California State Fair Hosts Big Drone Race

California State Fair Hosts Big Drone Race FARM HOME Miscellaneous Visitors to the 2015 California State Fair could see 120 pilots from 9 countries compete in the U S National Drone Racing Championships The race was won by an Australian who did 5 laps of the 100 by 130-yard field in 1 min 44 sec The drones were souped up quad copters equipped with video cameras “We had 8 pilots in the air at a time doing heats ” explained Scott Refsland race director and CEO Flying Grounds Inc “The 120 pilots were the largest group ever to race at one venue ” Of course the pilots never left the ground In what is called First Person Viewing FPV all were seated wearing view screens that showed them the course ahead of their quad copters as they used remote controls Each quad copter was equipped with a video camera a transmitter and its own frequency “We used brand new technology for the video downlink to the pilot ” says Refsland “Previously only 4 could be in the air at a time ” Refsland said the race organizers worked closely with the FAA Federal Aviation Administration the AMA Academy of Model Aeronautics and the FCC Federal Communications Commission The 2 000 to 3 000 spectators had the option of watching the race course live watching a large screen view or wearing race sponsor Fatshark viewing goggles and seeing a pilot’s view With the latter they could pick a frequency and see what a pilot was seeing In addition the event was live-streamed to more than 10 000 people in 85 countries The course consisted of a series of gates and hoops 10 ft wide and 5 ft high Pilots had to navigate their drones capable of flying upwards of 70 mph through each in a set order They sped through turns obstacles and in one case a switchback If a hoop was missed the pilot had to loop back and try again all without going above the FAA’s 50-ft ceiling height Refsland sees this event as the first in a growing industry He expects to produce more drone races based in part on what was learned “The National Championships hoped to determine if drone racing could be a mainstream sports event with thrills and entertainment ’” says Refsland “It has all the elements of great entertainment ” Soon after the races it was announced that the owner of the Miami Dolphins had invested a million dollars into a drone-racing league in New York It looks like more races are indeed likely Check out the video at www farmshow com Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Flying Grounds Inc P O Box 2578 El Cerrito Calif 94530 ph 855 816-7113; hello@fgi com; www fgi com

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