.
- Prices in a parts list are read from our price list when the page is built, so the total on a guide is the total the cart shows.
Every guide ends with a Sources section listing the documents it relies on, linked where they are published online. Two guides draw on our own naval harness and trials instrumentation work, and say so.
How estimates are marked
Where a guide works a number through, it shows the formula, the inputs and the result. An input we assumed, such as a propeller’s efficiency or the average power a vehicle draws, is called an assumption in the text, and the guide says how to measure the real value. We don’t publish a figure, such as a drone’s payload allowance, that depends on conditions we can’t know.
Dates and corrections
Each guide shows when it was published and when it was last revised. We revise a guide when a manufacturer changes a specification, when a rule it summarises changes, or when a reader tells us something is wrong. If you find an error, email sales@vebixautomation.com with the guide and the correction. We fix it and update the revision date.
Why each guide starts with a short answer
Most readers need the conclusion before the detail. Each guide opens with two or three sentences that answer its question, then the points worth remembering, then the reasoning. The short answer is the same text the page gives search engines as its summary.