Zip past obstacles at 160 kilometres an hour but without risking life and limb – the immersive sport of first-person video drone racing makes it possible

Video: Virtual pilots fly drones in Star-Wars-style race

NOW you can satisfy the need for speed while staying stock-still: by racing super-fast drones through fields and forests. For the pilots streaming the view from an on-board camera through headsets, it’s just like flying.

The first large-scale first-person video (FPV) drone race in the US kicked off in Los Angeles on 11 October. Organised by LA resident Ryo Rex through his start-up, Aerial Grand Prix, it’s the latest event for a sport that has spread around the world in the past year. It attracts speed freaks who crave the thrill of zipping between trees, fences and other obstacles at up to 160 kilometres an hour – but without risking life and limb in the process.

“Your body is on the ground, but your mind is up there,” says Edward Lyons, who is getting his own racing group, FPV America, off the ground in Maine. “It’s liberating.”


Getting airborne requires some special equipment. For a start, the drone needs a light, tough, high-resolution camera so it can be piloted around obstacles at speed. It also needs a powerful wireless transmitter to stream the video back to the pilot, and the pilot needs a headset to watch the stream.

Still, a good rig isn’t much more expensive than, say, a high-end laptop. Carlos Fernández Puertolas from San Francisco flies a set-up drone that cost around $1200, although he has customised nearly every piece of it. Toy drones like the popular Parrot AR can be had for far less money – but would be outclassed in a community that revels in tinkering to eke out maximum velocity and manoeuvrability.

Ready to race (Image: George Gooderham/Air-Vid.com)

Puertolas hasn’t raced yet – instead he focuses on stunt flights that he posts to YouTube – but he wants to. Races have been cropping up everywhere from Australia to the mountain town of Argonay, France, where last month 25 racers zipped through the woods.

In the US, though, events so far have been difficult to organise because federal regulations prohibit drones from leaving a person’s line of sight. To solve this problem, Rex’s race in LA had one spotter for every pilot, watching the drone as it raced the course, making sure it stayed on track. They also avoided cash prizes, because that might fall foul of regulations banning “commercial” drone activities. Instead, winners got free equipment from the small group of companies that have sprung up to meet the burgeoning demand for FPV drones and accessories.

“We’re trying to make it as safe as possible,” Rex says. “We’re trying to organise it in a way which shows everyone else in the world that we can do this safely. There’s tension with the Federal Aviation Administration and we want to show them we can be responsible.”

Rex says his plan for Aerial Grand Prix is to stream future races over the internet. Fans could jump between live feeds of their favourite racers, experiencing the same thrills as the pilots. The insane stunts are possible because no humans are at risk, but for the pilot and viewers, it feels as though you are flying yourself.

“Imagine somebody gives you the keys of an F-16 and tells you ‘Don’t worry dude, it’s OK if you crash it’,” says Puertolas. “Most importantly, you won’t die in the process.”

Rex points out that hobbyists have raced remote-control planes and cars for decades. Only now is first-person video bringing a dose of immersion to the sport. This makes it engaging for spectators – and is a big reason why more than 100,000 videos of FPV racing have been uploaded to YouTube in the past year or so.

Out of body experience (Image: Carlos Fernández Puertolas)

For pilots, it can lead to a kind of out-of-body experience. As the drones zip through race courses or stunt runs, they sometimes come upon their pilots, watching themselves drive the instrument of observation. Many pilots report being startled by their physical selves as they fly around immersed in the drone’s eye view.

“It was so weird,” says Puertolas of the first time he flew past himself. “Sometimes when you are flying for a while you might pass yourself and think, ‘Hey! Who is that?’ Your brain plays tricks on you.”

Sometimes when you are flying for a while you might pass yourself and think, ‘Hey! Who is that?’

This article appeared in print under the headline “Get in the race”