Whoops: small, ducted, and still inside the rules.

Who defines a whoop

No aviation authority or standards body read for this site defines a "Tiny Whoop" by that name. The one published class is MultiGP's Whoop class (class page, read 30 October 2026; MultiGP's Rule Book was not read):

• a ducted frame of at most 65 mm;
• propellers of at most 31 mm;
• brushed or brushless motors of any size (MultiGP recommends 0702 or 0802);
• a 1S battery of any capacity, at most 4.35 V;
• no weight limit;
• a race gate of 30 by 30 inches (900 square inches).

MultiGP lists Whooptopia, on 16 January 2027 in Phoenix, as its next main event; it is MultiGP's own event. The AMA's magazine, Model Aviation, describes the Tiny Whoop in an undated feature as a homemade FPV quadcopter that became hugely popular with racers. Its exact origin rests on a single source and is unconfirmed; see equipment history.

Whoops and the FAI

The FAI's racing class, F9U, is defined by limits, not by drone type (Volume F9, 2025 edition, effective 1 May 2025; a 2026 edition exists and was not read, its effective date reported as 1 January 2026 and as 1 June 2026). The FAI's 2025 World Cup page, read on a 2025 copy of the FAI site because fai.org itself could not be opened, records that an event in Lithuania, listed for January 2025, was removed because it planned Tiny Whoop models that do not meet the F9U rules.

On ducts and guards the two bodies have moved in different ways. The FAI's 2019 edition forbade any propeller protection device on an F9U model; the 2025 edition's change log records that the ban was removed in the changes effective 1 January 2020 and states there is no safety reason to prohibit them. MultiGP's Whoop class requires a ducted frame. Neither rule is presented here as preventing injury, and the injury research is on propeller injuries research.

A small drone is still inside the law

Each jurisdiction draws its own weight lines, and several rules apply whatever the weight. Each row is one jurisdiction's rule.

The law pages carry the detail: United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada, Australia.

Indoors, under association rules

Association rules bind members and are not law. The AMA's Document 551 (EC approved 04/05/2014; whether it is still current was not confirmed) limits AMA FPV ultra-micro aircraft to 150 g and micro aircraft to 300 g all-up weight, batteries included, and lets AMA FPV pilots fly them indoors without a spotter under the conditions in its article 3. It also says both the control and video systems must use FCC-approved frequencies, with FCC licensing where either uses amateur bands. In the UK, the BMFA's guide to its Article 16 authorisation (updated 21 December 2021) says the authorisation does not apply indoors.

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