Why are drones grey?

[QED]

I was wondering if anyone knows why most drones are grey? I mean if you’re going to pick a colour that most blends in with the “normal” colour of our sky here in the UK, then grey is a pretty good choice. But it can’t be to hide it surely, because they’re not exactly stealthy due to the noise. I’d have thought, and I’m only guessing here, a better colour would be bright orange. Easier to see in the sky when flying it some distance away so you could keep VLOS further away, easier to spot on the ground when you crash it.

[LE60LAD]

It is a crazy colour for sure - DJI seems to be exclusively grey for their consumer market drones but there are others that do bright orange / yellow and red - but why DJI thought grey was a good idea is an odd one - the only reason I can think of is for cooling as a darker colour would hold the heat.

[milkmanchris]

The question pops up every couple of years

Drone colours - why?

There may be a good reason for the bland colours. When colours are added to plastic mouldings they often become harder and more brittle. It also increases manufacturing costs. A drone is subject to a lot of stresses in flight, and the body needs to be able to flex constantly, prior to being dumped on the ground at the end of a flight, which can be enormously stressful on the drone and pilot! Being able to absorb some of the energy also helps to protect the sensitive electronics.

[AndyT-V]

Do they make wallets in grey plastic?

[TheJohnster]

This is the only sensible explanation I’ve ever seen of this.

[bryand]

If you see the drone at all, it is as a silhouette against the sky, so black would be the most sensible colour. And at night, we all use green strobes, don’t we?

[BossBob]

At a distance, you wouldn’t know that my orange Autel Nano+ wasn’t my grey Mini 4 Pro or my Mavic Pro that had had an iridescent green skin applied. You just see a silhouette.

[OzoneVibe]

Absolutely this!

[MartG1960]

@bryand

If you see the drone at all, it is as a silhouette against the sky, so black would be the most sensible colour. And at night, we all use green strobes, don’t we?

This is why the RAF changed the colour of its training aircraft from red/white to black

[Airwolf-1]

Hi,

You can make your drone ant colour you want and a range of patterns. Check out Decalgirl, laser cut decal kits for a lot of different drones. Very good quality and easy to apply.

[PingSpike]

@Airwolf-1

You can make your drone any colour you want and a range of patterns.

And if you need some inspiration @QED check out this thread

Have you wrapped your bird?

And no, I’m not talking about putting a blanket over your girlfriend I know @anon71668669 has (but I think he’s yet to post pics here (hint, hint!)) and I think it looks mental Seriously tempted… Anyone else done theirs?

[Andy401C]

yep - and it’s the same for a lot of RC model planes … except perhaps F5J gliders - fluorescent colours are divisive at consumer level and aren’t so easy to sell !!!

[Jabtas]

Maybe a similar reason why most vans are white, it’s the cheapest paint colour to produce
Maybe the cheapest ‘raw’ plastic is grey

[TheLittleRedJen]

And cost! Plus it looks‘cooler’

[Foley]

@AndyT-V

Do they make wallets in grey plastic

My wallet floats down with all the empty pockets

[AndyT-V]

Mine’s suffering stresses and is being flexed constantly just now!
But today, I did strip and fix my avata’s damaged gimbal protector!

[Foley]

@AndyT-V

, I did strip and fix my avata’s damaged gimbal protector!

Well done. Dpd actually found mine lol.

This thread is about grey drones… mine is usually green after a flight… you know like grass colour.