Photo: Brant Cumming on Vimeo
Illegal racing became that famous they created blockbusters about it. Yes, Fast and Furious is probably one of the biggest sagas, but spontaneous competitions between petrolheads have been going on for decades. This post, however, is not about autos. No, this time we’re traveling all the way to Aussie-land, where the grass is green, and drones fly deep.
What you see here is exactly what it seems, an abandoned warehouse. But when these drone enthusiasts get in there, things take a racing turn. We’re west of Melbourne, where 30 UAVs race each other with proper speed. Sure, it’s not the race itself that is new, but the way they do it. According to ABC News Australia, these people have spent hours custom building their multi-rotor and fitting them with onboard cameras.
Best part? They are first person view drones, which means each “pilot” uses special goggles they have modified to fit best on the speedy drone’s beholder. We’re talking about 60 km/h (37 mph) racing and the best view in the scene. Cool? Yes, very. How cool? According to the source, one of the racers is a real life pilot. That cool.
“I fly full-size aircraft, and I like being up there, but there’s no way you would catch me in my glider flying between two trees. Because if I get it wrong I’m going to end up in a coffin. But with something like this, I can go out there and do it. And if I get it wrong, the worst thing that happens is that I have to rebuild the frame,” said the man.
Apparently, the UAV enthusiast is quite good at racing these bad boys since he has earned a trip to California, where he is being sponsored to compete in the US National Drone Championships. Wait, US National what? Yep, it’s the first drone racing event of the sort, and it will kick off this July.
The question is, will you race?
Best part? They are first person view drones, which means each “pilot” uses special goggles they have modified to fit best on the speedy drone’s beholder. We’re talking about 60 km/h (37 mph) racing and the best view in the scene. Cool? Yes, very. How cool? According to the source, one of the racers is a real life pilot. That cool.
“I fly full-size aircraft, and I like being up there, but there’s no way you would catch me in my glider flying between two trees. Because if I get it wrong I’m going to end up in a coffin. But with something like this, I can go out there and do it. And if I get it wrong, the worst thing that happens is that I have to rebuild the frame,” said the man.
Apparently, the UAV enthusiast is quite good at racing these bad boys since he has earned a trip to California, where he is being sponsored to compete in the US National Drone Championships. Wait, US National what? Yep, it’s the first drone racing event of the sort, and it will kick off this July.
The question is, will you race?
Google News