Quad Racing

[Tim Wescott]

Spent a nice day yesterday as club liaison for a group of quadcopter racers who took over our RC field for a local race.

It couldn't be a nicer group of people to spend a day with, they were polite as hell, serious about racing, and -- at least after one of the other club members left and took his fixed-wing stuff with him -- there wasn't an ARF in sight.  In fact, I don't think there was a single kit-built either.  Everything is put together from a chassis here, a controller board there, ESCs from somewhere else (and often with task-specific software loaded on), quite a few of the transmitters are running custom software.  It was an interesting day.

The only disappointment for this spectator was that the rules are arranged to reward the guy who doesn't crash, so the racing was a lot less zoomy than the after-race play.

The level of technology that these folks are dealing with is amazing -- they assemble their craft, then download custom firmware into the ESCs and flight controllers (and sometimes transmitters), they have to tune the control loops for optimal performance, and all the while they need to debug all the inevitable problems that crop up.

Here's a video took by the 1st-place finisher -- I'm pretty sure this is the after-race play, given how fast he's going.  Turn the sound of if you don't like metal music (why do they do that?  is there a law someplace?)

[RC Storick]

Glad your back.It's nice to be home. Please pass the word.

[peabody]

I have been in the co-pilot's seat with FPV....it's pretty nifty.
Also:  http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-first-public-course-for-drone-racing-is-opening-soon?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=atlas-page

[Mark Scarborough]

It is pretty amazing technology,, not even just the racers,, but the whole industry. Heck the over the counter units are pretty tech savvy,,
its not my bag, but I am fascinated by some of the tech.
Unfortunately there is already a stigma of negativity attached that for some will never be overcome. Locally we have a few multi-copter guys that have the "skater mentallity" in other words, Dude its our air we can fly here if we want to,, and that poisons it for the good guys too....

[Tim Wescott]

It is pretty amazing technology,, not even just the racers,, but the whole industry. Heck the over the counter units are pretty tech savvy,,
its not my bag, but I am fascinated by some of the tech.
Unfortunately there is already a stigma of negativity attached that for some will never be overcome. Locally we have a few multi-copter guys that have the "skater mentallity" in other words, Dude its our air we can fly here if we want to,, and that poisons it for the good guys too....

Thanks for that.  It's something to keep in mind.

Back in the 1950's, my dad was part of the movement to get drag racing off the streets and onto sanctioned drag strips, and skate parks seem to have done the same thing for skate boards, so there's certainly a path forward if it can be pitched right.

[Duke.Johnson]

My oldest son, Daniel, is very into quad racing.  They are mostly a great group of guys, with a lot of passion for their hobby.  These are not the guys flying over the White House. They buy components, 3D print parts, and build their own stuff. They pride themselves in being the best/cleanest builder and the best flyers. Daniel is becoming know locally for both his building and flying skills. Thanks for posting this Tim. I'll make sure Daniel sees it.

[Tim Wescott]

Duke, show him this link.  He may already be on to it -- these are the guys that organized the race at McIver.

[Duke.Johnson]

Thanks Tim. I told Daniel and one of his flying buddies yesterday.  These two are the #1 and #2 quad racers around here. I told them they should put together a team to travel between Seattle's races, Olympia, and Portland.  Local clubs could host race events.