The course I flew at the
Heli Extravaganza was perfect in this respect. It had a couple of long straightaways for getting up to speed, but the rest of the course was twisty and you had to control your aircraft well to get around the course without losing precious seconds. It wasn’t all about the power (unless you’re Jeremy Clarkson, former host of the BBC TV show Top Gear)—it was about finesse and skill. This is where the pilots
My initial setup right before some test-flying.
who had practice and experience really shined. It was interesting to see the different flying styles by watching them zip around the track and from dialing into their channel with my headset and watching them in the air, FPV style. So what else did I
learn from my first race experience? Propellers and prop nuts—bring lots of them! Although I didn’t actually break any propellers, I did make sure I had some spares with me. As for prop nuts, I had one come off of the motor midflight, and although it was easy to find the bright orange propeller, that black prop nut was lost forever.
Speaking of breaking stuff, Colored LEDs on the back can aid (or hinder) the pilots you are racing against!
Chewing gum stopped me from holding my breath, and as you can imagine, you really do fly a little better when there is oxygen in your blood! The second problem that manifested itself was motion sickness. I’m not one to get motion sickness usually, but the first two or three FPV flights that I flew actually
made me nauseous. I was a little worried. Is this what FPV racing is going to be like for me? As it turned out, this
wasn’t the case. After approximately a half-dozen flights, the feeling subsided. I have not felt it since. I guess it just took a little getting used to! After talking to a few friends who also race
FPV, this apparently is not uncommon, which made me feel a little better about the whole thing. I also discovered that
a good racecourse is one that can really test your skills. I’m not talking about drag-racing in a straight line—I mean a meandering course with tight turns and switchbacks.
make sure you choose a sturdy airframe, because you will absolutely crash when pushing your flying to the edge. The difference will be picking up your quadcopter and taking off again right after a crash, versus picking up the pieces and taking them back to the pit to repair them! At the end of the day— however the race turns out— if you are having fun, then you are doing it right! I sure did have a blast at my first race!
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