Tiny Whoop Race?

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SecretBuilder
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Tiny Whoop Race?

Unread post by SecretBuilder » Sat Jun 26, 2021 8:16 pm

Hello All,

So, I've been having this idea bouncing around in my head for the past little while and I thought I might as well just put it out there.

Because I've been trying to find different ways to enjoy the stuff that I have, I've been thinking whether or not it would be possible to organize some sort of tiny whoop event/race.

Although I thoroughly enjoy flying my Mobula 6 around in my basement by myself, I think it would be a lot of fun if we could get a few people together and have some sort of event where we can all fly together. Kind of like I enjoy flying fixed wing on my own but I much prefer flying with other people at Shannon park on the weekend.

I guess the first thing is to find out whether or not anyone else owns a tiny whoop or other small, ducted FPV drone. (65-85mm)

Even if there are enough people, I don't really know how to set up an event like this, but if you have been watching my YouTube channel for a while you might know that the one thing that I do have is... Gates! I have 4 regular gates (18''x18'' inner size), 3 "flags" (24'' high), 2 hanging gates (18''x18'' inner size) and one "box gate" (x4 gates in a box shape: 18''x18'' inner size). I can also make some more gates if required, there really are quite easy to make, and I still have lots of cardboard.

I do know a few different things about setting up an event, like video channel spacing (Raceband/Fatshark/Boscam) and setting up a course, but I really have no idea how to find a space to hold an event, making sure we're following COVID rules and things like that.

Anyway, I'm not sure if any one is interested or actually owns a tiny whoop, but I thought I would put the idea out there in case anyone is interested or has something to add. I also don't [plan on doing this right now, but right now I just want to see if there is any interest and then I may be able to start planning. (with some help of course) :)
Aiden | Pilot Name: AlbatrossFPV | MAAC#: 97485 | HEFA#: ?
Radio: Radiomaster TX16S | Goggles: FatShark Attitude V6
YouTube: AlbatrossFPV

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bdg
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Re: Tiny Whoop Race?

Unread post by bdg » Mon Jun 28, 2021 6:04 pm

It sounds cool. I have a small Inductrix (just the yellow 1S) and also the Inductrix BL which is larger (2S).... but alas the batteries seem to be the Achilles heel and I can only get at best 2 mins or so of flight time. I've also tried larger batteries but even the small resistance of the wiring is enough to cause problems too. Other than that, I haven't seen a lot of (really no!) Whoops at SP.

Maybe it would be interesting to set something up as a demonstration to see what it is all about.... and that might generate some more interest? We'd need to follow the MAAC rules with a spotter (not sure how easy it would be to see!) and the like and certainly would need to avoid flying behind the flight line. We certainly want to support our members and flying...!

There has been discussions about similar events in the past but with quads that are much heavier and which are reputed to travel upwards of 100km/hr... now that is a different thing to consider....!

Brian

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SecretBuilder
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Re: Tiny Whoop Race?

Unread post by SecretBuilder » Wed Jun 30, 2021 6:22 pm

Yes, the flight time on any micro whoop or other FPV drone is going to be pretty horrible compared to fixed wing. With the batteries that I have been using constantly for the past 3 months, I used to get around 2-2.5 minutes of flight time. When I switched the brushless ESC firmware to JESC 48khz PWM instead of BL_HELI I got around 3 minutes of flight time.
One way around the flight time is to buy a pile of batteries, (I have 4 that I use often) but you still have to charge them all, so it really only works if you have a way to charge multiple batteries at the same time.

As far as a demonstration goes, I think the next time I go to Shannon park, (hopefully this weekend if the weather is good) I will bring my Mobula 6 and maybe a few gates so that I can set up a demonstration. I'm not sure how to setup a flying zone in front of the flight line because it I mostly used for landing and takeoffs and I don't really want to interrupt normal flight operations, but I'm sure we can figure something out. (I don't really want to fly it over the bushes and have to go hunting for it because it would be quite hard to find)

As far as seeing it goes, as long as you keep it relatively close it is relatively easy to see, and besides the control link from the onboard SPI receiver starts to drop out after a hundred feet or so anyway. (In my experience, the control link drops out before the video if you fly behind any sort of obstacles)
Aiden | Pilot Name: AlbatrossFPV | MAAC#: 97485 | HEFA#: ?
Radio: Radiomaster TX16S | Goggles: FatShark Attitude V6
YouTube: AlbatrossFPV

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