![]() National Drone Racing Championships in 20, and brought pilots from more than 40 countries to its World Drone Racing Championships in Hawaii in October, all of which were live-streamed by ESPN. The Drone Sports Association sponsored its own U.S. In addition to DRL, there are at least three other large U.S.-based drone leagues: The MultiGP-Drone Racing League claims more than 10,000 registered pilots and more than 700 chapters worldwide. (There appear to be plenty of investors for electronic sports, a euphemism for competitive video gaming, which in just a few years went from nerdy niche to global phenomenon.) They’re all trying to turn this hobby into a real sport, with sponsorship deals, codified rules, and broadcast partners. The rapid growth has spawned a gaggle of competing leagues and formats. According to, estimates of the number of drones sold in 2015 range upward of one million, so the number of hobbyists could be much, much higher. A beginner drone racing setup goes for about $500, and an awesome one for less than $1,000. ![]() Those advances brought the price of drones (or unmanned aerial vehicles) down to an affordable point. In barely two years, it’s expanded from a few guys bombing line-of-sight loops in local parks to at least 100,000 FPV hobbyists worldwide (there are no central databases for the new sport, so the numbers are fuzzy).ĭRL holds races in venues blending hip hop and sci-fi vibes, like this abandoned New York power plant.ĭrone racing grew out of a convergence of several improving technologies: tracking equipment from smartphones, better virtual reality systems, the miniaturization of cameras and batteries. Drone racing, barely a couple years old, is “blowing up,” in the tech dude idiom of the sport. The Drone Racing League-a startup backed by $12 million in venture capital from notables like Miami Dolphins owner Stephen Ross and Matt Bellamy, the lead singer of the British alt rock band Muse-are betting that they can translate this FPV thrill ride into a video experience that millions will pay to watch. Drone Nationals just the week before, and helped represent the United States at the World Drone Racing Championship in Hawaii. “We had to fly slower in some parts in order to have enough battery for the technical parts.” Better known in the sport as A_Nub, Thayer is one of the top drone racers in the world. “This course required new things,” Thayer says after the race. This story is a selection from the January issue of Air & Space magazine Buy I take the goggles off, feeling a bit shaken but energized, as if I’ve just finished a roller coaster ride. My drone, or rather the one I was following, has crashed. Then the drone shoots up, loops around two walkways, drops down through the first difficult obstacle, and then it’s spinning, then upside down-suddenly the screen in my goggles goes black. I’m “in” one of the drones using my own pair of FPV goggles, streaking at nearly 80 mph over the nets that protect the spectators, through the first check gate-a neon circle-then banking a 90-degree left over a reflecting pool, and down the straightaway that runs the 300-foot length of the building. The drones zip over my head in the spectator stands sounding like Formula One cars made hysterical by helium.īut I barely notice. Thayer and his competition are wearing goggles that receive a video feed from cameras mounted on their drones, giving them a first-person view, or FPV. Zachry Thayer expected that the competition for this drone race would be intense, so he just tries to be in the moment, to focus on the routine: video and power checks, safety clearance, and then the countdown-and they’re off! Six 800-gram quadcopters spring into the course.
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