We’ve finally arrived in October, meaning there is less than a month to go before the Drone Racing World Championships arrive. Qualified pilots from all over the world are preparing to head to Kualoa Ranch, Hawaii in a couple of weeks to represent their home country, from the USA, to Korea, and even to New Zealand.
Electrician Scott Taylor, mortgage lender Cam Blick and farmer Brad Kilgour have spent a few years practicing on Kilgour’s farm block in Reporoa, getting ready for the event. Blick and Taylor grew up flying remote-controlled aircraft, Taylor getting into drone a few years ago doing aerial photography for real estate companies.
“Ever since [I got mt first fixed-wing plane] I’ve been in love with radio controlled stuff. The feeling of flying a plane, for any young kid, is really fun,” Taylor said.
But it wasn’t until the first-person-view (FPV) goggles came into play that their fundamental experience with the crafts changed.
Taylor continued, “As soon as you put those goggles on, you forget that you’re sat down. You feel like you’re within the quad itself, and your whole body reacts to it.”
Blick talked about racing both a quad and a wing, which is shaped more like an airplane than the typical drone you see flying around nowadays.
“With wings, it’s like Red Bull Air Racing, but you’re racing against other pilots at the same time,” Blick said.
Check out the original article here for more information, as well as their cool, edited racing VOD.