The Little Quad With A Lot of Performance

Product: BeeDuctrix (Tiny Whoop) Retail price: $129.99 Frame: Blade Inductrix Flight Controller: Stock Inductrix FC Motors: Micro Motor Warehouse CL 0615-14 brushed x4 VTx: NewBeeDrone Stinger Vision Camera with 25 mW VTX - Linear Antenna Version Battery: NewBeeDrone Nitro Nectar 210 mAh 1 cell 3.7v LiPo Camera Mount: Included 3D printed mount Website: NewBeeDrone.com

You've seen the videos of the Tiny Whoop banging through a house at warp speed, hucking over piles of dirty laundry, and blowing the dust off the HVAC pipes as it races through the rafters of a restaurant; this virtually indestructible LOS quad turned FPV phenomenon has, in a very short time, shown us how much fun micro FPV platforms can be (and the entire floor plan's of random stranger's houses).

Without going into too much detail (you can read more about it's history here) the Tiny Whoop is the nickname given to the Blade Inductrix quad when it's stripped of it's body, had it's motors upgraded, and outfitted with a 25mW FPV camera/VTx combo. Blade had a real winner on it's hands when they created the Inductrix; a micro quadcopter with fully-protected fans that allow it to bang off of virtually anything without bringing it down. Team Big Whoop saw the Inductrix's potential with upgraded motors and a larger battery, and thus the Tiny Whoop was born. A few companies have started selling their own versions of this FPV quad with different names and slightly different components, but the overall design remains the same. In this review, I'll build and fly the BeeDuctrix from NewBeeDrones. There's not much to it, so lets get started!

Review Video

The BeeDuctrix Kit

What's Included?

Inductrix frame

Inductrix control board

Inductrix props

Micro Motor Warehouse Upgraded CL 0615-14 (fast) brushed motors

NewBeeDrone Nitro Nectar Upgraded 210 mAh 1 cell 3.7v Lipo battery

NewBeeDrone Stinger Vision Custom Mico FPV Camera with 25 mW VTX - New Flexible Antenna!

Free ABS 3D Printed camera mount

Assembly

The BeeDuctrix kit goes together quickly, with the hardest part being the soldering of the VTx camera power wires to the board... ok, I'll admit it was quick and easy to solder them, but since they're small wires and even smaller solder pads, I'd suggest getting some help if you're not sure of your soldering skills. Just make sure the polarity is correct and you're done.

The Inductrix board mounts quickly to the frame with the provided screws; you'll need a very small Philips head screwdriver to drive them in. Install the 3D-printed camera mount at the same time you secure the flight board. Mounting the VTx and camera to the included mount involves removing the unit from the plastic case by gently pressing on the lens and bending the tabs back on the sides. Once it's out, route the wires through hole on the right side and press it into the mount. It's a snug fit and shouldn't need any adhesive to hold it in, but if you decide to use some, try a dab of hot glue or double-sided tape. Now you can solder the power wires to the board as I explained above.

Next, press the upgraded motors into the frame, routing the motor wires inside towards the connection points on the bottom of the board. Twist the motor wires to reduce their length, and secure the excess wire to the motor housing with heat shrink or rubber o-rings from the original Blade Inductrix kit of you have them. Connect the motor-wire plugs to the plug closest to the corresponding motor.

Transmitter Binding

If you're using a Spektrum transmitter such as the DX9, just power on the BeeDuctrix and then power on the transmitter while holding the bind button on top of the DX9's case. That's it! Don't setup any end points or expo in the transmitter, the Tiny Whoop flies great without any help from the Tx.

Flight Performance

I could probably just say "this thing is amazing" and stop right there. But if there are any of you left out there that are on the fence, here's the flight report. The Tiny Whoop / BeeDuctrix gets about 4.5 minutes of flight time on the included 210mAh LiPo. You just can't squeeze any more out of it without going to a larger battery and in turn adding excess weight to the aircraft. Do yourself a favor and buy at least four of the 210mAh 1s packs and a parallel charging board to quickly top off all of them in 30 minutes. Trust me, 4.5 minutes goes past quickly when flying the Tiny Whoop; it's nice to swap packs with the LVC kicks in and auto lands you in the middle of a house hucking session.

Handling at the sticks is superb; the flight controller's stock settings are right on the money and need no adjustments. It's plenty fast in forward flight, and isn't the slightest bit twitchy, all the while feeling locked-in as you cut corners close and swoop under the dining room table and chairs. Acro mode is available for flips and rolls, but I didn't explore it and felt perfectly content in leveling mode.

The included Stinger Vision Camera with 25 mW VTX performed flawlessly with it's linear antenna that's designed to take repeated abuse from collisions and roll overs. The reception was good in the house and out towards the back of my property, with just a hint of static at distances. In fact, the most static I received was from my 5.8GHz wifi router in the form of horizontal moving bands every few seconds. Unplugging the wifi obviously solved that problem, but it doesn't bother me so I usually leave it plugged in.

Conclusion

I'm officially addicted to flying the BeeDuctrix Tiny Whoop. It's the type of aircraft that makes you say "where have YOU been all my life?!?" Flying one is easy with it's self leveling flight controller, it can be banged off of walls and furniture with no chance of causing any damage (stay away from the expensive china dinnerware), and you don't even have to leave the house! The size of the Tiny Whoop makes any house a massive playground with new areas to find and explore with every flight. A couple of extra flight batteries is a necessity to really enjoy this little FPV quad, as it's 4.5 minute flight times are on the short side, so don't forget to order some and a parallel charging board to top all of them off an once!

Thanks for reading my review of the BeeDuctrix from NewBeeDrone.com. I'm going out flying! Ok, I'm just going to sit at my kitchen table and fly...