Drone Racing Gains Popularity

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Well, as the BBC reporter in the posh British accent says in the accompanying video, it was only a matter of time. The first U.S. Aerial Gran Prix was held in L.A. a couple of months ago and now the loosely organized “sport” of drone racing (UAS racing just doesn’t have the ring) is exploding. And, as is customary when any new method of conveyance is devised, devotees of the pastime are tweaking stock machines and coming up with high performance UAS that improve on the basic performance, flight characteristics and endurance of the little aircraft in lockstep with race-inspired innovations that have shaped virtually every other thing that moves. (The record for a racing lawn mower is 116 mph.) Given the legal ambiguity of UAS activity in the U.S., the sport is hardly mainstream but it is starting to organize itself into various forms, including one that puts the operator in the virtual driver’s seat.

In some races operators fly their UAS in line of sight through various obstacles around a prescribed course. But FPV (first person view) racing is the most popular style and it’s been called the “Star Wars” form of the sport. Operators wear goggles that project the streaming video from the onboard camera of the aircraft and the UAS fight for position and attempt risky passes that are worthy of NASCAR (apologies to NASCAR fans). One wrinkle of the FPV form of racing is setting up the course in a wooded area, adding trees, rocks and the occasional bit of startled wildlife as obstacles.

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