In the Los Angeles area, which some are calling the mecca of drone racing because of the large number of pilots who live and fly there, the International Drone Racing Association held its first championship Saturday. Called the California Cup, the event lured several hundred spectators, who stood behind nets inside a cavernous building and watched racers compete at the SoCal Maker Convention in Pomona, Calif.

With the incessant angry-wasp buzz of drones in the air, racers competed in three events, one each for drones 250 and 300 millimeters wide, as well as a freestyle event in which points were awarded for maneuvers like flips, turns and loops.

Pilots navigate the drones using a remote control with two joysticks that control altitude, speed and direction. They wear large goggles that broadcast live standard-definition video from a camera mounted on the front of the drone. It is this first-person-view technology, or F.P.V., that has given the sport a major boost, allowing pilots to feel as if they are in the drone. The experience, they said, is similar to the pod-racing scenes from “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace.”

The drone frames are made of light but sturdy material like carbon fiber and are little more than small platforms for motors, a battery, electronic circuitry and four to six propellers. Most are of the four-motor variety and are thus better known among hobbyists as quadcopters, or quads, rather than drones.

“Three years ago, this technology was so expensive, so unattainable, that only the professional cinematographer could afford it,” Zablan said. Now, he said, a full racing kit with F.P.V. goggles can be bought for about $1,000.

A Surge in Popularity

The drone industry as a whole, experts said, is experiencing rapid growth, with 2015 expected to be a defining year. A report released in June by the Consumer Electronics Association predicted the United States market for consumer drones would reach $105 million in revenue this year, up more than 50 percent from 2014. Unit sales, given the expectations for a strong Christmas season, are predicted to be near 700,000, an increase of more than 60 percent.