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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