So you have been messing around with whoops for a while?
Maybe shown a few friends at work these crazy little drones?
Have they got some now and want to have a race?
You’ve maxed out your home space with gates and need a little more space for a track?
I’m sure like me, you have been told off one too many times by your partner for zipping around the living room while they are watching Love Island. Or perhaps untangling dog hair from the props is getting a little tiresome and you are wondering where else you can fly?
Running a Whoop Group is pretty easy and very rewarding. I know because I started Birmingham Tiny Whoopers back in 2018 having picked up a cheap bind’n’fly (BNF) kit. I was immediately hooked but had absolutely no idea where to start with model RC flight - so I started a group.
I literally had no idea what I was doing, but I just went out and did it. Hopefully by following the points below you can get a little club going and start flying with friends and making new ones!
Name Your Group
The hard bit that should be easy but takes more thought than you’ll admit is choosing a name. It can be as simple as NorfolkFPV or WareFPV. Alternatively be deliberately non-area specific like KillaKwads or DeltaHawks.
Web Presence
You don’t need a website, I started with just a facebook group and a few photos. Make sure to join these groups and promote your new club. Share photos of your set up, talk about starting the group, ask for advice and you will get plenty. FPV is a very friendly hobby.
TINY WHOOP - Micro FPV Pilots of the World
You’ll find the whole FPV community is itching to meet you and join up so you’ll probably get 30 or so members immediately join your page as soon as you are found!
If you want a website, it is useful for presenting information in a more orderly manner or directing people to resources more easily. Websites can be hosted for free by the BMFA (if your club is affiliated) but as a club, you’ll be listed on the BDRA “Find a Club” website.
Location - Location - Location
As in property, so too with whooping, it’s all about location. Whoops do poorly outside, they can do it now we have more powerful brushless motors but really you’ll want somewhere indoors. Also, a lot of 5 inch pilots use whooping to keep their thumbs going through the winter months.
Having tried a load of different places, here are my top tips for finding the best location. Look for…
Venues like Pubs, Clubs, Scout huts, Gyms, Village or Church halls
Parking is a must considering gates and whoop gear you’ll be bringing
Food and Drink optional but useful if your event is after work hours
Access to power and heating (whooping is a winter activity for many)
Approaching a Venue About Whooping
People seem to lose their minds as soon as you say “Drone” even though whoops are tiny. So my advice to ask if you can fly goes something like this:
Have the whoop out in your hand as you meet the venue manager
Tell them about your new group
Call it a “Whoop” or a “Toy” - NOT A DRONE
Explain they weigh as much as a pack of Tictacs and have guarded propellers
You fly them with RC and they are very safe
Check out this tutorial I did with Jesse P about asking to fly
Insurance
There is no legal requirement to have insurance to fly indoors however the venue may request insurance. Usually (if they ask at all) they will want 3rd Party Public Liability insurance. This covers the pilot flying for any damages to people or property.
If you have done your introduction to whooping well with the venue manager, they may not ask for insurance as it’s just a toy.
If you feel better by having insurance you can get it through BMFA or BTW Gold Membership or others. This is personal to the pilot so might be something you mandate all pilots have to fly at your events.
BMFA insurance will cover you as the organiser or volunteer for events, FPVUK does not.
Venue Cost
This depends on how long and where you are meeting. Do your best to negotiate a good rate.
Church halls and Village halls typically go for about £20-40 per hour
Hotel or Conference centre meeting rooms typically go for anywhere from £100-1000 per day.
Some bigger pubs have function rooms upstairs or out the back. These are often advertised as “Free Function Room” which usually means they expect to make their money on food and drink. If you are meeting after work, this is exactly what you’ll end up doing so this might work well for them, especially if it’s a regular booking.
When to Fly?
This is very dependent on you and your group of friends. You are running the show so suit yourselves to start with.
There are clubs that meet all day or all afternoon on weekend days. This can be great to get lots of time flying, but may mean your attendance is a bit up and down as the rest of life is competing for weekend time.
We meet on a mid-week day evening from 6pm till 10pm. This makes it an after work activity and becomes part of peoples routine.
Frequency of Meetups
How often is less important than how consistent you can keep it up. Often people will see an advertised event and won’t be able to attend the first one they see, but they will look out for it next week or month. If you are consistent, they will look out for you, but ad-hoc meetings will be harder for people to plan for.
I’d suggest meeting at least once per month or every fortnight. As interest grows you can meet every week if there is the demand.
Arranging Meetups & Events
Arranging a meetup can be as simple as putting a post on your facebook group and seeing who is available. But more information and planning your events a little in advance will make it more likely people will plan to attend.
I always recommend using Facebook groups to post events and notify everyone about them.
iFPV is the home of FPV racing in the UK and where all the meetups and events are posted. You should check their calendar to see what's going on here:
https://www.ifpv.co.uk/calendar
Its a really useful tool that helps you set limits on tickets, take payments and schedule events around others and into the future. Using iFPV is its own topic that I've covered in depth in its own post here:
British Drone Racing Association
This is the governing body of Drone Racing in the UK. They look after the official rules and sanction competitions in the UK. When you are just getting started don’t worry about all that but for new clubs…
They can offer support and guidance on how to get started, they have kit that can be borrowed and knowledgeable people who can give advice on best practice.
Once you have your club set up, fill in this form to be added to the BDRA website and be added to iFPV as a club,
Photos and Videos
Pictures tell a thousand words so they say, and in the digital age, this is more true than ever. Try to get some photos going out to your social media as soon as possible. Share, tag and like them and have your friends do the same.
I try to make a video of my DVR after each meetup to show what the track was like, who was there and what was going on. Its all a bit of fun but really helps to show the world what you are doing.
