Addie's Projects
Bonus projectBuild starts DecemberDesign A, Rev A

FLYING MOSQUITO

A TARGET FOR THE MS-2000

Press the big button. A tiny drone mosquito takes off from its pad, flies around its net by itself, and radios back every time the MS-2000 laser tags its glowing window.

The designCan it fly?Build guideHow drones flySee it in 3D
3D model of the Flying Mosquito drone
About 87 g
Takeoff weight with the battery, guard, and body
147 mm
Across, guard included. Smaller than a hand spread wide
30 seconds
One run: take off, fly the pattern, land on the pad
About $250
Parts from six stores, plus local supplies
The engineering goal
Build a tiny mosquito that flies by itself and knows when it has been hit.
Then find out: does the MS-2000 hit a free flyer as often as the mosquito on the fishing line?
Why it is a bonus
The MS-2000 is Addie's science fair project and always comes first. The flyer is built in December and January on days with no MS-2000 test, and only goes to the fair if drones are allowed.

Where we are

Green is done, lime is now.

  1. Step 1 路 Sep 18, 2026Done
    Brainstorm and pick a design
    Four designs compared. Design A, the Free Flyer, picked. Design C, the Boom Flyer, is the backup.
  2. Step 2 路 Sep 18, 2026Done
    First 3D design (Rev A)
    Prop guard with legs, mosquito body with the hit window, launch pad, control box, and a fit-check print. 7 print plates, about 5 hours 45 minutes.
  3. Step 3 路 Before orderingNow
    Lock the design
    Dad approves the requirements and the budget (about $250). After this, every change gets a change order.
  4. Step 4 路 Until Feb 3, 2027Now
    MS-2000 comes first
    The science fair project always wins. Flyer work happens on days with no MS-2000 test.
  5. Step 5 路 By Nov 13
    Order the parts
    Six stores. The drone ships from India, so it goes first and gets 3 weeks.
  6. Step 6 路 Dec 1 to Dec 6
    Check in, hover, print
    Check every part, measure with calipers, fly the plain drone with the phone app, print the fit check first.
  7. Step 7 路 Dec 7 to Dec 13
    Experiment: Can it fly?
    Push test on a kitchen scale, then 18 hover flights with 0 to 35 g of nickels. Our math predicts 120 g of push and 5.5 minutes with everything on.
  8. Step 8 路 Dec 14 to Jan 15
    Teach it to fly by itself
    Hold still over the flight mat, fly a pattern from a Python script, then the control box, hit sensor, and radio. Only on days with no MS-2000 experiment.
  9. Step 9 路 Jan 16 to Jan 24
    MS-2000 vs the Flying Mosquito
    Teach the turret camera the flyer, then count hits. Teach the stuffed mosquito back afterward.
  10. Step 10 路 Jan 25 to Feb 1
    Freeze
    No new changes. The MS-2000 board and demo come first. The flyer only goes to the fair if Miss Taggart says drones are OK.

Rules to remember

Props stay in the net
The drone only flies inside the net with its guard on. Hands out while the props spin.
A grown-up handles the batteries
LiPo batteries charge on a hard surface with a grown-up nearby, and get unplugged after every flight.
Never look into the laser
Same rule as the MS-2000. The arm switch stays off until go time.
The MS-2000 comes first
No flyer work on an MS-2000 test day, and nothing that changes the turret before the fair.

Project pages

Design

How it works, the requirements, the four designs, the weight budget, the radio plan, and the risks.

Can it fly?

Our own math on push, the maker鈥檚 safety margin and battery time, a prediction, and the experiment that tests it.

Build guide

18 steps from a box of parts to a flying target: safety, wiring maps, the code, and fixing it.

Build

Everything to buy, the 7 print plates, the 3D models, the build plan week by week, and the programs.

Learn the science

How a drone flies: lift, thrust, spinning props, balance, the floor camera, batteries, radio, and real mosquitoes.

Changes and lessons

The project history, the lessons from Dusty and the MS-2000, and how changes get made after the design is locked.

See it in 3D

The whole drone in color. Tap a part to learn what it does, or pull it apart with Explode.

The MS-2000

The laser turret this mosquito is built to dodge. Addie鈥檚 science fair project.