Some of the smallest drones are making the biggest impact on the drone industry.
Micro quadcopters, known commonly as “Tiny Whoops,” continue to increase in popularity. Though they’ve been around for several years, Tiny Whoops remain one of the most commonly-flown types of drones.
These small, safe drones are flown by FPV (first-person view) pilots who wear goggles to see the drone’s perspective. While similar to racing drones seen on television, Tiny Whoops can be flown just about anywhere — which perhaps explains their popularity.
In an episode of “AirVuz Focus,” drone video platform AirVuz.com explored the origins of the Tiny Whoop and looked at how this small aircraft became such a craze in the drone world. The 11-minute mini-documentary included a visit to Loveland, Colo., to meet with Tiny Whoop pioneer Jesse Perkins at his company’s headquarters.
“It’s the fun factor,” Perkins said of the drone’s popularity. “Tiny Whoop, it’s the perfect place to come to FPV, and you never really leave it.”
Perkins is often credited with inventing the Tiny Whoop thanks to a series of videos that showed the uniqueness of the drone, but he credits several of his friends deserve credit for helping create and popularize the drone. It all stemmed from tinkering with a Blade Inductrix drone, which is produced and sold by Illinois-based Horizon Hobby.
In addition to speaking with Perkins, AirVuz talked with the creators of the Inductrix at the Horizon Hobby headquarters. The company gives credit to Perkins on its website for popularizing the aircraft and appreciates what he’s done for the industry.
“Seeing that community come out of nowhere and come hard and fast was really exciting for us to see,” said Derek Sachtleben, brand manager for Blade and Horizon Hobby. “We definitely recognize what Jesse did with that community.”
Pilots who fly this class of drone typically fall into two categories: DIY experts, or those who simply want a ready-to-fly drone out of the box. Those in the first group enjoy tinkering with their Tiny Whoops by modifying it with different motors, propellers, flight controllers and frames. For those wanting something that comes pre-built, Horizon Hobby has since added several FPV versions of the Blade Inductrix.
Tiny Whoops have caught up with drone racing pilots, who often fly the smaller drones after races or during down time. While the drones have similar characteristics, their capabilities — and the areas they’re able to fly — are much different.
“I think just about every (drone racing pilot) flies a Tiny Whoop,” said professional drone racer Shaun Taylor, also known as, NytfuryFPV.
For more information, contact Tyler Mason, Director of Public Relations, at tyler@airvuz.com.
About AirVuz
Since its launch in 2015, AirVuz has become the world’s leading drone video and photography sharing platform and global community for drone pilots and aerial media enthusiasts. Drone enthusiasts worldwide can upload and share videos and photos in unlimited quantity and at no cost. Site users have free access to an ever-growing library of drone media content including easily browsable curated collections grouped into easy-to-navigate groupings such as Cities, Nature, and People. AirVuz users also have access to original AirVuz content, including AirVuz News coverage of the drone industry, profiles of top content creators, product reviews, and how-to information for drone pilots on how to take and edit high quality drone video.
