America’s First Permanent Tiny Whoop Indoor Drone Racing Course is launching this August by Vermont Drone at Generator!
Tiny Whoop Drone Racing is a lot like a real flying Mario in a Super Mario Galaxy game. Tiny Whoops are safe, small first-person-view (FPV) quadcopters aircraft equipped with a tiny camera/video transmitter and are flown by their pilots using FPV goggles which are similar to VR headsets. Tiny Whoops are typically under 100mm across and weigh a maximum of 35 grams. They’re super safe and light, weighing only as much as three large marshmallows!
Many Tiny Whoops are just modified toy quadcopters. The pilots add an FPV camera/video transmitter, upgrade the motors, and switch to a larger mAh, more powerful, 1S or 2S battery. Some Tiny Whoop pilots make their own scratch-built frames using a 3D printer or by CNCing carbon fiber or foam sheets. Its just as much fun flying with a modified toy or building your own because the competition is really more of a test of one’s flying experience and skills, rather than the makeup of the quadcopter they use. The fastest drone rarely wins the race!
Most drone race courses are setup and taken down for one afternoon, one day, or a single weekend event that occurs once a year. Our course is different as it is permanently available at Generator. The Tiny Whoop Race Course at Generator is available to all Generator Members whenever they wish to use it (with a few exceptions like during events or classes) and is open to the public during Northern New England Drone User Group meetups at Generator at least monthly. NNEDUG is also planning to schedule additional training/practice meetups open to the public every other week and currently offers Learn How to Drone Workshops for Families/Children, and another for Adults, on the third Sunday of each month.
Northern New England Drone User Group and Multirotor Vermont members successfully tested phase 1 of the Tiny Whoop Drone Racing Course on May 1, 2018 and performed additional “soft-launch” races at their June and July meetups. Watch these video produced by Multirotor Vermont:
Northern New England Drone User Group, Multirotor Vermont, and Generator members are preparing to compete in the next Tiny Whoop Drone Race at Generator at 6:30pm on August 7, 2018. These free Meetups/Races are held the first Tuesday of each month at 6:30pm at Generator, 40 Sears Lane, Burlington, Vermont 05401. The course is reconfigured for each race to make it more fun and challenging. Anyone interested in getting into drones or drone racing are welcome to come and participate. Spectators are welcome too!
We will also have several events at Generator during 2018 Art Hop. From 6-7pm on Friday, Sept 7, 2019. Vermont Drone and NNEDUG members will have a Drone Demo, “Using Drones for Art” and “How to get into drones”. Multirotor Vermont members will demo the course and allow spectators to virtually “ride along.” We’ll also answer drone and drone photography/cinematography questions afterwards. On Saturday, Sept 8 from 1-4pm there will be a races by Multirotor Vermont, sponsored by Vermont Drone and Generator. The public and spectators are welcome at these FREE events.
Vermont Drone is primarily a Photography/Cinematography/Data Collection Service Company but also offers everything needed to build Tiny Whoops in its online drone shop and their physical shop within Generator. The shop inside Generator is open Mondays 3-6pm and also before (and during) each race. Customers are also welcome to schedule other times by appointment.
The Generator Maker Space is a combination of artist studio, classroom, and business incubator at the intersection of art, science, and technology. The space features a Rapid Prototyping Lab with 3D printers and a laser cutter, an Electronics Lab with soldering and diagnostic equipment, full Wood and Metal/Machining Shops, and more. Generator is open daily from 10am-9pm.
