HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-03-30, Page 9Wednesday, March 30, 2016 • Huron Expositor 9
Drone Races flourish at REACH centre
Valerie Gillies
Postmedia Network
FPV Racing Events held
an open competition for
drone racing at the REACH
centre in Clinton March
11-12.
David French of the FPV
Racing Events team explains
that these recreational FPV
(first person vision) quads
are not actually drones, as
they are usually called. True
drones fly autonomously via
computers whereas the
quads are controlled
remotely by their pilots. The
quads send signals from a
transmitter to a computer
much like capturing a tele-
vision broadcast through
antennae. French exclaims,
"This is exciting. The tech-
nology we are using is the
highest on the planet right
now!"
David's brother, Greg
French, lives in China. He
has been racing drones
since they became popular
two summers ago. However
when he came back to visit
his family in Collingwood, it
took a lot of time to travel to
drone events, which were
more just meet -ups at that
time, as the closest was in
Quebec. The brothers
decided that there needed
to be events closer to home
to allow Greg to spend more
time with family during his
Canada visits. They took it
upon themselves to organ-
ize them. This was the
beginning of FPV Racing
Events which began with a
very grass roots race at a
meetup.
David remarked that most
of the drone owners at these
early events were very com-
puter and technology ori-
ented and really knew noth-
ing about racing. To bring a
true racing element to the
events the brothers decided
that they needed race rules,
commentary and timing
systems to formalize the
races. Greg is the technol-
ogy wizard of the family and
invented the goggles
through his company Fat
Shark that made the drones
"plug and play". This simpli-
fied the technology of con-
trolling the drones, making
flying them more accessible
for recreational users. Fat
Shark also created the tran-
sponders used to record
laps at the starting gate.
To address the race com-
mentary, David approached
Valerie Gillies Postmedia Network
The racers at the REACH centre in Clinton on March 11-12 ranged from beginners to the
professionals. A general rule is, those who are wearing the shirts with the big D are the pros. The
D designates memers of Detroit Multirotor (DMR) team, also known as the Detroit Drones. Front
from left: Ricky "Ricky", Keegan "Vaggy", Aeryck "Sketch". Back from left: Trevor "Viking", Wayne
"Crash", Paul "Skinlab FPV", Luke "Baja Dundee", Terry "Beastmode", Brian "Buffy the Saint", Ryan
"Helino", Joe Scully race announcer, Joe Engalan owner of DMR.
Joe Scully who was an
announcer at a radio station
in Conllingwood, as well as
being involved in rodeos
and Remote Control (RC)
car racing. Adding Scully to
the FPV team brought rac-
ing skill and experience to
the team while having an
announcer voice to give the
race commentaries needed
to keep participants and the
audience informed. Scully's
ties to the rodeos provided
him with contacts to the
equine circles, which
resulted in contacting the
REACH centre as a venue to
hold events.
Another extension of the
racing culture is the naming
of some parts of the track.
The obstacles the quads
maneuver through are
mainly gates that are lined
up to fly both through and
over, but one of the favour-
ite challenges is the airpin
turns. French explains, "If
you were racing on the
ground they would be called
hairpin turns. We are flying
so they are airpins." These
consist of three vertical ban-
ners mounted high above
the ground with a brace
midway up. The pilots must
fly between two of the ban-
ners, then come to almost a
complete stop to make a
quick turn to fly back
through the opposite side.
The stress of performing the
maneuvers required to
complete laps while trying
for the best time is inherent
in all racing. Not only is the
track a challenge, the tech-
nology can be compro-
mised, as well. Quads often
have parts knocked off from
coming into contact with
the obstacles, or even parts
of the building. Some of the
crashes occur when the
pilot loses the visual signal
from their quad, known as
the "black screen of death':
Scully and David French
put on a few races locally to
start. Since then, their
events have grown from
meetups to the Canadian
Drone Nationals which has
over 100 pilots competing
from across Canada and
several international racers.
French exclaims, "The sport
has grown fast! We have
come a long way in just two
years."
The first races FPV staged
built them a good reputa-
tion as they were so well
organized. French proudly
states, "We were doing the
quickest turnarounds
between heats." They were
hired to run races in the
To all participants and businesses
who made this year's Easter Colouring
Contest a success.
Special Thank You to Culligan Real
Estate for donating a prize and
displaying the completed pictures,
Seaforth Foodland and Pete's Paper
Clip for donating prizes.
•
Valerie Gillies Postmedia Network
The racers joked that the lounge at the REACH centre is where
they spent most of their time during the Drone Races held in
Clinton March 11-12. This was not to take breaks, but to prepare
and repair their quads between races. The lounge was very much
the race pit with parts and gadgets spread out on practically
every table.
United States, including the
Georgia Dome F3 Expo, the
world's first team race in the
Thunder Dome.
One of the racers who
travelled from New York
City to the local FPV races
went on to found The Drone
Racing League that went on
to invest in the World Drone
Prix.
FPV Racing Events do
several meetups and races
per year. When they are
hired by others to stage
races the team is responsi-
ble for race management,
course design, course build
and to actually run the
races. French admits that
they are in an enviable posi-
tion as there are "lots vying
to be the top of the race
industry?'
French explained that
there were not as many pro-
fessional racers at the Clin-
ton event as many were
competing in Dubai, United
Arab Emirates at the Dubai
World Drone Prix. French
adds, "the guys who com-
pete from this group are in
the top 16 in the world."
The next time FPV Racing
Events will be in Clinton will
be for International Drone
Day and series champion-
ships for the Winter Barn -
burner Drone Racing Series
at the REACH centre May
6-7. French says, "Attending
these events is the best way
for someone to get to know
about the sport. It is an
opportunity to talk to the
top drone racing people in
the industry."
Municipality of Huron East
2016 Budget
Notice is hereby given that the
2016 Huron East Budget
will be considered by Council on
April 5th, 2016 at 8:00 pm
A brief budget synopsis is available
on the Huron East website.
www.huroneast.com
Complete copies of the budget document
will be available at the Municipal Office.
Paula Michiels, Finance Manager-Treasurer/Deputy Clerk