A group of Manitoba flyers put their skills on display Saturday.
But they weren’t pilots — rather, they were members of Winnipeg FPV, a competitive drone-flying club based in Winnipeg.
The flyers gathered in Steinbach, Man., on Saturday to compete in a qualifying event. The winner earns a trip to Ottawa to compete nationally.
“It really is very much like a real-life video game,” said organizer and flyer Wally Kroeker. “You’re watching from the goggles, seeing the perspective of the cockpit.”
The races last for about three minutes, with flyers taking their mini planes through an obstacle course and then trying to land without crashing.
“The drones have such a fast reaction time, they can be going 80-100 kilometres an hour one way, then spin around and go 80-100 the other way,” said Louis Plett, who was also competing on Saturday.
But Evan Fuller, another drone flyer, said that speed doesn’t always pay off.
“Fast doesn’t necessarily win,” said Fuller. “It’s like the tortoise versus the hare, slow and steady wins the race … well, you need to be fast and steady to win the race here.”
Like most hobbies, there’s a lot of work involved if you want to master the craft. The flyers were constantly tinkering with their drones after every race on Saturday.
“There’s a lot of technical stuff involved to learn it. You’ve got to be constantly repairing, building and researching,” said Plett.
It’s also an activity that requires skill, precision and lot of practice, which means newcomers often have a tough time.
“Guys will watch this and say that looks really fun, but if you hand just a guy off the street a controller and goggles, the first thing he’s going to do is plow it into the dirt,” said Plett.
While it’s growing in Canada, drone racing is also a popular activity in the United States, where ESPN broadcasts the professional Drone Racing League.
“They’re actually offering full-time contracts to pilots there so there’s some incentive and some investment going on to kind of build it up into a really cool new sport,” said Plett.
So what’s it like flying a drone?
“It feels like you’re flying a dragonfly,” said Kroeker. “You have that manoeuvrability and to be able to do that without possibly harming myself is a huge benefit to me.”
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