Drone Racing Life

The Trusted Source for Drone Racing News and Information


  • News
  • Videos
  • Race Schedule
  • DroneLife.com
  • JobforDrones.com

What’s Needed to Make The Sport of Drone Racing Successful”

July 15, 2016 By News

Share on twitter
Twitter
Share on linkedin
Linkedin
Share on email
Email
Share on facebook
Facebook
Share on google
Google
Share on pinterest
Pinterest
Share on reddit
Reddit
Share on tumblr
Tumblr

daveshevettThere’s no question the Drone Racing scene is expanding. Businesses are setting up ‘drone’ areas of their websites, event organizers are making large scale investments in commercial races. Drone racing is a THing. But from it’s modest roots in the Maker / Technology community, are we sure it’s growing in a way that will benefit the community, the pilots, and the businesses growing up around it?

When drone racing started, all craft were built by hand, using parts from other projects and areas of interest. As the sport has gained popularity (and the flipside of the personal drone area, commercial photography), businesses have sprung up specifically to service racers and photographers. Drones are getting more sophisticated, more capable, and perhaps more alarmingly, moving away from their roots. Pilots are showing up at races flying their store-bought craft, and inexperienced photographers are flying commercial drones without the basic skills and awareness necessary to keep themselves, their craft, and bystanders safe.

It’s important for us as race enthusiasts and also industry professionals to not lose the connection with the tech / hobbiest / maker community. Even though the hobbyists aren’t the bread and butter driving large businesses to success, but they are the foundation on which everything else is built. Many of the commercial suppliers do make sure they have equipment and gear for the hobbyists, but there is a feeling that the large manufacturers and the “semi professional” professional racing circuit is leaving the self-built pilots behind. Recent commercial races involved equipment not available to most pilots, as well as custom built drones the pilots had no hand in designing or building.

Perhaps we should step back a bit, and make sure that this headlong rush into making Drone Racing “Just like Nascar” (and we’ve all heard it) may be a bit premature, and may end up cutting off the very thing that makes this sport appealing. Anyone can race, anyone can build their craft and participate, and anyone can be competitive. It’s important to take these things into account as the sport grows. Don’t leave out the little guys, don’t leave the hobbyists, the makers, and the starry eyed kids behind by making drones so expensive only well off adults can ever consider competing.

Don’t lose sight of your roots, community. Encourage kids, encourage schools, encourage new pilots to build and to learn. And manufacturers – keep these folks in mind when designing products. Small, inexpensive, and maintainable should be right up there with fast, expensive and exciting. Even Corvette drivers probably owned a Toyota Tercel at one point in their life!

And race organizers – Be inclusive. When setting up races, allow for junior pilots to participate. It’s not just about the hot shot pilots doing barrel rolls on every turn. It’s about a sport that everyone can and should be able to participate in. Let them come!

Filed Under: DroneRacingLife

Comments

  1. cara daftar m88 says

    August 3, 2016 at 6:14 pm

    Quality articles or reviews is the key to be a focus for the people to visit the web page, that’s what this web
    site is providing.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

DroneRacingLife NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

USDRA-400x115

Our Sponsors



Tweets about drone racing

Editor’s Choice

Drone Racing League Signs More Sports Deals

Drone Racing League Wagers Success on Betting Deal

Ex-NBA Exec to Helm Drone Racing League

Drone Racing League Launches Online Academy

This Racing Drone Keeps Up with Golf Shots



Drone Racing Resources

Drone Nationals

World Drone Racing Championships

US Drone Racing Association

Drone Classes

Put Your Race Event in our Calendar

State-by-State - Where to Get Started in FPV Drone Racing

Your Drone and Drone Racing Glossary

About Us | Contact Us | Advertise With Us | Write for Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Service

The Trusted Source for Drone Racing News and Information

Copyright © 2023 DroneRacingLife.com

This website uses cookies and third party services. By clicking OK, you are agreeing to our privacy policy. Accept

Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT