# Why are drones so ugly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [February 28, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071 "2017-02-28T22:49:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/1 "2017-02-28T22:49:12Z")
I just dont see why they cant be more “space age” looking 😃 If they looked more like a flying saucer we could report more alien aircraft! 😉 If they looked like missiles, we might have to take cover!! Build more bomb shelters! :dubious: Have you ever seen one in your neighborhood? I have not, only on TV ☹ 😕 ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 11:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/2 "2017-02-28T23:22:20Z")
Because power to weight ratios are more important when building something useful, and right now the margins are pretty tight. There are plenty of toys that look like flying saucers, but if you’re trying to carry a camera and enough batteries to be useful you design for utility. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 28, 2017, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/3 "2017-02-28T23:59:48Z")
[Not the drone you wanted](https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=mq9+reaper+photos&fr=yfp-t-s&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.suasnews.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2Fpredator-b-drone-mq-9-reaper.jpg#id=2&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.suasnews.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2Fpredator-b-drone-mq-9-reaper.jpg&action=click) If you see one, duck. Preferably in a bunker 😃 ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/4 "2017-03-01T00:01:13Z")
> [@Telemark](#): > > Because power to weight ratios are more important when building something useful, and right now the margins are pretty tight. There are plenty of toys that look like flying saucers, but if you’re trying to carry a camera and enough batteries to be useful you design for utility. Yep. Form follows function. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/5 "2017-03-01T01:07:47Z")
I just want to say, great username/OP combination! 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/6 "2017-03-01T01:41:44Z")
I dunno, this one is [fluffy and cute](http://awesomejelly.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/cat-drone.jpg). Or completely frightening, at least to small mammals. One of those things. ---
**Author:** ![PatriotGrrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9dc877/32.png) [@PatriotGrrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatriotGrrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/7 "2017-03-01T04:33:35Z")
Some are more attractive than others, I rather like this one: > **[Code Black Drone with HD Camera Bundle | StackSocial](https://stacksocial.com/sales/limited-edition-code-black-hd-camera-drone-w-crash-pack?)** > > Limited-Edition 'Code Black' Drone w/ Crash Pack: The Dark Knight of the Sky + Replacement Gear for Crash Recovery ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/8 "2017-03-01T04:51:48Z")
> [@WildBlueYonder](#): > > Have you ever seen one in your neighborhood? I have not, only on TV ☹ 😕 Are you talking about the RC Quadcopters that hobbyists use for photography and racing? Or the UAV military craft? I’ve seen the former only once in the wild, when a Real Estate photographer was taking pics of a house, and I also know a friend of mine has one but I’ve not seen it yet. The latter, I imagine, is a rare sight. ---
**Author:** ![Mavic\_Chen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e56c9b/32.png) [@Mavic\_Chen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mavic_Chen)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/9 "2017-03-01T13:26:35Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > [Not the drone you wanted](https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=mq9+reaper+photos&fr=yfp-t-s&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.suasnews.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2Fpredator-b-drone-mq-9-reaper.jpg#id=2&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.suasnews.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2Fpredator-b-drone-mq-9-reaper.jpg&action=click) If you see one, duck. Preferably in a bunker 😃 They look pretty weird too with the propeller at the back and the split tail… ---
**Author:** ![WildBlueYonder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ce7236/32.png) [@WildBlueYonder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildBlueYonder)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/10 "2017-03-01T17:54:02Z")
> [@enipla](#): > > [Not the drone you wanted](https://images.search.yahoo.com/search/images?p=mq9+reaper+photos&fr=yfp-t-s&imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.suasnews.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2Fpredator-b-drone-mq-9-reaper.jpg#id=2&iurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.suasnews.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2010%2F10%2Fpredator-b-drone-mq-9-reaper.jpg&action=click) If you see one, duck. Preferably in a bunker 😃 yeah that’s true…I’ve seen those > [@cochrane](#): > > I just want to say, great username/OP combination! 🙂 well thanks! What prompted the question was seeing the ugly one on Big Bang ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2017, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/11 "2017-03-01T19:20:06Z")
