“Introduction
If you are anything like me then you have an ever-growing collection of damaged drone parts. Sometimes those parts accumulate back into a drone, but there are always a few leftovers…
The goal of this project was to use up some extra parts and build something fun. Because we will only use two motors you can easily repurpose an FC with a damaged ESC (In my case a BeeBrainBL Flight Controller that someone accidentally crashed into water one too many times, which I found gloriously ironic).
This is a good time to mention that this whole project is ill-advised, water and electronics don’t mix, don’t try this at home (or do, but don’t blame me when you fry something 😉)
Although I am rather pleased with my final iteration, I would like to take you through the process that got us there, since I think the fails are fun, and certainly great learning opportunities to see what makes an airboat sink or swim. Feel free to skip the first few steps if you just want to build the end result (it starts at step 5), or just enjoy the video summary below!
Components Used
I have specifically designed this project to use the leftovers from dead micro drones, so use what you have. I will list roughly what you need below with my specific components in brackets.
1x Whoop-sized Flight Controller (NewBeeDrone BeeBrainBL)
2x Brushless 1202 motors (8000kv Flow Motors)
2x 2.5” Propellors (Avan Rush 2.5”)
1x Whoop Canopy (Goober Canopy)
1x Whoop Camera (NBD BeeEye Camera)
Silicone Conformal Coating (Electrolube FSC)
Tools Needed
If you have the drone parts you’ll have the tools needed, but here they are:
Screw Drivers/Allen Keys
Soldering Iron
3D Printing
You will find the files for my final design (here), they should be easily printable on any decently calibrated printer, with any material, but more detail on that in its own step!
If you don’t have a 3D printer (yet), you might want to take inspiration from my Mk 2 a few steps down, it would certainly be possible to improve on.”