> [@WildBlueYonder](#): > > What prompted the question was seeing the ugly one on Big Bang What would you consider a pretty drone? And what do you expect to do with this drone? Right now they’re utilitarian tools, and frankly I think most look pretty cool as they are tuned to deliver the maximum utility and form following function is appealing in itself. Would you rather have an ineffective but pretty shell on your drone or one that can carry a larger payload? ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ccd318/32.png) [@Paul\_in\_Qatar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_in_Qatar)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/12 "2017-03-02T14:28:32Z")
I have been wanting to tell people about this for a while. Thank you for the excuse. The most distinctive thing about drones may be their hindquarters. Have you noticed how many of them have the vertical stabilizers set in a V, and upside down? There is a reason for this. The propeller is in the rear. The stabilizers are set that way to prevent the prop from hitting the ground on take-off. (The nose goes up, the tail goes down and the prop tends to hit the ground.) I noticed a year or two ago the South Koreans displayed an evil North Korean drone. It had the distinctive back end, but the propeller was in the front. The just built it to look like one of the big boys. ---
**Author:** ![jtur88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e9c0ed/32.png) [@jtur88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jtur88)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/13 "2017-03-02T14:49:56Z")
I call it “The Bluenose Principle”. The Bluenose was a Nova Scotia schooner that,when it slid off the drydock, was called the most beautiful ship ever built. When it got out into the waves, guess what? It turned out to be the fastest ship ever built, too. What a coincidence! The eye, over millennia, has learned to recognize things that work best, and learned to call that “beauty”. An arrow, a spinning top, a kite, a running cheetah – all beautiful, and called that simply because our eye detects that they function with the least form resistance. ---
**Author:** ![Robot\_Arm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/robot_arm/32/18280_2.png) [@Robot\_Arm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Robot_Arm)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/14 "2017-03-02T18:30:23Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I call it “The Bluenose Principle”. The Bluenose was a Nova Scotia schooner that,when it slid off the drydock, was called the most beautiful ship ever built. When it got out into the waves, guess what? It turned out to be the fastest ship ever built, too. What a coincidence! > > The eye, over millennia, has learned to recognize things that work best, and learned to call that “beauty”. An arrow, a spinning top, a kite, a running cheetah – all beautiful, and called that simply because our eye detects that they function with the least form resistance. I’ve heard something similar about airplanes. I originally heard it said about the 1930s, when the highest performing planes were streamlined like Art Deco sculptures. The implication was that aeronautical engineering back then was more of an art than a science. Doing a search, Wikipedia credits “if it looks good, it will fly good” to Bill Lear (of Lear Jet fame), but it doesn’t say when he said it. Oddly, I think the 1930s designs still look right, but science has taken over and new planes don’t look like that anymore. Interesting that you cite the _Bluenose_ for this. I’ve been on the _Bluenose II_ in Nova Scotia. ---
**Author:** ![Kelevra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/97f17d/32.png) [@Kelevra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kelevra)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/15 "2017-03-02T18:58:01Z")
I think [this one](https://www.amazon.com/Air-Hogs-Remote-Control-Millennium/dp/B00U7EXH72) is bad ass! It made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs… ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2017, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-drones-so-ugly/781071/16 "2017-03-02T19:05:09Z")
> [@jtur88](#): > > I call it “The Bluenose Principle”. The Bluenose was a Nova Scotia schooner that,when it slid off the drydock, was called the most beautiful ship ever built. When it got out into the waves, guess what? It turned out to be the fastest ship ever built, too. What a coincidence! > > The eye, over millennia, has learned to recognize things that work best, and learned to call that “beauty”. An arrow, a spinning top, a kite, a running cheetah – all beautiful, and called that simply because our eye detects that they function with the least form resistance. There’s a similar concept in writing software: If the code looks good, it will be easier to modify and fix bugs in. It won’t necessarily be the most machine-efficient code (truly tight code tends to look dense and busy, which isn’t conducive to reading) but it will be good code in the ways that actually _count_. Of course, you have to know what good code looks like before you can tell the pretty from the ugly, and each language has its own take on this concept.